Things Have Happened: Early Evening Lacrosse Updates

Let's get right to this.

• Cornell 9, Princeton 3: I'm not sure that things could have gone much better for Cornell in that first half. Connectedly, I'm don't think Princeton could have had a more vivid nightmare. The Red dominated the first 30 minutes of play (not necessarily in terms of possession generation or time of possession), looking like a crushing force of destruction sent from upstate New York to northern New Jersey to scare the hell out of Delaware. Rob Pannell ate faces without a moment of mitigation through the first two quarters of play, putting three goals on the board and assisting on three others. Cornell's offense, however, hasn't been Pannell-only today: Steve Mock has two goals on some nifty tallies, Matt Donovan has chipped in with two goals of his own, and two defensive-oriented players -- Thomas Keith and Tom Freshour -- have pitched in with an assist and a goal, respectively. Cornell is getting the majority of its offense from behind the cage (I honestly can't remember any offensive possessions in the first half where the Big Red really looked for some downfield dodging), triggering primarily with Rob Pannell from "X" and below goal-line extended and getting anything they want (1) in front of Eric Sanschagrin (who earned the nod over Matt O'Connor today) and (2) when they get above goal-line extended, where Pannell has made Sanschagrin look downright goofy. It's probably a combination of the Red firing on all cylinders, Princeton having trouble identifying Cornell's shooters and providing timely help, and Sanschagrin having issues seeing the ball, but as of right now, Cornell is sticking its boot directly on the Tigers' neck.
  CORNELL OFFENSIVE EFFICIENCY: 42.86
  PRINCETON OFFENSIVE EFFICIENCY: 14.29
  POSSESSION MARGIN: Even (21 each)
• Binghamton 9, UMBC 10: The Retrievers move to 3-2 in the America East, tied with Hartford on the table (the Hawks, though, own a head-to-head tiebreaker over UMBC); Binghamton, with the loss, drops to 1-4 in conference play and out of contention for the league's postseason barbecue and lacrosse tournament. The operative issue is now this: Hartford, UMBC, and Stony Brook could all finish with 3-2 conference records (subject to the Seawolves' game tonight against Albany) -- which program will draw the short straw and have to play the Great Danes next week?