Dartmouth and No. 5 Cornell to Square Off Saturday in Matchup of Ivy Unbeatens

By: Justin Lafleur

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GAME 8
Dartmouth (6-1, 1-0 Ivy League) at Cornell (6-1, 2-0 Ivy League)
Dates: Saturday, April 1, 2023 – 12 p.m.
Location: Ithaca, N.Y. – Schoellkopf Field
All-Time Series: Cornell leads, 55-15
Watch Live | Live Stats
 
Today’s Game
Riding high after an Ivy League opening victory, the Dartmouth men’s lacrosse team hits the road on Saturday to face No. 5 Cornell. Opening faceoff in Ithaca is set for 12 p.m. on ESPN+. The Big Green are fresh off a comeback win over Harvard in overtime, giving them their first league win since 2015. Dartmouth trailed 9-5 with less than 11 minutes remaining in regulation, but scored four times in the span of 5:23 (from the 10:29 to 5:06 marks) to force overtime, where sophomore Colin McGill was the hero.
 
McGill finished with four goals and an assist, all coming in the game’s final 26:12. He’s now recorded five or more points in all but two games this season. With 1:35 left in overtime, McGill one-timed a rebound into the back of the net, all in one motion, setting off a Big Green celebration. Three other Dartmouth players scored two goals on the afternoon: senior Tommy Rogan, junior Nate Davis and sophomore Quinn Moore. Rogan had a hand in Dartmouth’s first three goals of the afternoon (with two goals and one assist) while Davis scored the equalizer with 5:06 left in regulation.
 
Defensively, the Big Green held a high-powered Harvard offense in check with a season-low nine goals. The Crimson entered 10th nationally in scoring offense, averaging 14.33 goals per game. Fifth-year Peter Rizzotti helped anchor the defense with five groundballs and two caused turnovers. Freshman Thomas Goguen also caused a pair of turnovers. Making his first-collegiate start, sophomore Mason Morel was sensational with 12 saves, stopping the final four shots sent his way. Senior Mitchell Myers struggled a bit early, winning just 6-of-17 faceoffs through three quarters, but he bounced back to win five of the last six in crunch time.
 
The win came over a Harvard team ranked 13th in the Inside Lacrosse Media Preseason Poll, following an NCAA Tournament appearance in 2022. Dartmouth’s previous Ivy League win also came at home vs. Harvard in 2015 in double overtime. The win pushes the Big Green’s overall record to 6-1, ensuring at least a .500 overall record for the first time since 2008 when they finished 7-7. That’s also the last time Dartmouth has had six or more victories. The last time Dartmouth started off a season 6-1 or better was 2003.
 
The Big Green improved to 4-0 when holding their opponent to single digits. Saturday’s win received significant national attention across the major lacrosse outlets. Dartmouth is also up to fifth in the New England Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association Poll, along with fourth in others receiving votes in both the USILA Coaches and Inside Lacrosse Media Polls. Saturday’s matchup at Cornell features the two teams in the Ivy League without a league loss, and with an overall record over .500 (both are 6-1).
 
With a Win…
– Dartmouth would improve to 7-1 for the first time since the 2003 season.
– The Big Green would improve to 2-0 in the Ivy League for the first time since 1996.
– The Big Green would win a second Ivy League game in a season for the first time since 2010 when they finished 2-4 with wins over No. 6 Cornell (8-6) and Penn (15-11).
– Dartmouth would snap a 10-game losing streak against Cornell and beat the Big Red for the first time since an 8-6 win on Apr. 3, 2010 at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Mass.
– The Big Green would beat Cornell for just the third time in their last 26 tries.
– Dartmouth would beat a nationally-ranked opponent for the first time since beating No. 15/16 Harvard on Mar. 21, 2015 at home.
 
Scouting Cornell
Coming off an appearance in the National Championship Game in 2022, the Big Red stand 6-1 on the season and stand No. 5 in all major national polls. Cornell’s only loss has come against Penn State, 10-6, while the Big Red have wins over No. 9 Ohio State (16-13) and No. 8 Yale (20-10), along with No. 16 Penn (18-12).
 
CJ Kirst leads the nation in goals (4.86) and points (5.86) per game, owning 34 goals and 41 points through seven games. Billy Coyle is second in points with 30 via 18 goals and a team-leading 12 assists. Three others have recorded double-figure points. All-American defenseman Gavin Adler leads the Big Red in groundballs (31) and caused turnovers (9). Chayse Ierlan leads the Ivy League in goals against average (9.78) and save percentage (58.1). That save percentage is also fourth in the country.
 
As a team, Cornell stands seventh in scoring margin (+4.71), ninth in scoring defense (9.71) and 10th in scoring offense (14.43). The Big Red are also sixth in groundballs per game (37.43) and seventh in clearing percentage (91.0).
 
All-Time Against The Big Red
Cornell leads the all-time series against Dartmouth, 55-15, which includes 10 straight wins. The Big Green’s last victory came on Apr. 3, 2010 in the New England Lacrosse Classic at Gillette Stadium. Dartmouth came out victorious against the sixth-ranked Big Red, 8-6. Prior to that win, Cornell had won the previous 13 meetings, with Dartmouth’s previous win coming in April of 1997. Most recently, Dartmouth dropped a slim 8-7 final to Cornell last April. Cornell’s Billy Coyle scored the game-winning goal with 3:08 remaining. Over the last 10 meetings, Dartmouth also dropped a slim 7-5 final on Mar. 31, 2012 at Dartmouth.
 
Drought Over
Dartmouth came back from a 9-5 fourth-quarter deficit vs. Harvard on Mar. 25 for its first Ivy League victory since 2015. The Big Green beat the Crimson, 10-9, behind a Colin McGill goal with 1:35 left in overtime. In regulation, the Big Green scored four goals in the span of 5:23 to force the extra session. Ironically, the 2015 win also came at home vs. Harvard, with that coming in double overtime. The Mar. 25 win marked Dartmouth’s first overtime win of any kind since that 2015 Harvard victory.
 
Surging Offense
Dartmouth’s offense has impressed this season, currently standing 22nd nationally in scoring offense (13.43) with 94 goals through seven games. Just over halfway through its schedule, the Big Green already have more than two thirds as many goals as they scored last season (123).
 
Other items of note:
– The Big Green have reached double-figure goals in all but one game this season.
– Dartmouth has scored 17 or more goals three times: at Holy Cross (17), at Hobart (20) and at Hampton (18). It’s the first time that has happened since 1996.
 
Paradine Named Rookie of the Week Again & Named to USILA Team of Week
One day after earning Ivy League Rookie of the Week honors, freshman Emmett Paradine was named to the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) National Team of the Week on Tuesday, Mar. 14. Paradine is one of 10 student-athletes nation-wide recognized. He follows senior Tommy Rogan as Big Green named to the team this season; Rogan received the honor following the season opener at Merrimack.The two honorees are tied with Cornell for the most in the Ivy League through four weeks this season. Brown, Penn and Yale have all had one honoree thus far.
 
The honor came after Paradine was named Dartmouth’s fourth straight Ivy League Rookie of the Week to begin the year (and Paradine’s second in a row). He finished the 20-16 win at Hobart on Mar. 7 with 10 points via seven goals and three assists. Paradine became the first freshman nationally to reach double figures in a game this season and the first Ivy League freshman to reach 10 points in a game since Jeff Teat of Cornell during the 2017 season. Paradine had a hand in half of Dartmouth’s 20 goals for the game, with all of his points proving important in a high-scoring affair. Following a goal and two assists in the first half, Paradine exploded for six goals and an assist in the second half. There was one stretch in which he scored four goals in the span of 9:32 bridging the end of the third and beginning of the fourth quarters, helping the Big Green turn a 9-9 tie into a 16-12 lead.
 
Paradine Becomes Dartmouth’s Third Straight Ivy Rookie of the Week
For the third time in as many weeks to begin the season, the Dartmouth men’s lacrosse team features the Ivy League Rookie of the Week. This time, it’s midfielder Emmett Paradine, who received the award on Monday, Mar. 6 following a four-goal, five-point effort in Saturday’s 11-8 win against Siena. Paradine follows Sam Cooper and Max LaTorre, who received the honor following the first two games of the season. Paradine’s points came at critical moments on Saturday, as the Big Green improved to 3-0 for just the second time since 2006.
 
Paradine had a hand in three straight fourth-quarter goals at a critical time. He scored his third goal of the game at 11:31 to give the Big Green an 8-7 lead. After Siena pulled even, Paradine assisted on Quinn Moore’s goal at the 6:10 mark (to make it 9-8) then scored his fourth, unassisted, at 5:26 to put Dartmouth ahead 10-8. Paradine also scored the first goal of the game, at 10:58 of the first, then gave the Big Green a 7-3 lead early in the third quarter.
 
Road Warriors
The Big Green are road warriors in 2023, with eight of its 12 games coming away from home. Five of Dartmouth’s six nonleague contests were on the road, with the exception of the home opener vs. Siena on Saturday, Mar. 4.
 
Follow Along
Saturday’s game will be streamed on ESPN+.
 
What’s Ahead
Following Saturday’s game, the Big Green remain on the road for a matchup at No. 20 Yale next Saturday, Apr. 8 at 1 p.m.