Chasing 4-0 in the Ivy, Men's Lacrosse Visits Harvard

STREAKS, STORYLINES & SIDEBARS 
• Cornell fights for the top spot in the Ivy League when it hits the road to Harvard.
• The game will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
• The Big Red has outscored opponents 123-79 across the first eight games of the season.
• Harvard sits at 1-1 in conference play, with an overtime loss to Dartmouth, and win over Brown.
• Despite not receiving any votes this week, Harvard has been ranked in previous polls this season. The Crimson battled #1 Virginia in the season opener, falling, 25-21, in Charlottesville, Va.
• Cornell moved up to 4th place position in both the USILA Coaches Poll and Inside Lacrosse Media Poll this week.
• Cornell ranks eighth nationally in scoring defense, allowing 9.88 goals per game. The Big Red also ranks third in groundballs per game, averaging 38.25, and 14th nationally in caused turnovers per game (9.62). Cornell has moved up to fifth nationally in both shot percentage (.347), and scoring offense (15.38). Harvard has the nation's number five assists per game number (8.88), and boast the second best opponent clear percentage (.762).
• 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. Kirst has 47 points in eight games played. He leads the nation in goals per game (4.88) and in points per game (5.88). 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.
• 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 and 28th nationally in faceoff winning percentage (.568). 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, 68-26
In Cambridge, Mass.: Cornell leads, 24-14
Current Streak: Cornell, four games
Last Meeting: Cornell, 17-9 on April 9, 2022, in Ithaca, N.Y.
Buczek vs. Harvard: 1-0
Series Notes: 

• Harvard is the eldest Ivy League opponent for the Big Red. The first meeting in the series vs. the Crimson was an 2-1 Cornell win in 1895.
• The Big Red have only lost three contests since the 1999 season. As a player at Cornell. Buzcek fell to Harvard in his junior and senior seasons.
• The most recent Harvard win in that run came in the 2016 season in Ithaca, N.Y. The Crimson won, 12-8.
• Cornell averages 12.88 goals when facing Harvard in the past decade. The Big Red averages 15.38 goals per game so far this season.
  
  A WIN OVER HARVARD WOULD ... 
  • be the first time that the Big Red open the conference slate with four wins since 2013. Cornell went 6-0 in the Ivy during the 2013 regular season.
  • extend the Cornell win streak to five games.
  • extend its lead in the all-time series against the Crimson to 69-26.
  • be the 796th win in program history (795-492-27 in 126 seasons, .605).

LAST TIME OUT: Cornell 22, Dartmouth 11
GAME STORY I BOX SCORE I GALLERY
• The Big Red tallied its third-straight Ivy League win, scoring 15+ goals for the fifth time this season, in the 22-11 win over Dartmouth.
• Cornell matched its most single-quarter goals in program history against a DI opponent and an Ivy opponent with 10. The last time Cornell tallied 10 against an opponent in one quarter came against Yale in the 2007 season.
• Cornell boasted a eight multi-point scorers in the contest. Aiden Blake, Billy Coyle, Hugh Kelleher, and CJ Kirst each tallied at least four points.
• Kelleher tallied a career-high four goals and four points in the contest.
• Blake matched his career-high in goals (4).
• Colin McGill led the Big Green with two goals and two assists. He was the only Dartmouth player with four or more points.
• Four other Dartmouth players tally multi-point games.
• Chayse Ierlan had 10 saves for the Big Red in the contest.

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