The men’s lacrosse team (5-1, 1-0 Ivy League) began its week away from the classroom with its fifth straight non-conference game, a key matchup against 14th-ranked Penn State last Saturday.
While the Red had the momentum of a three-game win streak heading into the contest, the Nittany Lions had the confidence of having defeated Cornell, 8-7, last season at Schoellkopf Field.
Red junior J.P. Schalk opened the scoring and senior Galen Beers tallied as well, giving Cornell a 2-0 lead. But Penn State didn’t fade, scoring twice to tie the game before Red senior Billy Fort put his team ahead 3-2 at the end of the first quarter. In the second quarter, Beers and Fort each scored again. Freshman Sean Greenhalgh also put one by Nittany Lions’ goalkeeper Chris Garrity. A Penn State goal made the score 6-3 at the mid-way point of the game.
Cornell scored four more times in the third quarter, but three Nittany Lion goals kept Penn State within striking distance. Beers and Fort scored in the frame to complete their hat tricks. Beers’ hat trick brought his total against Penn State in the last two years to seven goals.
Also in the third, Greenhalgh notched his second of the game, and sophomore Ian Rosenberger netted one of his own.
The Nittany Lions’ Edmund Perry attempted to start a comeback, striking first in the final quarter. However, Greenhalgh completed his hat trick and gave the Red an 11-7 lead. Two goals by Penn State brought the final score to 11-9 in favor of Cornell.
“Offensively, it was a very well spread effort,” said head coach Jeff Tambroni. “We are an offense by committee.”
For the Red, junior goalkeeper Justin Cynar made five saves while Garrity stopped 14 shots for Penn State.
“Beating a team like Penn State especially after they came to Schoellkopf and came away with an 8-7 win, it’s a boost to our team,” remarked Tambroni.
Up next for Cornell was Yale, the Red’s first Ivy League opponent of the season. The Elis also presented a challenge for Cornell, having posted a decisive 11-5 victory over Penn in their previous game.
The Red came out of the locker room roaring, scoring eight times in the first half and keeping the Bulldogs scoreless. Cornell outshot Yale 23-3 in the half.
Greenhalgh opened the scoring on a feed from Fort, and sophomore Andrew Collins followed, scoring on Schalk’s assist. Freshman Justin Redd finished the quarter by firing a bullet by Yale keeper Eric Wenzel.
Collins scored two more to begin the second quarter, giving him a hat trick. Fort, Schalk, and sophomore Ben Spoonhower all scored unassisted goals to round out the Red’s offensive output.
The Elis scored twice in the third and fourth quarters while shutting Cornell down, but the final stood at 8-4, improving the Red’s win streak to five games.
“The momentum of this win streak has really allowed us to grow on and off the field as a team,” observed Tambroni.
Cornell held a decisive advantage in groundballs, scooping up 46 to the Bulldogs’ 32. Sophomore Tim Deblois had a game-high eight groundballs.
In the nets, Cynar stopped six shots while Wenzel recorded 12 saves.
The Red continues its season Saturday when it travels to Penn.
Archived article by Alex Fineman