Recapping the Ivy League men’s lacrosse tournament
It’s been quite a busy last few months on East Hill when it comes to postseason play. Back in March, Cornell hosted the Ivy League men’s and women’s basketball tournaments for the first time while men’s hockey simultaneously battled Harvard in the ECAC quarterfinals. Although there weren’t quite as many games this past weekend, there was still some championship lacrosse to be played at Schoellkopf Field.
For the third straight year, Cornell earned hosting rights for the Ivy League men’s lacrosse tournament as it three-peated as regular season champions. The Big Red clinched top spot following last Saturday’s 11-9 win against Harvard. It just so happened that it would face off against the rival Crimson just six days later for the semifinals. Unlike the first matchup, the second go-around was total domination for the home side.
The fourth-seeded Crimson would strike first, but the top-seeded Big Red answered back with five unanswered goals, and that lead would not be relinquished as it would coast to a 17-8 win. Big-time matchups call for big-time players, and there were quite a few standouts who used their national championship DNA to power the Big Red to victory. There was Willem Firth, who dazzled in attack with six goals and two assists. Then there was his partner-in-crime and fellow junior Ryan Goldstein, who tallied two goals and four assists. And then there was Jack Cascadden with a workman-like performance at the faceoff X, winning 18 of his 24 duels. The win also showcased their tremendous depth as 10 different players got on the scoresheet, something that is paramount to postseason success.
The rain held off for that first semifinal, but the same couldn’t be said for the following matchup between #2 Princeton and #3 Yale. There seemed to be a mini-upset brewing as the Bulldogs jumped out to a 6-2 lead early in the second quarter. But the Tigers, ranked second in the nation, scored the final three goals of the half to head into the locker room with momentum despite being down. That momentum certainly carried over into the second half as they scored three more goals to take a 9-6 lead. The Bulldogs bit back with a pair of strikes, but the Tigers fended them off to secure a championship rematch against the Big Red.
In terms of the history between Cornell and Princeton, the Big Red had the upper hand having beaten Princeton in last year’s final 15-10 and during this regular season 13-11 on the road. Cornell had also won its last seven meetings against Princeton. But apparently eighth time’s the charm for the Tigers.
Princeton pounced out to the 3-0 advantage only for Cornell to respond with two goals. The second quarter was much of the same with the Tigers netting the first three goals only for the Big Red to respond by scoring three of the next four goals to make it a 7-5 game entering the halftime break.
Time and time again this season, Cornell has been able to bounce back from slow starts to ultimately prevail. But Princeton made sure that late-half momentum would be no more. The Tigers rattled off an astonishing 9-0 run to put them up double digits and put the game out of reach. The Big Red would only get as close as eight goals as the Tigers came out on top 19-9 to recapture the Ancient Eight crown.
Head coach Connor Buczek said after the game that there was a lot to learn from such a tough result. Luckily for his team, the season goes on. Although its Ivy League tournament title defense did not go to plan, it still has a NCAA title to defend. Cornell’s journey in the tourney begins at home on May 9 against Johns Hopkins. To add some more spice to the matchup, the Blue Jays are led by Cornell’s former head coach Peter Milliman.
SUNY Cortland lacrosse achieves SUNYAC double
Every year, the expectation for virtually every team at SUNY Cortland is to win a conference championship. Both lacrosse teams took those standards to heart as they each capped off dominant SUNYAC campaigns.
The word “dominant” might be putting it lightly for the men’s team. During the regular season, the Red Dragons won all seven of their conference contests by an average score of 26-6. They scored 34 goals twice (against Canton and Morrisville) and allowed no more than eight goals. You would think that the postseason would prove to be a bit more of a challenge, but you would be wrong.
In the semifinals against Plattsburgh, the Red Dragons absolutely obliterated the Cardinals 36-3. They set a program record in the process of the most goals scored in a single game. That tally also shattered the conference tournament record for goals, which was previously 25. In fact, Cortland scored 25 goals in the first half alone. Insanity. Just insanity.
The championship game against Oneonta was at least more competitive. And yet, Cortland still won by double-digit goals, toppling their fellow Red Dragons 18-7 to repeat as SUNYAC champions. It was a record-breaking performance for Stefan Swedlund, as the junior set the school record for most goals in a single season with 60. It was also a standout weekend for Nicky Miltenberger, being named Tournament MVP after winning 32 of his 36 faceoffs.
Cortland will host Western New England on Wednesday (May 9) in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
The women’s team had to face some adversity during the regular season. The Red Dragons dropped only one game in conference play, falling 12-11 to Oswego in the finale. That meant the Lakers were the hosts of the tournament, and the Red Dragons made sure to do everything in their power to earn a second shot at them.
New Paltz offered little resistance to Cortland’s crusade as the Red Dragons routed the Hawks 15-2 in the semifinals powered by a 13-0 run from late in the first quarter to the middle of the fourth quarter. That set up a date against the Lakers in the championship, where the Red Dragons used another big run to shut the door down. Tied at 3-3 midway through the second quarter, Cortland scored six unanswered goals between then and the start of the fourth quarter. The Red Dragons ended up winning 9-4 to ensure a happy bus ride home with the SUNYAC title back in hand. Junior attacker Ashley Melillo earned Tournament MVP after tallying five goals and four assists across both games.
The Red Dragons will face Colby College on May 9 for their first round matchup.
Sabres secure playoff series in Boston
Any time a New York sports team beats a Boston sports team, it’s always a reason to celebrate in my mind. Having grown up in New England, I’ve experienced firsthand the bragging and boasting from my many Boston sports fan friends witnessing every single one of their teams win a championship. While I’m not a Sabres fan, I can’t imagine how sweet it must have felt to take down the Bruins on their own home ice.
In fairness, Buffalo would have rejoiced if they had won a playoff series against any team. After all, the last time that happened was in 2007 when “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End” was the highest-grossing movie and Beyonce’s “Irreplacable” was the best-performing single. Suffice to say, it’s been a while.
Entering this week, Buffalo held a commanding 3-1 series lead and had a chance to finish things off on home ice. But the Bruins denied them that satisfaction as David Pastrnak’s overtime goal won it for Boston 2-1 to send the series to Beantown.
How the Sabres started off Game 6 would go a long way into determining if they can really compete in the postseason and not collapse under the pressure. Alex Tuch and Mattias Samuelsson answered the call with first-period goals. Of course it was Pastrnak to get the Bruins on the board in the second period, but Zach Benson restored the two-goal advantage in the third frame, and Josh Norris’ empty-netter sealed the Sabres’ spot in the second round.
One of the tenets of a strong playoff team is having your goalie catch fire, and Alex Lyon has certainly delivered on that front. His .955 save percentage was the best among all the goalies in the first round. After Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen’s struggles in Game 2 allowing four goals on 20 shots, head coach Lindy Ruff made the correct call in turning to Lyon, and they’ll keep riding the hot hand into the next round against the Canadiens.
I’m sure entering the playoffs many Sabres fans were just happy to be there after missing out the last 15 years. But with hot goaltending and plenty of depth, why not Buffalo for the Stanley Cup?
Other things that caught my eye:
- Over on the hardwood, The Knicks punched their ticket to the second round as they take their series against the Hawks in six games. Remember when the panic button was pushed by many following a 2-1 series deficit? I wasn’t one of them. I knew the Knicks had the better talent and matchups to get their act back together and win the series. And boy did they show up in Game 6. Or was it the fact that the Hawks just didn’t show up at all? It was 83-36 at halftime. Yes, 83-36. The largest halftime margin in NBA playoff history. Their 61-point lead at one point is also an NBA playoff record. New York ended up winning 140-89 with the 51-point margin good for a top-10 spot in the biggest postseason blowouts. The Knicks were probably expecting to face Boston in the second round for the second straight year. But the Sixers had other plans, coming back from a 3-1 deficit to set up a New York vs. Philadelphia matchup. Surely that series will be totally peaceful and have no drama whatsoever.
- It was also conference championship time for outdoor track and field. Like their lacrosse teams, Cortland also secured a SUNYAC title double. The men successfully repeated as champions with eight individual wins and one relay team victory, while the women won three individual events and one relay event en route to a second straight crown. Over at Ithaca College, the women’s team won its first Liberty League championship since 2021, while the men’s team placed fourth.
- There was yet another record-breaking performance in the local softball scene. Cornell’s Lauren set the Ivy League mark for most home runs in a single season. She saved that historic homer for their last game of the season, blasting her 19th four-bagger over the left field fence in a 8-6 win over Brown.
- Finally, the sports world lost a broadcasting icon earlier today. John Sterling, the longtime radio voice of the Yankees, died at the age of 87. This passing hits home for the millions of fans who grew up listening to his one-of-a-kind calls. But on a personal note, he was my biggest inspiration for getting into sports broadcasting in the first place. I vividly remember driving to and from rec baseball games with my dad and listening to him, and I was amused by his vocabulary and his unique home run calls for every player. “An A-Bomb for A-Rod.” “The Grandy Man Can.” “All Rise, Here Comes The Judge.” The list goes on. The fact that he so effortlessly worked in musical references (including some pretty obscure Broadway shows) only added to his creative flare. Check out one of my favorite examples of this about Masahiro Tanaka. That sort of captivating style made me realize that I wanted to pursue a career in broadcasting and hopefully be like him one day. I’m sure there are many others who share a similar story.
