In 2025, Cornell played the University of Albany twice, handling them with ease each time. This season, a very different looking Cornell team, one that lost 16 seniors, needed a last minute goal to fend off the Great Danes.
No. 4 Cornell came out against Albany with juniors Ryan Goldstein and Willem Firth joined by senior Matt Perfetto on attack. Junior Ike Lohnes won the battle for the final spot on defense, playing alongside seniors Matt Dooley and Brendan Staub. Junior Matt Tully was between the pipes for Cornell.
With each team playing the first game of their season and poor weather conditions, the game started with a few turnovers before Albany finally opened the scoring. The Great Danes then quickly sprung out to a 4-3 lead, scoring on their first four shots of the game, with the teams alternating goals in the first quarter. Two of Cornell’s goals was the first of a career, with senior midfielder Bowie Horsman and junior midfielder Jaden Ciappara getting on the scoresheet.
Albany scored again to start the second quarter after Tully tried to clear the ball himself, avoiding a couple of checks but getting stripped of the ball on the third. Firth answered after beating an Albany short-stick defensive midfielder and getting the shot off before a slide could arrive.
With Albany in possession, Dooley did well to tie up Albany’s Jackson Palumb and take away the strong hand. However, Palumb fired a behind the back shot over his right shoulder that found the top corner of the net, to put Albany in a 6-4 lead.
Firth then won another one-on-one matchup by faking a pass before rocketing a low to high shot around his defender. Cornell earned a man-up opportunity on the next possession, but could not convert with sophomore midfielder Luke Robinson slapshotting a loose ball toward an open Albany net, but hitting the crossbar.
Senior midfielder Brian Luzzi scored with 1:45 to go in the second quarter, and halftime came with the game tied at 6-6.
Cornell took its first lead of the game to open the second half, but was answered after Albany cashed in a man-up opportunity stemming from a seemingly clean hit from Dooley. Junior midfielder Ryan Waldman put the Red back on top 8-7 before the end of the third quarter.
A stepdown shot from Staub’s pole gave Cornell its first multi-goal lead of the game, but Palumb fired back for Albany for his fourth goal of the game.
Senior faceoff Jack Cascadden won the ensuing faceoff, his third straight, leading to a Goldstein wrap-around goal. But, once again, Albany fired back, scoring two straight goals to tie the game with two and a half minutes to go.
Cascadden won a big faceoff to earn an extra possession for the Red, but the Cornell shot was saved, and Albany secured what appeared to be the last possession of the game. But, the Cornell ride forced a turnover.
This time, Cornell did not wait to run down the shot clock, and Firth yet again won his matchup and tucked home a shot to put Cornell up 11-10 with 37 seconds remaining.
Cascadden initially won the faceoff, but a Cornell turnover gave the ball back to Albany, who had a chance to run a set play out of a timeout with 20 seconds to go. Staub played great on ball defense, forcing a tough shot from Albany, and Tully was up to the task, making the save and rocketing the ball down the field to secure the win.
The Cornell offense was not particularly impressive in the season opener. The Red had a costly 22 turnovers compared to Albany’s 13. Many of the Red’s turnovers was due to the offense being unable to create shots early in the possession, forcing bad passes with the shot clock winding down.
With Perfetto winning the final spot, Cornell does not have a player above the height of 5-foot-10, and the Cornell offense seemed as if it could have used more size and power to break through the Albany defense.
Cornell had a balanced offense, with Firth leading the way with three goals and Goldstein posting two goals and three assists.
Robinson, Waldman and Luzzi worked as the first midfield line. Horsman, Ciaparra and freshman Seamus Riordan were the second line. Although head coach Connor Buczek ’15 MBA ’17 said that junior midfielder AJ Nikolic was expected to step into a bigger role this year, the junior who has struggled with injuries during his career was not dressed for the game.
Cascadden played a fantastic game for the Red, winning 16 of 23 faceoffs for a 70% win percentage, many of the wins coming at huge moments.
On the defensive side, the Red looked good, with Staub taking the lead by holding Albany’s top attackman to no goals. Tully struggled in the first quarter, but settled into the game and made numerous big saves in the second half. Senior midfielder Charlie Box and junior midfielder Luke Gilmartin played well in big minutes for the Red at short-stick defensive midfield.
The Red will now prepare for a cross-country flight as it faces Denver at 2 p.m. on Saturday. Coverage will be available on ESPN+.
