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Cornell men’s lacrosse goalie Christian Knight, who missed his entire junior season two years ago due to injury, told The Sun this past April he hoped to retain his final year of eligibility and return to the program. On Tuesday morning, Cornell Athletics announced he was officially granted his fifth year of eligibility.
Last year, Knight was named All Ivy League honorable mention, his third season earning the honor. In 2016, the 6-foot-1, 200-pound goalie averaged 11.92 saves per game, 12th in the nation. His streak of six games with at least 10 saves was the longest by a Red netminder since 2000.
During his sophomore year, Knight led the league in in-conference goals against. With Knight’s steadfast presence in goal, Cornell won a share of the Ivy title that year but was blown out in the NCAA tournament, when Albany hung up 19 goals against the Red’s defense despite Knight’s career high 18 saves.
Knight helped Cornell to 11 wins and a share of the league crown in 2014. In that season, he was named Ivy League Rookie of the Year, and, in his collegiate debut as a starter, was instrumental in the Red’s upset of No. 2 Virginia.
Since Knight’s freshman and sophomore years, Cornell has struggled to maintain the same level of success. With Knight in cage last season, Cornell had its fewest regular season wins in 20 years, posting just five victories. The defense as a whole was ranked last in the league for goals against, and Knight finished last in save percentage, among qualified goalies.
Following the disastrous 2017 campaign, Matt Kerwick stepped down from his post as head coach and former associate head coach Peter Milliman was named the interim coach for the 2018 season. Hoping to spark a rejuvenation of the program, and with a familiar face with a winning pedigree between the pipes, Milliman may have gotten back a key piece of that turnaround.