College Crosse Roundup: Cornell beats Syracuse; Loyola takes care of Georgetown

We waited two months for this game and really started hyping it up for the past month. It has come and gone, and we can safely evaluate the college lacrosse landscape.

Game Recaps

Cornell 13, Syracuse 8: The Big Red defeated the Orange with some offense, but they thrived on defense in this annual meeting. Cornell shutout Syracuse for a span of 22:22 from the end of the first quarter until Nate Solomon’s third quarter tally. That would be the only goal the Orange would score in the second and third quarters, as the offense looked eerily similar to that from earlier in the season. It was a very stingy defense that was backstopped by Caelahn Bullen and his 14 saves. The freshman started in place of Christian Knight.

Another key to the Big Red’s success were ground balls. Cornell beat Syracuse in that category 43-30 and FOGO Paul Rasimowicz went 13-of-25 from the face-off X.

As for the Big Red offense, Jeff Teat still managed two goals and four assists despite being matched up with Nick Mellen, who finished with three ground balls and three caused turnovers. Midfielder Jonathan Donville also recorded two goals and three assists. Syracuse was led by Stephen Rehfuss and his goal and three assists, and freshman midfielder David Lipka scored two goals in the fourth quarter. Rehfuss’ only goal was a pretty good one:

Cuse hosts North Carolina in their ACC regular season finale, while Cornell is at Lehigh.

Loyola 11, Georgetown 8: The Greyhounds used two separate 4-0 runs in each half en route to a three-goal win over the Hoyas. Georgetown found themselves still in it in the third, thanks to goals from Daniel Bucaro and Austin McDonald. But the Greyhounds used their second 4-0 run to pull away from their I-95 rivals.

Pat Spencer had two goals and five assists in the win, and set the all-time Patriot League assists record with his first dish of the day. He also had this nice assist:

Jay Drapeau tied a career-high with four goals. Bucaro finished with a pair of goals and three assists in the loss.

Loyola hosts BU on Saturday, while Georgetown is at Villanova in conference play.

Robert Morris 11, Canisius 9: Down 4-1 after the first quarter and 5-4 at halftime, the Colonials managed to make a small comeback and beat the Griffins by two. The game was tied at nine with 5:07 left before James Scane scored the eventual game-winner with 2:10 left in the game.

Jimmy Perkins led the way for Robert Morris with three goals and an assist on offense, and Alex Heger registered 11 saves. Carter Stefaniak recorded a hat-trick for Canisius, and Mathieu Boissonneault. Liam Ganzhorn stopped 13 shots for the Golden Griffins.

The Colonials host Cleveland State, while Canisius is at Quinnipiac.

UMass Lowell 9, Dartmouth 8 (2OT): The River Hawks got out to a 4-2 first quarter lead. But the Big Green scored three goals in 5:08 to tie the game up at eight in the fourth quarter. That’s when Sean Tyrrell gave UMass Lowell the grueling win in double overtime on his lone goal of the night.

Midfielder Sam Klingsporn scored a hat-trick for UMass Lowell and Will Puduski recorded four caused turnovers. Hunter Braun stopped 17 shots in the long game. Richie Loftus, Jack Korzelius, and Matt Paul scored pairs of goals in the loss.

UMass Lowell host Hartford, while Dartmouth takes on Princeton.

Princeton 17, Siena 11: Speaking of Princeton, they got the job done thanks to a 12-0 run from late in the first quarter to midway through the third. Phillip Robertson recorded five of his seven goals during that stretch. Michael Sowers scored three times but also dished out five assists, and goaltender Tyler Blaisdell stood tall with 16 saves.

The Tigers are at Dartmouth, while the Saints are off until next Friday when they play Detroit Mercy.

Three Stars

⭐️⭐️⭐️: Pat Spencer, A, Loyola - The junior did his job and set the Patriot League’s all-time assist record AS A JUNIOR. He’s not getting a ton of attention this season, but he’s quietly putting up more monster numbers with 25 goals and 40 assists.

⭐️⭐️: Jeff Teat, A, Cornell - It wasn’t 12 points like he had on Saturday, but it was half of that. Despite being matched up against Nick Mellen and the Orange throwing everything they had on him, the stud sophomore still created terrific scoring chances and offense, including a bullet in the fourth quarter. Time. Room. Bullseye:

⭐: Michael Sowers, A, Princeton - Robertson did plenty of the finishing with seven goals, but Sowers edged him by a point thanks to his terrific ability to be a feeder as well as a finisher. Siena’s not the toughest of competition, but it was another game to showcase his skills.