DENVER, COLO. — Cornell trailed 9-7 with less than 13 minutes remaining Saturday before scoring six consecutive goals to pull away from No. 17 Denver 13-9 at Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium, improving the Big Red to 2-0 on the season.
 
The decisive sequence began just 21 seconds after Denver's Marek Tzagournis converted a man-up opportunity at 12:16 of the fourth to push the Pioneers' lead to two. Cornell answered almost immediately as Jack Cascadden scored at 11:55 to cut it to 9-8, and when Denver's Seamus Faulkner drew a slashing penalty at 8:56, Brian Luzzi converted the ensuing extra-man chance to tie the game at nine. Eight seconds later, Willem Firth scored off a Ryan Goldstein assist to give Cornell its first lead since the start of the second half, and the Big Red never looked back. Rowyn Nurry extended the advantage before Goldstein added two more to close out a dominant run that turned a two-goal deficit into a four-goal final margin.
 
Firth and Goldstein were the engines of the offense all afternoon. Firth finished with three goals and four assists, while Goldstein matched him with two goals and five assists a pair of performance that put the duo in the middle of nearly every meaningful possession Cornell generated. Their combined 14 points made them the most dangerous tandem on the field.
 
The first quarter belonged to Cornell early, as the Big Red built a 6-3 lead behind a furious two-goal flurry in the final 90 seconds of the period. But Denver clawed back, pulling within 7-6 by halftime before Tzagournis scored twice in 52 seconds early in the third to put the Pioneers ahead 8-7. The attacker finished with three goals on the day, providing Denver's most consistent offensive threat.
 
Junior goalkeeper Matthew Tully made 10 saves in the win, navigating a third quarter in which Cornell was outshot 11-8 and Denver looked poised to control the game. The Big Red had the advantage at the face off x as Cascadden won 15-of-21 face offs and Michael Melkonian won 4-of-5 to give the Big Red a 19 to seven advantage.
 
Game Notes
• Cornell improves to 4-1 all-time against Denver as Saturday marked the fifth meeting all-time between the two programs.
• The Big Red extend its win streak that dates back to last season to 16 games.
• Cornell improves to 27-14 against ranked teams and 24-7 in games decided by five or less goals under head coach Connor Buczek.
• Goldstein has recorded five or more points in both games this season, while Firth has a hat trick in each game.
• Freshman Rowyn Nurry and sophomore Luke Robinson netted their first career goals.
 
Next Up
Cornell will open the home portion of its schedule on Tuesday, Feb. 24 when it hosts longtime rival Hobart at 5 p.m. at Schoellkopf Field.