MLAX Eyes Ivy League Tournament Bid at Brown

STREAKS, STORYLINES & SIDEBARS 
• Cornell wraps up the regular season road slate in Providence, R.I., on Saturday, fighting for its chance at a spot in the Ivy Tournament, when it faces the Bears at Stevenson-Pincince Field.
• The game will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
• The Big Red has outscored opponents 163-110 across the first 11 games of the season.
• Brown enters with a win over common opponent Penn (12-11) in addition to a top-10 win over Villanova (13-11) and an overtime loss to Harvard (16-15).
• Cornell sits at sixth in both the USILA Coaches Poll and the Inside Lacrosse Media Poll this week, largely consistent with last week's rankings.
• Cornell ranks 10th nationally in scoring defense, allowing 10.00 goals per game. The Big Red also ranks seventh in groundballs per game, averaging 36.91, and 21st nationally in caused turnovers per game (8.31). Cornell's clearing percentage of 91.4 percent ranks fourth nationally.
• Brown has the nations 10th-best faceoff winning percentage (.582), which is good for first in the Ivy. The Bears boast the third-most saves per game in the Ivy, averaging 13.91.
• Cornell returns the Ivy League Rookie of the Year in CJ Kirst, who notched 55 goals and 79 points for the Big Red last year. He leads the nation in goals per game (4.45) even after being shut out at Army, and sits at second in points per game (5.55). Following his 11-point performance at Hobart and five-point day at #9/#8 Ohio State, Kirst was named the Ivy League Player on the Week (March 5). He earned a nod on the USILA National Team of the Week following his seven-goal outing versus #16 Penn.
• Kirst has rewrote the Cornell single-season record books for a second straight year, specifically in the single-season goals category. He has 49 goals in 11 games this season, and already is tied for eighth all-time. His 55 goals in 14 games last season ranks fifth in the Big Red record books.
• Gavin Adler is a three-time National Team of the Week honoree, most recently following the Cornell win over Yale where he tallied eight groundballs and a caused turnover. He aided in holding one of the nation's leading attackman, Matt Brandau, to just one goal, nearly ending a 129-game goal-streak, the longest in the country.
• Jack Cascadden has become a staple in the Big Red faceoff unit. He ranks third in the Ivy in faceoff winning percentage (.573). He was named Ivy League Rookie of the Week following his performance against Penn, where he assisted on a goal just 10 seconds into the game, and went 12-for-16 at the faceoff.
• The Big Red boasts three mid-season All-Americans, Gavin Adler (First-team), Chayse Ierlan (Third-team), and CJ Kirst (First-team).

THE SERIES 
Overall: Cornell leads, 39-22
In Providence, R.I.: Cornell leads, 16-13
Current Streak: Brown won one
Last Meeting: Brown won, 13-8, in Ithaca, N.Y.
Buczek vs. Brown: 0-1
Series Notes: 

• The past 10 meetings are spilt a perfect 5-5. Brown boasts a small 107-103 edge in the goal differential..
• The Big Red and Brown have meet four times in the post-season, with Cornell coming out on top in three.
• Brown is the youngest Ivy opponent for the Big Red, with the first meeting coming in 1964.
  
  A WIN OVER BROWN WOULD ... 
  • clinch a spot in the Ivy League Tournament.
  • move the Big Red to 4-1 in conference play, gunning for a share of the regular-season Ivy title.
  • be the 798th win in program history (797-493-27 in 126 seasons, .605).

LAST TIME OUT: Cornell 11, Army West Point 10
GAME STORY I BOX SCORE I GALLERY
• The Big Red defeated #6/#7 Army West Point on the Black Knights' home turf despite a game delay due to a power outage in the fourth quarter.
• Cornell took a 3-0 lead in the first 10 minutes of play, and never trailed until 7:34 in the fourth, where Army built a four-goal run to take a 10-9 lead. Michael Long at 3:32 and Aiden Blake with just nine seconds remaining each answered the call on feeds from Billy Coyle, with their teammates shouting out the shot clock from the sidelines.
• The Cornell attack was led by Michael Long in just his third game this season. He posted a hat trick and two assists.
• Billy Coyle had four assists, matching his most in a non-conference game this season.
• The Big Red's leading scorer, CJ Kirst, was shut out on the goal side, and notched just one assist, but 10 other Cornell athletes combined to notch at least one point.
• Rory Graham tallied his first-career goal.
• Army's Paul Johnson had four goals and an assist to lead the Black Knights with three more athletes clocking multi-point games.
• Chayse Ierlan had 12 saves in the contest.

Photos by Dave Burbank, Madison Epperson, Eldon Lindsay, and Darl Zehr.