With just two games left in the regular season, men’s lacrosse remains at the top of the polls. Though it’s looking good for the Red’s postseason prospects, there’s no time to sit back and relax.
This Saturday, Cornell (10-1, 4-0 Ivy) travels to Cambridge, Massachusetts to play No. 10 Harvard (9-2, 3-1 Ivy), a powerhouse in its own right. The Crimson’s only loss in the Ivy League this season came against No. 2 Princeton on March 22, and since then Harvard has taken four straight games, all by a margin of at least five goals.
The offensive trio of Sam King, Jack Speidell and Teddy Malone have all contributed over 40 points to the Crimson’s attack this season and are a force to be reckoned with.
“[Harvard has a] great offense,” said head coach Connor Buczek ’15 MBA ’17. “They score goals in bunches. It’s always hard to play a great team on the road. We know we’re going to get their best, and we have to show up prepared and execute at a high level in order to get a win.”
The Red is coming off an electric victory against then-No. 4 Syracuse. Recent games against Syracuse, UAlbany and Penn saw Cornell pull ahead in the first quarter, and Harvard has also benefited from the same early lead.
Cornell tops the list of most productive offenses, averaging 16 goals per game. Harvard, however, is not far behind, tied for second with 15.
“[The game against Syracuse] was one of our most complete efforts to date,” Buczek said. “That’s the goal, is to keep getting better.”
The battle for possession begins at the X, and the Red has a gem in junior faceoff Jack Cascadden. Cascadden now boasts a 58.9 percent faceoff percentage, a statistic bolstered by 68.2 and 51.6 percent performances against Brown and Syracuse, respectively.
In contrast, Harvard faceoff Jackson Henehan has a 43.7 percent success rate, while Matt Barraco has taken 45 percent over half the number of faceoffs. Both players had a good day against Penn last Saturday, however, with Henehan going 6-9 and Barraco taking 7-12.
Though Henehan has taken more faceoffs for the Crimson this season, the first-year has been yielding to junior Barraco in recent games.
With its dominant offense – senior attackman CJ Kirst six goals away from holding the NCAA record for highest career scorer – Cornell has depended upon success at the net over defensive prowess. It managed to hold Syracuse, also a team powerful on the attack, to 12 goals, and another solid performance from senior goalkeeper Wyatt Knust may be needed to keep the Crimson at bay.
“We’re trusting the guys on [the] ball,” Buczek said. “Wyatt [Knust] has given [the defense] a lot of confidence. Overall, I’ve been proud of the growth of that unit and where they’re heading.”
The teams face off at noon this Saturday in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Live coverage will be provided by ESPN+.
Alexis Rogers is the sports editor on the 143rd editorial board. She is in the Class of 2028 in the College of Arts & Sciences, and she can be reached at arogers@cornellsun.com.
