On a sunny day in Princeton, New Jersey, men’s lacrosse came up with the biggest win of its season, one that will help the team toward its goals of the Ivy League and NCAA tournaments.
Princeton (5-2, 1-1 Ivy League) came into the game as one of the hottest teams in the country, being ranked as the No. 1 team in the country coming into the matchup, but Cornell (5-2, 2-0 Ivy League) was able to top the Tigers 13-11 on the road, backed by a strong defensive performance. This win marks Cornell's seventh win in a row over the Tigers, a wildly impressive streak over a team who has been a national contender in college lacrosse in recent years.
It was Princeton that struck first on a low-to-high shot that beat junior goalkeeper Matt Tully, but Cornell responded quickly with a transition goal from sophomore long stick midfielder Michael Marshall, who has given the Red a huge energy boost since he started seeing the field in the last few games.
Princeton struck again on the man-up, but Cornell responded with a four-goal run, capped off by a streak to the net by junior short stick defensive midfielder Luke Gilmartin right off of a faceoff. However, Princeton was able to fire back two late goals to bring the score to 5-4 after the first quarter.
Junior attackman Ryan Goldstein scored to open the second quarter on one of his patented dodges from behind the cage. Senior midfielder Griffin McGovern followed it up with his second collegiate goal.
Junior attackman Willem Firth then scored one of the goals of the season for Cornell, coming around the net with his defender right on him, shoulder faking the lefty shot and flicking the ball past the Princeton goalkeeper with a behind the back shot.
Willem Firth '27 celebrates a behind-the-back goal against Princeton.
Princeton rattled off two more to stay in the game. Princeton appeared to have the last shot of the half, but the ball ended up in Tully’s stick with eight seconds left. Somehow, the ball went from Tully, to senior long stick midfielder Walker Schwartz, to Goldstein in time for a tough angle buzzer beater, sending the Red into the break up 9-6.
But again, as Cornell appeared to be pulling away, Princeton mounted another batch of two goals to come within one. Senior midfielder Brian Luzzi squeezed a goal through on a solo dodge, followed by the Princeton defense getting carried away following Goldstein’s dodge, leaving sophomore midfielder Luke Robinson alone on the crease for a goal.
Firth scored on a skipping shot, but once more, with Cornell in a good position, the Tigers fired back two goals in the last minute of the quarter to stay in the game.
While the Cornell defense may be disappointed in its late quarter play, the Red came up with six straight stops on a potent Princeton offense to start the fourth quarter. This left under four minutes on the clock as an unsettled situation after a Tully save found its way to Goldstein, who was left alone with the goalie and scored to increase the Cornell lead to three.
Princeton won the ensuing faceoff, but Tully came up with another save, allowing the Red to take 90 seconds off the clock. Princeton continued to battle, scoring with 1:14 to go and winning the next faceoff to stay alive. A strong stand from the Cornell defense prevented Princeton from getting a shot on goal, concluding the game with a 13-11 Cornell victory.
The Red celebrates a huge win over Princeton.
The Cornell offense was balanced but, as usual, Firth and Goldstein led the way with five and four points, respectively. Senior attackman Matt Perfetto continues to stack solid performances, as he posted three points on the day.
The Cornell defense was fantastic, forcing mostly outside shots from Princeton. Tully had a great game, saving 15 of 26 shots on goal for a 58% save percentage.
At faceoff, Cornell was again without senior Jack Cascadden. In contrast to the depth that was used last week, sophomore Michael Melkonian took all but one faceoff. Melkonian held his own, winning 11 of 26 faceoffs, but the absence of Cascadden is notable. His size and ability to win clean faceoffs is not seen in the rest of the Cornell faceoffs. His ability to wear down opponents over the course of the game and be dominant down the stretch is still missing.
Next, Cornell will return home to face Yale (3-4, 0-2 Ivy League). The Red and the Bulldogs will face off at Schoellkopf Field at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday. Coverage will be available on ESPN+.
