Cornell defeated Yale 11-7 on Friday evening, in the semifinal round of the Ivy League Tournament.  Taking the field shortly after Harvard defeated Penn in the first semifinal match, the Bulldogs presented an immediate challenge.

For the second week in a row, the Big Red fell into a quick deficit.  While freshman Mike O’Neil scored the first goal of the game for Cornell, Yale then went on a 4-0 run.  The opponent’s dominant first quarter was reminiscent of Cornell’s game versus Princeton last week.  Unlike then, however, Head Coach Ben DeLuca opted to keep goaltender AJ Fiore in the game.  Fiore and his defense bounced back quickly, not allowing another goal for 29 minutes.  DeLuca praised his senior class for leading the young team to two straight come from behind victories with “level heads”.

The Big Red proved once again that it has the offensive prowess to recover from such a deficit.  O’Neil scored two more goals to earn a career high three.  Midfielder Roy Lang called those goals “the biggest goals of the game, just to keep us in there.  So proud of him.”  Lang and Steve Mock contributed three goals each, with Lang notching a fourth point on an assist.  Co-captain Rob Pannell, whom Yale Head Coach Andy Shay called the best collegiate lacrosse player he had seen in a long time, tallied five points off four assists and one goal.  Pannell was recently named the Ivy League Player of the Year for the second straight year.

The game was not nearly as close as the four-point margin of victory implied.  While the offense earned the Big Red a comfortable lead, the defense shined.  Behind Fiore and senior Max Feely, the defense let in only three goals in the last 47 minutes of play, which included three man-down situations.

“Going into that second quarter it’s 0-0, so you know you try and improve,” Fiore said of his short-term memory mindset when it was time to bounce back.  He praised his defense for a “phenomenal” effort from that point forward, later citing the improved communication among the unit as a key reason for success.

“The team defense they play is just unbelievable,” Pannell said.  “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a team knock so many passes down.”

While the defense and offense thrived, one part of Cornell’s game continued to struggle.  Yale outmatched Cornell’s faceoff division every quarter, taking 16 for 22 faceoffs total.

Making up for its losses in the faceoff column, Cornell forced 24 turnovers, an area of success Deluca called a “last resort” to initially giving the ball up in the center.

Focused now on Sunday’s matchup versus Harvard, DeLuca knows the Crimson’s athleticism presents a challenge.  In their previous meeting this year, Cornell came out with a very close win.  “I don’t think anyone on our team was excited about the performance we had last time,” Deluca said.  “We weren’t very happy with the way we executed our game plan.  I think we’re just happy to have another game at home, regardless of the opponent, and a chance to compete here on Schoellkopf Field”