Claiming his second consecutive Ivy League Rookie of the Week honor, freshman midfielder Jonathan Donville has been integral to the rising success of No. 6 Cornell men’s lacrosse this season.
The conference award comes after two five-point performances last week against nationally ranked opponents No. 9 Syracuse and then-No.17 Lehigh. The pair of consistent performances by the freshman helped the Red extend its current winning streak to six.
“He’s obviously got a pretty special skill set,” said interim head coach Peter Milliman. “He just has a game sense that doesn’t come with young guys very often.”
Donville is the third on the team in points with a score of 31, behind sophomore attack Jeff Teat (77) and junior attack Clarke Petterson (43).
“It’s not much of a surprise,” Milliman said. “It’s impressive to see him scoring as much as he is, [but] it’s just … the nature of who he is.”
Unlike the pair of attackers ahead of him in points, Donville has not started in one of the Red’s 12 contests and instead comes off the bench for a Cornell squad deep with talent.
“The guys on my line … know we might not get as many runs, but when we get them we are ready,” Donville said. “I think we see a lot in games that with so many talented players, and guys moving the ball, working hard, we end up wearing teams down.”
Strong chemistry between the newcomer and Teat has come to the forefront as of recent. Eight goals in the past three games have involved the duo of Ontario natives, with half of those tallies coming against the Mountain Hawks last Saturday.
“I think [Teat’s] the best player in the country and probably the smartest lacrosse player I’ve ever played with,” Donville said. “All of our guys know that when Jeff gets the ball, there’s an opportunity to make a play.”
Donville and Teat, have played together before their time at Cornell too, so the pair was already familiar with each other’s tendencies.
“I’ve known [Donville] for a while back home playing … with each other, against each other,” Teat said. “We are pretty familiar with each other. A lot of people that know him remember him for his talent, but he’s a really smart player. He’s just doing the right things at the right time.”