M. Lacrosse Returns to Action

VESTAL, N.Y. — The men’s lacrosse team looked sharp from the start in its first official outing of 2009 as it dismantled Binghamton, 18-6, on Saturday. Rookie attack freshman Rob Pannell led the team with three goals and four assists and last season’s leading scorer, junior attack Ryan Hurley, added three goals and three assists.
[img_assist|nid=35451|title=Coming through|desc=Junior Ryan Hurley tacked on three goals in the Red’s victory over Binghamton, 18-6.|link=node|align=left|width=|height=0]
“It felt great to finally get out there,” said senior captain Max Seibald, who had two goals and an assist. “We were pretty excited and I think it showed.”
Binghamton found itself in an early hole after the Red scored seven consecutive goals, including five in the first quarter. The Red senior attack Kyle Doctor took a pass from Pannell and deposited it into the bottom left corner of the goal for Cornell’s first goal of the season, less than two minutes into the game.
“The team was playing well and we all just meshed today,” Pannell said. “Everyone was scoring and getting assists; it worked out for everybody.”
Pannell tallied his first collegiate goal a few minutes later after Hurley chased down Binghamton senior goalie Larry Kline and forced a wild pass; Pannell scooped up the ball in the middle of the field then capitalized on the empty net opportunity.
The rookie returned the favor for the Red’s next goal, finding Hurley in traffic for his first goal of the season.
“Our offense played great, especially our attack with a couple new guys in there,” Hurley said.
The Red had more than enough opportunities: The team outshot Binghamton, 40-26. The face-off unit was a huge part of the Red’s dominance, giving Cornell possession after possession for most of the first three quarters. Senior midfielder John Glynn won 9-of-11 face-offs and Cornell won 17-of-27 overall.
Cornell’s defense, the team’s biggest question mark heading into the season, held off the Bearcat attack without much trouble for most of the game, although Binghamton hurt its own cause with several turnovers and errant passes. Binghamton head coach Ed Stephenson said part of his team’s difficulties stemmed from early-season jitters, especially matched up against a ranked opponent like Cornell.
“That’s one of the reasons we play teams of this caliber is so we have this experience under our belt as we move through the season,” Stephenson said.
Binghamton was led by senior attack Jake Boyce and sophomore midfielder Mike Sciarrino, who each notched a goal and an assist. Despite Cornell’s high score, Kline played well and made some nice saves in goal for the Bearcats.
Senior Kyle Harer made his first start in goal for Cornell and made 10 saves and allowed four goals in 51:51. Sophomore Mat Martinez allowed two goals and stopped five shots in the other 8:09. Freshman midfielder Roy Lang notched his first collegiate goal and played well on both sides of the field all game. Senior attacks Chris Finn and Kyle Doctor both had two goals and Glynn, in addition to his face-off success, scored a goal and added two assists.
“It was definitely good to go out there and get that first win,” Hurley said.