In a close matchup with home-turf advantage, the Cornell men’s lacrosse team fell, 10-9, to the Princeton Tigers in overtime during the championship game of the first-ever Ivy League tournament this afternoon.
The Red started the game on the right foot thanks to its senior attackmen and co-captains, as within the first minute Pierce Derkac picked up a groundball and Ryan Hurley scored a goal. Cornell’s domination of the scoreboard continued for the first 30 minutes of play, as the Red went into the locker room at halftime with a 6-2 lead.
However, during the third quarter Princeton was able to rally; while the Tigers had been leading in shots on goal, they eventually became more successful in capitalizing on opportunities, ending the third period down by only two.
By the halfway mark in the final quarter, Princeton was ahead, 9-8. However, with 2:51 remaining in regulation, sophomore midfielder Roy Lang managed to tie things up.
Overtime featured solid play from both teams for four minutes, as neither team was able to gain the edge until the clock read :01, at which point Princeton scored. Today’s loss continued the trend of Cornell losing in the final seconds of play, as witnessed in the NCAA championship game last year against Syracuse in OT, and then again versus the Orange on April 23 at home.
Princeton outshot Cornell, 47-40, and with the upset earned an automatic berth to the 2010 NCAA tournament. The selection show for the other teams will take place tonight at 8:30 p.m.
Original Author: Sun Staff