Cornell men’s lacrosse wins tight opener
Crossover season in college athletics is officially upon us.
As the winter sports gear up for postseason play, the spring sports are already getting their seasons underway. That was the case for the defending Division I men’s lacrosse national champions this past Saturday in the state capital.
A new-look Cornell squad battled UAlbany, the same team they defeated with ease last year at Schoellkopf Field in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Unlike that 15-6 victory, this year’s matchup was neck-and-neck from start to finish.
Neither team led by more than two goals at any point throughout the contest. The Big Red had the latest two-goal advantage midway through the fourth quarter up 10-8. But the Great Danes bit back with a pair of strikes from Ryan Doherty to tie the game. It remained level entering the final minute, but that’s when Willem Firth played hero for the Big Red. The junior darted past his defender and fired it home from close range to send his teammates on the sidelines (and the Big Red faithful in the stands) jumping for joy.
Firth’s late winner completed his hat trick to lead the Big Red in scoring. Of course, it was CJ Kirst that was last year’s top scorer, eventually becoming the all-time leading scorer in NCAA history. Now that he’s off in the pros, other players will have to step up their game in order to replace all that production. The likes of Firth, Ryan Goldstein (two goals) and Ryan Waldman (two goals) are off to encouraging starts in that regard.
There were plenty of other positives. It was business as usual for Jack Cascadden at the X, winning 70 percent (16 of 23) of his faceoffs. He finished 10th in the nation with a 60.9 faceoff percentage last year, so having his talents back in such a vital part of the game will go a long way to help out a younger team this year.
Matthew Tully also had a strong start in goal and came up big when it mattered most, making nine of his 13 saves in the second half. It’s no surprise to see Tully get the starting nod. Although he only played 11 minutes last year backing up Wyatt Knust, he did start in four games two years ago.
With all that being said, head coach Connor Buczek knows there will be plenty to work on. In particular, the Big Red will hope to clean things up after racking up 22 turnovers compared to Albany’s 13. But that comes with the territory at this stage in the season, especially with a team that lost 16 seniors, many of whom were key pieces to that national championship squad.
“No early-season lacrosse, no February lacrosse is ultimately that pretty”, Buczek said during his media availability last Wednesday. “It doesn’t look like May lacrosse. But the hope is that there’s enough of those pieces and foundational starts that will do the things necessary.”
The Big Red have a much longer road trip this Saturday when it heads to Denver before returning to East Hill on February 24 for the home opener against Hobart.
Cornell women’s hockey earns ECAC bye
The regular season for Cornell women’s hockey can best be described as a roller coaster. Entering the campaign, the Big Red had high expectations following its first Frozen Four appearance since 2019 and as the defending ECAC champions, being picked to finish top of the conference in the preseason poll and were ranked fifth in the nation.
Things started off on fire for the Big Red by winning its first seven games of the season. But they went into a bit of a slump, going 3-6-1 heading into the new year. Their form continued to oscillate throughout January with a 4-4-1 mark.
But it appears the Big Red has turned a corner at just the right time.
A pair of shutout wins over RPI (3-0) and Union (5-0) to begin February kept the Big Red’s hopes alive of finishing in the top four and securing a bye and hosting rights for the ECAC quarterfinals. But they had their work cut out for them with a trip to the North Country over the weekend.
Up first was St. Lawrence. Cornell jumped out to a 3-1 lead after one period. However, as has been the case all year long, the Big Red faced more adversity as the Saints notched a pair of third-period goals to send the game to overtime. Grace Dwyer rescued the Big Red with a breakaway goal to secure a crucial 4-3 victory.
That set up a monumental matchup at Clarkson, where the winner would lock up the fourth seed and the all-important bye. With the game knotted up at 1-1 entering the third period, it was Delaney Fleming’s turn to be the heroine. The junior forward’s game-winner ensured that the Big Red would not have to participate in this week’s first round action and would get to stay in the comforting confines of Lynah Rink for the best-of-three quarterfinal series, which begins on February 27.
Local wrestlers shine at sectionals
It’s also postseason time for high school sports. The Section IV wrestling championships took place over the weekend in Binghamton at the Visions Veterans Memorial Arena, and there were a plethora of local wrestlers who brought home the gold.
The girls wrestling championship kicked things off on Friday. The most astonishing result came at the 94 weight class, as Newark Valley’s Hadley Merrill upset the top seed in the championship. She trailed 8-1 heading into the second period, but 55 seconds later, she pinned Madison Farberman to come out on top. Did I mention that she’s only in eighth grade?
There were three other local champions, none all that surprising. Groton freshman Carmen Bishop continued her dominant season by winning the 132 weight class title. It’s the third straight year Bishop has won sectionals. Spencer-Van Etten/Candor senior Tayah Beach also claimed her third consecutive sectional title, prevailing in the 120 weight class. Ithaca junior Rayna Coller captured her first career Section IV championship in the 126 weight class.
Saturday gave way to the boys wrestling finals. In Division I, Ithaca senior Quentin Getzin won his second sectional title thanks to a tech fall over Maine-Endwell’s Max Policare in the 175 weight class. In Division II, Watkins Glen/Odessa-Montour senior Lucas Hoffman was victorious in the 116 weight class for his first career title, while Lansing’s Evan Sheils also became a first-time sectional champion at the 144 weight class.
Other things that caught my eye
- Two other local college lacrosse teams opened up their campaigns this past weekend. Cornell women’s lacrosse ventured to Boulder to take on Colorado. The Big Red trailed 5-1 at the half but fought back in the second half to cut the deficit to two in the fourth quarter. But the Buffaloes hung on for an 8-5 victory. Ithaca College women’s lacrosse got its Liberty League title defense off to a winning note, taking down Brockport 13-10 on the road. The 23rd-ranked Bombers never trailed and were led by Kathryn Scallon’s four goals.
- There were also Section IV titles to be won in the pool. Watkins Glen was once again the host of the Section IV Boys Swimming Championships, and the Schuyler Storm successfully defended home water to win their second straight Class C title. Vinnie Ocasio and Carson Thaete each won four events (two individual and two relay), Ryan Dean had a trifecta of victories, Alex Walters was part of two relay wins, and Andre Wixson and Grayson Robertson each won one event. Meanwhile in Class A, Ithaca’s Koen Anderson won the 200-yard freestyle and Will Montgomery was victorious off the one-meter diving board.
- The most notable event in the world of professional sports was NBA All-Star Weekend. In previous years, it’s been difficult to call this occasion “notable” given the increasing lack of interest from fans, in part due to a lack of effort from the players. But the league tested a new format this time around. A round-robin with three teams—one younger American team, one older American team, and one World team—and 12-minute games seemed to have brought out more of a competitive fire in some of the players, in particular Victor Wembanyama and Anthony Edwards. Here’s hoping that this format stays for good. And if they keep doing a live rendition of John Tesh’s “Roundball Rock” (otherwise known as the old “NBA on NBC” theme song) before the All-Star Game? Even better.
