The Undisputed No. 1

Cornell remains final unbeaten team in nation after win over Princeton

April 21, 2007

By Zach Berman

Special to CSTV.com

ITHACA, N.Y. - When Cornell returned from the Pumpkin Stickout in Syracuse, N.Y., seven months ago, the Big Red was concerned.

No official scores were kept, but Cornell played Syracuse, Le Moyne and Hobart, and came back to the Ithaca campus desolate. The team felt it didn't play well and imagined a long spring ahead.

Now well into that spring, Cornell is 11-0, No. 1 in the nation, the final unbeaten team in college lacrosse and about to dethrone Princeton from the Ivy League's pedestal. The Big Red won a share of the Ivy League title and an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament on Saturday when it knocked off No. 5 Princeton, 10-6, in front of 10,721 at Schoellkopf Field.

Cornell (11-0, 5-0) is firmly on the top after No. 2 Albany suffered its first loss of the season on Friday against Syracuse. That means there's no dispute about the No. 1 team, and as the weeks continue, the pressure will continue to mount.

It's a situation the Big Red didn't expect to be in after the Pumpkin Stickout, which served as an impetus for this season's success.

"It instilled an impression on our minds just knowing if we don't play together and play for each other, we're very vulnerable," Cornell goalie Matt McMonagle said. "We know by any stretch we're not invincible."

Even if they know it, they don't show it. Cornell was able to adjust to Princeton's slow-down, possession-oriented style on Saturday, effectively beating Princeton (8-3, 3-1) at its own game.

The game was supposed to be about Cornell's offense - the best in the nation with 14.9 goals per game - and Princeton's defense, the best in the nation by allowing only 5.5 goals per game.

One team had to give.

As it turned out, Cornell proved its versatility by adapting to the Tigers. After scoring four first-quarter goals, the Big Red locked down and focused on stopping Princeton by playing a style that has won Princeton six national titles and made it the Ivy League's elite team. That was especially the case in the fourth quarter, when Cornell neglected to even think about scoring goals. Instead, it made sure to stop them.

"Once it got to seven or eight minutes, we totally changed the way we wanted to play offensively," Cornell head coach Jeff Tambroni said. "We just wanted possessions, to hold the ball on the offensive end. It was due to the respect we have for Princeton, but also maybe the mismanagement by me in that Syracuse game, and the way we played in the last six or seven minutes in that one."

Tambroni was referencing Cornell's 16-15 win over Syracuse on April 9, a game that shouldn't have been a one-goal game. Cornell was winning, 15-12, late in the fourth quarter but continued playing its fast-paced, high-scoring offense that gave the Big Red the lead in the first place. In theory, it was a good idea.

The problem was Cornell played right into SU's hands. The Orange took the quick change of possessions and scored three goals in the final four minutes to tie the game. Cornell needed a game-winner with four seconds remaining to escape the Carrier Dome alive.

Tambroni recognized what happened and wouldn't let the same occur against Princeton. But the reason why Cornell was even in the situation was because it played with sound offense early in the game. Midfielder John Glynn scored two of his game-high three goals in the first quarter. Attackman Eric Pittard added a goal and two assists.

Despite the scoring, Cornell didn't play as aggressively as it has this season. It attempted just 29 shots, compared to Princeton's 45 shots. The Big Red entered the game averaging 45.5 shots per game.

"The last couple of games, we took like 100-something shots," Tambroni said. "We knew we didn't want to take that many shots. We just wanted to take great shots and I thought we shot the ball with a good angle."

They were focused on taking good shots instead of a high volume of shots because the Tigers' goalie is first-team All-American Alex Hewit. Tambroni said Hewit got in Cornell's head the last time the two teams met. On Saturday, Hewit recorded 10 saves.

While Hewit's statistics were solid, the Princeton goalie was outplayed by McMonagle. Even though Hewit is often mentioned as the top goalie in the nation, McMonagle has been making it a good argument this season. The senior had 19 saves on Saturday and entered the game allowing just 6.58 goals per game. He did even better than that against the Tigers.

"(Hewit's) a great goalie," Glynn said, "but I feel like we go against the best in practice everyday."

McMonagle refused to even acknowledge any possible motivation in playing against Hewit.

"I don't think I've ever taken a shot in my career and he didn't take any shots today," McMonagle said. "One-on-one, we're not going at it at all. It's our offense vs. their defense and their offense vs. our defense."

In that case, Cornell had the advantage. That's the way it's been all season - except for the fall, in the Pumpkin Stickout. But October is long behind the Big Red. Ahead is more attention and more pressure, as Cornell is the undisputed favorite to make a trip to Baltimore on Memorial Day weekend.

"With the end of the season coming down, people talking about playoffs and Ivy League championship on the line, the attention continues to grow and pressure continues to grow," Tambroni said. "But these guy fend it off and keep it straight and narrow and prepare like we're 0-11."