Cornell worst game of the decade

What about the game that was either Cornell's most underachieving performance or the game that made you feel worst, walking out in your Cornell sweatshirt? I realize this overlaps a lot with the best as in most memorable games of the decade since losses ended every single lacrosse, hockey, and basketball season that involved playoffs.

UNH NCAA semifinals hockey 2003
Clarkson ECAC quarterfinals 2004 (CU wins game 1 5-1, proceeds to blow the next two and not reach Albany)
Wisconsin 3 OT NCAA regional finals hockey 2006
Duke NCAA seminfinals lacrosse 2007
Syracuse NCAA finals lacrosse 2009
Dartmouth football 2009 (worst as in "could this team sink any lower?"

2009 lax final -- the way we lost a championship game makes it a no-brainer as far as pain and suffering.

billhoward
What about the game that was either Cornell's most underachieving performance or the game that made you feel worst, walking out in your Cornell sweatshirt? I realize this overlaps a lot with the best as in most memorable games of the decade since losses ended every single lacrosse, hockey, and basketball season that involved playoffs.

UNH NCAA semifinals hockey 2003
Clarkson ECAC quarterfinals 2004 (CU wins game 1 5-1, proceeds to blow the next two and not reach Albany)
Wisconsin 3 OT NCAA regional finals hockey 2006
Duke NCAA seminfinals lacrosse 2007
Syracuse NCAA finals lacrosse 2009
Dartmouth football 2009 (worst as in "could this team sink any lower?"

For some perverse reason, I actually didn't feel too bad after the 2006 Wisconsin game. It was a terrific game between two teams that gave their all. With triple overtime, luck was as important as anything. I'd much rather lose a game in which the team does its best than one in which the team chokes or doesn't show up. On the other hand, would I like to see them win important games due to a fluke, the other team choking, crucial injuries to opponents' key players, or bad calls by the refs? ... Sure, what the heck!

2009 lax... and I say that having seen both that game and the 2007 Duke game in person

The 2009 NCAA QF loss to Bemidji is really down there as far as disappointment goes. The 2002 ECAC F loss to Harvard really, really, really sucked balls, too. Both are among the most crushing losses (1990 ECAC SF vs RPI) in a game in which we ought to have played much better that I've ever seen.

But for my money the most underachieving performance in a game that mattered was the 6-2 2006 ECAC F loss to Harvard. That was a team Cornell should have easily handled, and an ECAC title there for the taking. Bleech!

Bemidji.

Trotsky
The 2009 NCAA QF loss to Bemidji is really down there as far as disappointment goes. The 2002 ECAC F loss to Harvard really, really, really sucked balls, too. Both are among the most crushing losses (1990 ECAC SF vs RPI) in a game in which we ought to have played much better that I've ever seen.

I was going to nominate that 2002 ECAC Final too; not only did we lose in double overtime, but the game itself was actually pretty bad. We played like crap and were lucky to be up 3-2 when Harvard tied it in the final minute of the second. (Hyphen made a total of five saves on eight shots in those first two periods.) And there were long stretches of the third period and the first overtime where it felt like Harvard won 90% of the faceoffs in their zone, and immediately iced the puck after 90% of those.

All in all an awful way to end the ECAC's association with Lake Placid.

Trotsky
But for my money the most underachieving performance in a game that mattered was the 6-2 2006 ECAC F loss to Harvard. That was a team Cornell should have easily handled, and an ECAC title there for the taking. Bleech!

I'm with Trotsky. This is the game that I hate to think about the most.

jtwcornell91
And there were long stretches of the third period and the first overtime where it felt like Harvard won 90% of the faceoffs in their zone, and immediately iced the puck after 90% of those.

I'm fairly convinced that Dominic Moore singlehandedly won that game for Sucks by taking and winning roughly every single faceoff in both overtimes.

Jeff Hopkins '82

Trotsky
But for my money the most underachieving performance in a game that mattered was the 6-2 2006 ECAC F loss to Harvard. That was a team Cornell should have easily handled, and an ECAC title there for the taking. Bleech!

I'm with Trotsky. This is the game that I hate to think about the most.

I recall being very annoyed after that game, and screamed some not-so-nice things from my corner of the rink. I third this one.

2008 NCAA lacrosse first-round blow-out by tOSU worthy of mention.

Another vote for The loss to Ohio State in the 2008 NCAA first round. After the great games of 2007, playing at home, on national TV, against a really mediocre team.

There was no QF series in 2004. The team stopped playing at the end of the regular season to focus on spring break plans.

Kyle Rose

Jeff Hopkins '82

Trotsky
But for my money the most underachieving performance in a game that mattered was the 6-2 2006 ECAC F loss to Harvard. That was a team Cornell should have easily handled, and an ECAC title there for the taking. Bleech!

I'm with Trotsky. This is the game that I hate to think about the most.

I recall being very annoyed after that game, and screamed some not-so-nice things from my corner of the rink. I third this one.

I vote this one as well. I remember not understanding what McKee was doing during that game, because playing goal was certainly not his focus that night. Te 3OT loss to Wisconsin was just an amazing game to watch. The Lacrosse games... after the regular season game against UVA, I was excited just to be in the championship game, and with how much we were down in the 3rd to Duke... it was exciting just to watch the team come back from that. The 06 game against sucks was just atrocious and a game that we should have won easily. Nothing worse than losing to your rival in a big game.

What about the first BU/Cornell game at MSG? I remember wanting to try to get out of the arena without being noticed after that game too.

Flyers1037
I vote this one as well. I remember not understanding what McKee was doing during that game, because playing goal was certainly not his focus that night. Te 3OT loss to Wisconsin was just an amazing game to watch. The Lacrosse games... after the regular season game against UVA, I was excited just to be in the championship game, and with how much we were down in the 3rd to Duke... it was exciting just to watch the team come back from that. The 06 game against sucks was just atrocious and a game that we should have won easily. Nothing worse than losing to getting undressed by your rival in a big game.

FYP. I remember that game because it jarred a big group of our fans who were so complacent in winning the 2005 ECAC Championship. We (as fans) went in there with the same attitude in '06 and got a nice reminder that winning the league isn't so easy.

What about the first BU/Cornell game at MSG? I remember wanting to try to get out of the arena without being noticed after that game too.

That can't be the worst game, because we could buy beer. Well...those of us 21+.

RichH
I remember that game because it jarred a big group of our fans who were so complacent in winning the 2005 ECAC Championship. We (as fans) went in there with the same attitude in '06 and got a nice reminder that winning the league isn't so easy.

The only positive thing about seeing only 1 championship in the first 14 seasons as a Cornell fan is the immunity from en-title-ment.

For some reason we like to ignore losing to Minnesota in 2005.

I STILL think the '04-'05 team was better than the '05-'06 team that lost to Wisconsin, and our better chance to win the title.

Maybe it's because that was my freshman year and because the team was undefeated at home- I just didn't know they could lose.

RichH

Flyers1037

What about the first BU/Cornell game at MSG? I remember wanting to try to get out of the arena without being noticed after that game too.

That can't be the worst game, because we could buy beer. Well...those of us 21+.

Could and did.

BMac
For some reason we like to ignore losing to Minnesota in 2005.

I STILL think the '04-'05 team was better than the '05-'06 team that lost to Wisconsin, and our better chance to win the title.

Maybe it's because that was my freshman year and because the team was undefeated at home- I just didn't know they could lose.

I don't think we're ignoring it; I just don't think people tend to think of it as a "bad loss", given the circumstances, which is why it hasn't been brought up in this thread.

In football, the crushing 2000 loss to Penn (in Ithaca) with an Ivy championship on the line is only barely beaten by the 1995 crushing loss to Penn (in Philly) with an Ivy championship on the line.

Scersk '97
In football, the crushing 2000 loss to Penn (in Ithaca) with an Ivy championship on the line is only barely beaten by the 1995 crushing loss to Penn (in Philly) with an Ivy championship on the line.

At least in that game a) the result was never really in doubt and b) Cornell was DAMN lucky to walk into that game 5-1. That was a .500 team that benefited from bizarre luck in the closing seconds vs. Princeton, vs. Yale, @ Harvard, and @ Columbia.

Chris '03

Scersk '97
In football, the crushing 2000 loss to Penn (in Ithaca) with an Ivy championship on the line is only barely beaten by the 1995 crushing loss to Penn (in Philly) with an Ivy championship on the line.

At least in that game a) the result was never really in doubt and b) Cornell was DAMN lucky to walk into that game 5-1. That was a .500 team that benefited from bizarre luck in the closing seconds vs. Princeton, vs. Yale, @ Harvard, and @ Columbia.

To me, at least, your condition (a) above is a necessary criterion for "Cornell's worst loss of the decade." If you show yourselves competitive while losing to another really strong team (e.g., Minnesota and Wisconsin in those QF losses, Syracuse and Duke in the lax final fours) it's not a "worst loss." Disappointing, maybe even heartbreaking depending on the circumstances, but not a "worst loss." Being blown out when favored in an important game is the primary criterion--to me, at least--for a "worst loss."

Al DeFlorio

Chris '03

Scersk '97
In football, the crushing 2000 loss to Penn (in Ithaca) with an Ivy championship on the line is only barely beaten by the 1995 crushing loss to Penn (in Philly) with an Ivy championship on the line.

At least in that game a) the result was never really in doubt and b) Cornell was DAMN lucky to walk into that game 5-1. That was a .500 team that benefited from bizarre luck in the closing seconds vs. Princeton, vs. Yale, @ Harvard, and @ Columbia.

To me, at least, your condition (a) above is a necessary criterion for "Cornell's worst loss of the decade." If you show yourselves competitive while losing to another really strong team (e.g., Minnesota and Wisconsin in those QF losses, Syracuse and Duke in the lax final fours) it's not a "worst loss." Disappointing, maybe even heartbreaking depending on the circumstances, but not a "worst loss." Being blown out when favored in an important game is the primary criterion--to me, at least--for a "worst loss."

I guess it's the difference between worst as in most underachieving and worst in the sense of punch to the gut. I may be misremembering, but I don't recall Cornell being favored by much or at all in '00.

billhoward
...the game that made you feel worst, walking out in your Cornell sweatshirt?

Lax vs. Syracuse '09, ugh.
Hockey vs. Minnesota '05, decidedly not very enjoyable. (WTF, O'Byrne?!?)

But the game that made me feel the worst was getting completely annihilated at the hands of Stanford, first round of the Big Dance, 2007. I was already not a big fan of Stanford before that game, but after that game, I believe I found myself a new enemy.

For all the joy Cornell lacrosse has brought to the '00s, they keep puking up some of the worst Cornell sports experiences ever. Seriously, you can come up with lax losses in the '00s that could win just about any worst-ever loss category: unexpected home NCAA playoff blowout losses (Ohio State 2008); underachieving teases (Massachusetts 2006), heartbreaking collapses on the cusp of a championship (Syracuse 2009), the noble comeback thwarted (Duke 2007), annoying home butt-kickings from archrivals (Princeton 2003), spoiled senior days that were supposed to be emotional tributes (Brown 2002), or just plain miserable games (Georgetown 2004). I've seen hockey and football losses that were worse than these, but they were all in other decades.

I still think the latter was the worst Cornell performance I've witnessed in any sport. And the loss to Syracuse was probably the worst Cornell collapse I've witnessed -- comparable to Providence hockey's 1979 collapse against us, but more tragic because it was the championship. Yet somehow you walked away from that whole experience kinda proud in a warped way.

So I vote for the 2008 Ohio State loss. It had all the ingredients to be the worst of any decade. A monster blowout. To an underdog team. At home. In the NCAA playoffs. Shit, it even had a painful signature play -- the coast-to-coast goal by their goalie -- that people still talk about and keeps getting


replayed. That's hard to top.

Hillel Hoffmann
For all the joy Cornell lacrosse has brought to the '00s, they keep puking up some of the worst Cornell sports experiences ever. Seriously, you can come up with lax losses in the '00s that could win just about any worst-ever loss category: unexpected home NCAA playoff blowout losses (Ohio State 2008); underachieving teases (Massachusetts 2006), heartbreaking collapses on the cusp of a championship (Syracuse 2009), the noble comeback thwarted (Duke 2007), annoying home butt-kickings from archrivals (Princeton 2003), spoiled senior days that were supposed to be emotional tributes (Brown 2002), or just plain miserable games (Georgetown 2004). I've seen hockey and football losses that were worse than these, but they were all in other decades.

I still think the latter was the worst Cornell performance I've witnessed in any sport. And the loss to Syracuse was probably the worst Cornell collapse I've witnessed -- comparable to Providence hockey's 1979 collapse against us, but more tragic because it was the championship. Yet somehow you walked away from that whole experience kinda proud in a warped way.

So I vote for the 2008 Ohio State loss. It had all the ingredients to be the worst of any decade. A monster blowout. To an underdog team. At home. In the NCAA playoffs. Shit, it even had a painful signature play -- the coast-to-coast goal by their goalie -- that people still talk about and keeps getting


replayed. That's hard to top.

Here's my take: I was pissed after the OSU loss, but devastated after SU.

Chris '03

Al DeFlorio

Chris '03

Scersk '97
In football, the crushing 2000 loss to Penn (in Ithaca) with an Ivy championship on the line is only barely beaten by the 1995 crushing loss to Penn (in Philly) with an Ivy championship on the line.

At least in that game a) the result was never really in doubt and b) Cornell was DAMN lucky to walk into that game 5-1. That was a .500 team that benefited from bizarre luck in the closing seconds vs. Princeton, vs. Yale, @ Harvard, and @ Columbia.

To me, at least, your condition (a) above is a necessary criterion for "Cornell's worst loss of the decade." If you show yourselves competitive while losing to another really strong team (e.g., Minnesota and Wisconsin in those QF losses, Syracuse and Duke in the lax final fours) it's not a "worst loss." Disappointing, maybe even heartbreaking depending on the circumstances, but not a "worst loss." Being blown out when favored in an important game is the primary criterion--to me, at least--for a "worst loss."

I guess it's the difference between worst as in most underachieving and worst in the sense of punch to the gut. I may be misremembering, but I don't recall Cornell being favored by much or at all in '00.

So I thought your point (a) referred to the situation before the game. I think we knew that Penn was a much better team than we are, and I'm sure we were the underdogs in that game.

As for 1995, we (and Penn) actually could have still split the Ivy title four ways if Dartmouth had hung on to beat Princeton. I remember, as we were getting crushed by the Quakers, hearing the announcement that Princeton had come back to tie and cheering because it meant that while we would not get a share of the title, neither would Penn.

My worst experience watching us get defeated by Penn was in 2007, because the game was a blowout, it was freezing cold, and I had dragged someone there (a fellow Ivy alum) who didn't think much of Ivy football and spent much of the game complaining how awful it was.

Hillel Hoffmann
So I vote for the 2008 Ohio State loss. It had all the ingredients to be the worst of any decade. A monster blowout. To an underdog team. At home. In the NCAA playoffs. Shit, it even had a painful signature play -- the coast-to-coast goal by their goalie -- that people still talk about and keeps getting


replayed. That's hard to top.

Was that also the year that we hosted a regional at Schoellkopf and all the infrastructure broke down?

jtwcornell91

Hillel Hoffmann
So I vote for the 2008 Ohio State loss. It had all the ingredients to be the worst of any decade. A monster blowout. To an underdog team. At home. In the NCAA playoffs. Shit, it even had a painful signature play -- the coast-to-coast goal by their goalie -- that people still talk about and keeps getting


replayed. That's hard to top.

Was that also the year that we hosted a regional at Schoellkopf and all the infrastructure broke down?

No, that was much earlier... pretty sure it was 2004.

jtwcornell91
My worst experience watching us get defeated by Penn was in 2007, because the game was a blowout, it was freezing cold, and I had dragged someone there (a fellow Ivy alum) who didn't think much of Ivy football and spent much of the game complaining how awful it was.

Why would you DO that to someone?

Josh '99

jtwcornell91
My worst experience watching us get defeated by Penn was in 2007, because the game was a blowout, it was freezing cold, and I had dragged someone there (a fellow Ivy alum) who didn't think much of Ivy football and spent much of the game complaining how awful it was.

Why would you DO that to someone?

You realize who you're talking to, right?

scoop85
Here's my take: I was pissed after the OSU loss, but devastated after SU.

I hear you. But for some reason I got over the SU loss pretty quickly. Maybe it was Seibald's statement at the press conference (mensch moment of the decade?). Whereas the OSU loss still pisses me off a year and a half later.

DeltaOne81

jtwcornell91

Hillel Hoffmann
So I vote for the 2008 Ohio State loss. It had all the ingredients to be the worst of any decade. A monster blowout. To an underdog team. At home. In the NCAA playoffs. Shit, it even had a painful signature play -- the coast-to-coast goal by their goalie -- that people still talk about and keeps getting


replayed. That's hard to top.

Was that also the year that we hosted a regional at Schoellkopf and all the infrastructure broke down?

No, that was much earlier... pretty sure it was 2004.

Fred's right. The year the foodfrastructure kacked was 2004, when Cornell hosted the quarterfinals (including the Navy-Cornell game). That's a good example of a tough loss that wasn't that traumatic. Kept it close against a superior team.