Ohio State Comes to Town in Men's Lacrosse Matinee

STREAKS, STORYLINES & SIDEBARS 
• Cornell hosts an Ohio State team that is receiving national attention for its hot start on Saturday, March 2 in Ithaca, N.Y. Faceoff is set for 12 p.m. on Schoellkopf Field, and the game will be streamed live on ESPN+.
• Cornell, which entered the preseason polls ranked seventh, finds itself at #10 in the USILA poll, and #9 in the Inside Lacrosse poll this week.
• Cornell boasts Division I's 11th-best opponent clear percentage allowing successful clears on 80.0 percent of attempts.
• The Big Red also ranks second in scoring offense and third in points per game. Cornell averages 18.67 goals per game and 29.00 points per game so far this season.
• Ohio State enters the contest coming off a loss after beginning the season on a 4-0 run. The wins came over Utah, Cleveland State, Bellarmine, and Air Force. The loss came at the hands of #3 Virginia in a 14-8 decision last Saturday.
• Cornell concluded the 2023 season ranked seventh nationally in scoring offense, tallying 14.80 goals per game. The Big Red also ranked sixth in groundballs per game, averaging 36.67, and 14th nationally in caused turnovers per game (9.40). Cornell had the nation's 10th-best scoring margin, outscoring opponents by an average of 3.53 goals per game.
• The Big Red boasts four preseason All-Americans; CJ Kirst, Jack Follows, Hugh Kelleher, and Christopher Davis.
• Cornell returns the 2022 Ivy League Rookie of the Year and 2023 Ivy Player of the Year, CJ Kirst. The now-senior notched 65 goals and 84 points for the Big Red last year. The goal total was good for the most by a junior in Big Red history.

THE SERIES 
Overall: Cornell leads, 6-2
In Ithaca, N.Y.: 3-1
Current Streak: Cornell, five games
Last Meeting: Cornell won, 16-13 on March 4, 2023, in Columbus, Ohio
Buczek vs. Ohio State: 3-0
Series Notes: 

• Head Coach Connor Buczek and Associate Head Coach Jordan Stevens have never lost to the Buckeyes, dating back to their playing days. The pair first took the field against Ohio State on May 18, 2013, where the two emerged victorious, 16-6, to advance to the Final Four. In the contest, Buczek tallied five points on a hat trick and two assists. Stevens scooped two groundballs and caused a turnover.
• Last season's meeting saw 11 points combined from Billy Coyle and CJ Kirst. Of the 24 points in the game, 18 were tallied by players who are back this season.

A WIN OVER OHIO STATE WOULD ... 
• Improve Cornell's record to 3-1 on the season.
• Extend Cornell's lead in the series to 7-2.
• Mark the sixth straight win for the Big Red in the series.
• Be the 802nd win in program history (801-496-27 in 128 seasons, .614).

LAST TIME OUT: Cornell 23, Hobart 7
GAME STORY I BOX SCORE I HIGHLIGHTS
• The goals just kept coming in the Cornell men's lacrosse team's third outing of the 2024 season as the Big Red posted its largest margin of victory in six years with a 23-7 victory over Hobart on Tuesday evening on Schoellkopf Field.
• With the win, the 10th-ranked Big Red moves to 2-1 on the season, while Hobart falls to 1-3.
• The 16-goal margin of victory was its most since March 27, 2018, when Cornell beat Air Force by 18.
• Cornell's attack was led by senior captain CJ Kirst, who notched a season-high five points on three goals and an assist.
• Four Big Red players followed, each notching four points. Michael Long and Andrew Dalton got there with two goals and two assists. For the second time in his career, Hugh Kelleher had a four-goal outing, and Willem Firth recorded his first three career assists and added a goal.
•  Danny Caddigan had three points on two goals and an assist. Spencer Wirtheim and Brian Piatelli each notched two goals and Walker Wallace rounded out multi-point Cornell scorers with one goal and one assist.
•  Wyatt Knust made 10 saves in 45 minutes of action, allowing just five goals.
• David Peterkin led the Hobart offense with three goals for three points, followed by Chris Patterson, who tallied twice. Four other Statesmen tallied at least one point.
• Adam Shea and Mike Valent split time at the faceoff X, combining to win 18-of-33 attempts.
• Elhanan Wilson was the starting goalkeeper for Hobart, making nine saves on 19 shots on goal in 30 minutes played. Jack Faiola entered the game after halftime and made one save on 14 shots faced.

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