FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- What happens when the best offense in the country meets one of the best defenses?
In Saturday’s NCAA Tournament Semifinal between No. 1 Cornell and No. 5 Penn State, the answer was stalemate.
After a first quarter that remained 0-0 until the final 10 seconds, the score was tied up five times before the Red (17-1, 6-0 Ivy) was able to pull ahead of the Nittany Lions (12-5, 3-2 Big 10). Cornell fended off a late Penn State attempt to come back and advanced to the NCAA Championship with a 11-9 victory.
Pulling off a win against the only team that bested Cornell in the regular season was the ideal sendoff for the final dance.
“We left some plays on the table, and [the loss to Penn State] stung as bad as anything I’ve been a part of in a long time,” said head coach Connor Buzcek ’15 MBA ’17. “There’s two options after that point: you can let that degrade your spirit, or you can let it motivate you to move forward. I think this group has taken that the right way.”
Following the initial faceoff, play continued without a goal, penalty or timeout for almost 13 consecutive minutes until senior midfielder Christopher Davis received a penalty. The Red defended the man-up opportunity and held onto possession, allowing sophomore attackman Willem Firth to score the first goal of the match with 10 seconds remaining in the opening quarter.
Senior goalkeeper Wyatt Knust logged six saves to hand the Nittany Lions their only scoreless first quarter of the season.
“We started the game playing our game,” said senior attackman CJ Kirst. “Though it might not show on the scoreboard, we were trusting each other, playing within the system. We knew every time we got in the huddle that we were playing our game, we were comfortable and our defense was doing a good job holding them down.”
The game settled into a more familiar pace, as Penn State found a response early in the second quarter and capitalized again to pull ahead, 2-1. Junior faceoff Jack Cascadden took the following faceoff and made a solo run to the goal, bringing his season scoring total to a career-high 10.
The Nittany Lions fired two unanswered before senior attackman Michael Long and senior midfielder Hugh Kelleher returned the blow for the Red. Kelleher’s goal brought him to 25 on the season, a career high.
Penn State’s Matt Traynor scored his first of the game to put the Nittany Lions up 5-4 before halftime.
“We felt pretty comfortable [at halftime],” Knust said. “Being down by one, there’s a lot of game left. We trust each other and believe in each other. Everyone had that look in their eye that we’re gonna get it done.”
The second half began with two rapid-fire turnovers that landed junior defenseman Brendan Staub in scoring position, allowing the Red to tie the game. Liam Matthews finished a hat trick for the Nittany Lions before Kelleher scored again to keep it even.
Cornell finally began one of its signature scoring runs, as sophomore attackman Ryan Waldman gave the Red its first lead of the game during a series of five unanswered goals scored by five different players. The final quarter began with Cornell up 10-6.
“The toughness, the resilience, that’s something we can hang our hat on,” Buczek said. “That’s Cornell lacrosse, and I’m really proud of the way they’re displaying that.”
Penn State broke the Red’s run with 13 minutes to go, scoring three consecutive goals as rain began to pour heavily. Kelleher completed a hat trick, his third in the last four games, and Cornell stayed ahead 11-9.
“[Long] made a great play and found me on the backside, I had a bit of space and was able to put the ball in the back of the net,” Kelleher said. “All the credit goes to everyone on the field, especially CJ, Mikey [Long] and [Goldstein], they do a great job of drawing all that attention and creating opportunities for all of the other guys to make plays.”
Sophomore midfielder Luke Gilmartin caused a turnover with 1:45 left on the clock, giving the Red a valuable last-minute possession. Unlike March 8, when an ill-timed nonreleasable penalty allowed Penn State to come back from a deficit in the final moments, Cornell managed to run out the remaining time and secure the 11-9 victory.
Alex Ross and the rest of Penn State’s defensive squad shut down Kirst masterfully, giving the NCAA single-season goals record-holder and Tewaaraton Trophy finalist his first scoreless game of the year. Goalkeeper Jack Fracyon also contributed heavily to the Nittany Lions’ defensive effort, saving eight of 19 shots on goal.
Knust vastly improved from a 29.4% save percentage in the quarterfinal against Richmond, saving nine goals and allowing nine.
“It was good to get the first couple [saves] coming off a tough game last week,” Knust said. “I wanted to make an impact early in the game, but that doesn’t come from pressing and trying too hard to save the ball. I felt relaxed.”
Cascadden won 15 of 23 faceoffs for another definitive performance at the X.
All eyes now turn to Monday’s final, where the Red will take on No. 2 Maryland, which won it's own semifinal against No. 6 Syracuse. The game begins at 1 p.m. and will be streamed live on ESPN.
Cornell hasn’t won a national title since 1976. It last reached the championship game in 2022, when it fell to Maryland, and its next most recent runner-up finish was in 2009 against Syracuse.
“We’re gonna enjoy the time together that we have,” Knust said. “Not really focus on what’s going on right now, but focus on each other. Focus on getting our bodies right. We’re gonna do what we can, have a great practice tomorrow and then get dialed in.”
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.
