Syracuse falls, Cornell rises
In case you missed it, top-ranked Syracuse was knocked from the dwindling club of undefeated teams Tuesday night by No. 9 Cornell, which secured an 11-6 victory at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse.
The Big Red (9-2) jumped out to leads of 3-0 and 6-1 and enjoyed a 7-2 advantage at halftime. The Orange (9-1) scored two goals to open the third quarter, but Cornell answered with three consecutive goals to put the game out of reach.
Junior attackman Rob Pannell further cemented his status as the front-runner for the Tewaaraton Award with a masterful performance: three goals, three assists and four ground balls. According to an in-game blog on Inside Lacrosse, senior defenseman Max Feely limited Syracuse sophomore attackman JoJo Marasco to a single assist, senior attackman Stephen Keogh did not score a goal on two shots, and sophomore defensemen Thomas Keith and Jason Noble finished with four caused turnovers each.
Depending on your perspective, the Orange either had this loss coming or couldn’t will itself to another tight victory. Syracuse had won its previous four games by a combined six goals.
In another harbinger, senior defenseman John Lade returned after injuring his left ankle in a 13-11 win against Duke on April 3, but left early in the first quarter and did not come back. And sophomore defenseman Brian Megill left before the fourth quarter and did not return.
The win further cements Cornell’s berth in the NCAA tournament. Even if the Big Red happens to fall in the Ivy League tournament, the team should get one of the at-large bids.
The Orange shouldn’t be worried either. But if Lade and Megill are out for an extended time, Syracuse’s defense could suddenly become an issue. Notre Dame (8-0) is now the only team with an unblemished record in Division I.
