Men's Lacrosse Preps for Top of the Ivy Clash at Penn

STREAKS, STORYLINES & SIDEBARS 
• Cornell takes on a Penn team ranking in the top 15 on Saturday, March 30 in Philadelphia, Pa. in a battle for sole possession of the top spot in the Ivy League. Faceoff is set for 1 p.m. at Franklin Field, and the game will be streamed live on ESPN+.
• Cornell, which entered the preseason polls ranked seventh, finds itself at No. 7 in the major men's lacrosse polls (USILA Coaches Poll, Inside Lacrosse Media Poll).
• Cornell boasts Division I's third-best shot percentage, scoring on 37.5 percent of shots taken. Nonconference opponent Notre Dame leads the country and shoots less than three percent more accurately than the Big Red.
• The Big Red also ranks third in scoring offense and points per game. Cornell averages 16.14 goals per game and 25.57 points per game so far this season.
• Penn enters the contest at 6-3, including a road win over a Duke team that was ranked #1 in the country at the time. The Quakers have won three of their last four games. The one loss in that stretch came at the hands of St. Joseph's in a 12-7 decision in a midweek battle.
• 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.
• CJ Kirst became the second player this season to win one of the Ivy Player of the Week awards more than once this season. Kirst took home his second Offensive POTW honor after a four-goal, four-assist against Yale.
• 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 the series, 67-27-3
In Philadelphia, Pa.: Cornell leads, 27-15-2
Current Streak: Cornell, one game
Last Meeting: Cornell won, 18-12 on March 26, 2023, in Ithaca, N.Y.
Buczek vs. Penn: 1-1
Series Notes: 

• Though the Big Red boasts a hefty edge in the all-time series, Penn owns the games as of late. The Quakers have won five of the past eight meetings.
• Cornell hasn't won back-to-back contests since March 22, 2014, when the Big Red capped off an eight-game win streak, soured by a one-goal loss to the Quakers in the Ivy Tournament.
• In the past four meetings, both teams have had double-digit scoring in each.

A WIN OVER PENN WOULD ... 
• Improve Cornell's record to 6-2 on the season.
• Mark the fourth win over a ranked opponent this season.
• Move Cornell's lead in the series to 68-27-3.
• Mark the fourth consecutive regular-season win in the series for the Big Red.
• Be the 805th win in program history (804-497-27 in 128 seasons, .615).

LAST TIME OUT: Cornell 18, Yale 15
GAME STORY I BOX SCORE l GALLERY l HIGHLIGHTS
• The #11/#12 Cornell men's lacrosse team used all aspects of its high-powered offense including a five-goal run in the fourth quarter to move to 2-0 in the Ivy League with an 18-15 win over Yale on Schoellkopf Field Saturday afternoon.
• Ten players tallied at least one point and three recorded five or more. With the win, Cornell moved to 5-2 (2-0 Ivy), while the Bulldogs fell to 4-2 (1-1).
• The Cornell offense was led by CJ Kirst who matched his season-high with eight points on four goals and four assists.
• Senior Michael Long followed with his third three-goal, four-assist game of the season. In his first career start, Ryan Goldstein tallied a career-high five goals.
• Willem Firth and AJ Nikolic rounded out multi-point scorers.
• Marc Psyllos won 14 faceoffs for the second-straight game and scooped a team-high nine groundballs.
• Brendan Staub led all players with a career-high three caused turnovers. Matthew Tully made a career-high 13 saves.
• Yale's Matt Brandau led the Bulldogs offense with five goals and two assists for seven points. Carson Kuhl followed with three goals and two assists for five points.
• Yale ran a two-man faceoff unit with Machado Rodriguez taking the most reps, and Nicholas Ramsey following with 12 tries. The duo combined for 21 wins on 35 attempts.
• Ryan Goldstein is now the second freshman in Cornell history to post at least a hat trick in his first two collegiate appearances after Willem Firth did so earlier this season.

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