The Chicagoland area hosted its first Division I lacrosse game this past Saturday, as the men’s lacrosse team traveled west to take on Notre Dame. The No. 8 Red spoiled the debut for the home team, however, battling to a 9-6 win over the N0. 12 Fighting Irish at the Benedictine University Sports Complex.
Senior captain Joe Boulukos gave Cornell (2-0) the lead, scoring a trio of goals. Junior David Mitchell – who head coach Jeff Tambroni said is just starting to scratch the surface of what he is capable of – followed up on an eight-goal explosion against Binghamton last weekend with two goals and an assist, while classmate Eric Pittard contributed two goals and one helper. Junior netminder Matt McMonagle made 12 stops in goal to preserve the win.
Brian Hubschmann provided most of the offensive ammunition for the Fighting Irish, connecting on two goals and handing out a pair of assists, while Pat Walsh added two goals of his own to round out the scoring for Notre Dame. Joey Kemp patrolled the net for the hosts, making 14 saves.
Cornell held a slight advantage in shots on goal, 42-37, and completed 17-of-24 clears. Notre Dame was successful on 13-of-17 clear attempts, but was unable to capitalize on any of its three extra-man opportunities, while the Red converted 1-of-3 man-advantage situations. The two teams matched each other in groundballs, with each side collecting 37. The Fighting Irish bullied the Red in the face-off circle, winning 13-of-17 showdowns.
“We were sloppy. I thought it was a sloppy game overall, I don’t think either team played their best,” Tambroni said.
This was Cornell’s first regular-season game against a ranked opponent, although the Red had faced Johns Hopkins in a preseason scrimmage. Tambroni thought that taking on the Blue Jays helped get the team ready for the high-stakes feeling of Saturday’s game.
“[Johns Hopkins] helped prepare us for that kind of atmosphere. We handled it okay, but not great.