Previewing Cornell’s 2020 men’s college lacrosse schedule

The Cornell Big Red are the 34th team in our 2020 men’s college lacrosse schedule preview series and the fourth team from the Ivy League. Cornell finished 10-5 overall in 2019 and 4-2 in Ivy League play. The Big Red fell to Yale in the Ivy League semifinals and just missed the NCAA Tournament as the first team out.

Here’s their entire 2020 schedule:

Who’s In?

• High Point Panthers (2/23)
• Ohio State Buckeyes (3/1)
• Colgate Raiders (3/24)

Who’s Out?

• Lehigh Mountain Hawks (14-9 W)
• St. Bonaventure Bonnies (18-3 W)
• Notre Dame Fighting Irish (11-9 W)

Circle These Dates

• 2/21 vs. Towson: It appears that Cornell will have one of the toughest nonconference schedules in the country. With opponents such as Towson, Ohio State, and Penn State within a span of 30 days, those games will also be away from Ithaca. The Tigers were the top team in the country when they played the Big Red last season in Charlotte, but Cornell scored an 18-11 win thanks to a nine-goal second quarter.
• 3/1 at Ohio State: Along with Cornell, Ohio State was a team that was on the outside of the NCAA Tournament when May came. The Buckeyes failed to qualify for the NCAA Tournament after starting the season 7-0 before they went 1-4 in Big Ten play. Both of these teams are easily capable of reaching the NCAA Tournament with the talent and strength of schedule they have. If a similar situation comes up in April, this game could give the winning team the edge for making the tourney over the other.
• 3/8 vs. Penn State (at The Crown Lacrosse Classic): The two teams met in the same event last year in Charlotte, which saw the Nittany Lions take a high-scoring 19-13 win. Penn State scored nine times in the opening quarter and chased starting netminder Caelahn Bullen in favor of eventual starter Chayse Ierlan. Their offense was on fire with Grant Ament recording nine assists, Mac O’Keefe scoring six times, and a pair of four-goal scorers in Nick Spillane and Dylan Foulds. The entire attack and the majority of their midfield returns to Happy Valley, so defense will be paramount for the Big Red.
• 3/14 vs. Yale: Cornell’s first home game comes just under a month after opening their season. And it’s against a national champion contender in the Bulldogs. Yale defeated Cornell twice last season by five goals, the second coming in the Ivy League semifinals at Columbia. TD Ierlan and Matt Brandau were tough to stop for Yale, even with Jeff Teat leading the offense. His five goals in the Ivy League Tournament weren’t enough in the end.
• 3/21 at Penn: This ends a brutal stretch of games where the Big Red face six teams in the RPI top 20 a season ago and three straight top five RPI opponents. Cornell led for the majority of their meeting back in late March, but the Quakers went on a 4-0 run in the final quarter to switch momentum before Adam Goldner won the game with 17 seconds left.
• 4/25 at Princeton: Don’t sleep on the season finale for the Big Red. For the previous handful of seasons, this game has been pretty close and competitive, including last year’s one-goal Cornell win. The Tigers will look to reach the Ivy League Tournament for the first time since 2017, Michael Sowers’ freshman season.