Neither coaching staff, veterans or rookies alike seemed to expect what the Cornell men’s lacrosse team found at Colgate’s Tyler’s Field yesterday. And that was a hard fought battle. The Raiders (0-2, 0-0 Patriot) almost matched the Red goal-for-goal as Cornell (1-1, 0-0 Ivy) eked out a narrow 10-9 victory.
“Every time Colgate and Cornell face each other its a tough battle because of the upstate rivalry. And they came ready to play,” junior tri-captain Ryan McClay said. However, the Raiders provided a larger challenge than the team that lost 18-7 on Schoellkopf Field last year.
“I don’t think we expected it to be this close. Some of the shots for us didn’t drop and we just hung on,” McClay added.
Freshman Sean Greenhalgh scored twice in the first and fourth quarters and notched another goal in the second as Cornell outchanced Colgate, 19 shots on goal to 12. A faulty scouting report on Raider netminder Chris Hettler sorely hurt the Red.
Thinking that Hettler’s weakness was high, the Red sent balls into the upper fourth of the cage. But Hettler proved skilled in taking away the top of the cage, and the lower part as well. He had 18 saves on the day. Senior Justin Cynar had four.
“After he started making saves, everyone was getting uptight and we kept on shooting high, and that’s where he is strong,” Greenhalgh said.
“It’s not often that an opposing goalie outplays Justin Cynar, but I would say today that guy he certain
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