The Men’s Lacrosse team handed Harvard another defeat on Sunday, in the final game of the Ivy League Tournament held at Schoellkopf Field.  The dominant, 15-6 victory cemented the Big Red’s appearance in the NCAA tournament.

The game started unusually slow Cornell, one of the most powerful offenses in the country.  The Big Red and the Crimson were tied at 2-2 for almost ten minutes before a Harvard penalty changed the game.  Kevin Vaughan was charged with an illegal equipment violation when the referees examined his stick after an unusual play.   Cornell scored three goals during this three-minute penalty, and never looked back.

For the second game in a row, the defense played an outstanding game, letting in only three goals in the entire second half.   Goaltender AJ Fiore contributed eight saves to the effort.

The Big Red’s offense was once again explosive in Sunday’s victory.  Steve Mock led all scoring with five goals.  Rob Pannell tallied two goals and three assists, and David Lau contributed two goals and two assists.  In total, eight different Cornellians scored, with two others notching points with assists.

Cornell shined in several notable stats in addition to the scoring column.  They out-shot Harvard 54 to 31, forced 20 turnovers, and picked up 48 ground balls.  A particularly important statistic was the faceoff unit going 15-23.  In Friday’s game against Yale, the Bulldogs dominated that area of the game.  Head Coach Ben DeLuca stressed the importance of winning the ball at centerfield to help the offense and control the momentum of the game.

Having already won the Ivy League title earlier in the season, this tournament title helped Cornell improved to 8-0 in the Ivy League and continue and now 10-game winning streak.

Rob Pannell was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player, and joined his teammates Steve Mock, David Lau, Roy Lang, Mike Bronzino, Jason Noble, Max Feely and AJ Fiore on the 2011 Ivy League All-Tournament Team.

The Big Red will wait until Sunday night’s selection show to see which seed they earned in the NCAA tournament, whom their first opponent will be, and where they will play.