2026 Men's Lacrosse

[Chousnake]

Looking forward to more indepth insights from those more knowledgeable than me
But hopefully Nikolic and and Nurry can rehab and be available sooner than later

Tully was very good, particularly in the 1st half when Cornell couldnt win a FO to save their life

With the roster healthy I think the upside on this team is very good. seeing underclassmen really take the next step. Lamb and Gilmartin both had excellent games to my eye. D had some lapses, but that is a good Richmond offense and they caused their share of shot clock violations. We miss the riding strength of Kirst and Long. I noted Perfetto seemed lost in the ride, 2 of the next 3 clear attempts he was more active and Richmond struggled.

I think you are right on with your analysis. I saw in the notes that CJ was ranked 4th in caused turnovers in the history of Cornell lacrosse. That's insane for someone playing attack.

Last year, when a defense locked us down, we could count on CJ to bail us out. We need to figure something else out. I thought sending cutters would create some offense, but Richmond did a terrific job checking our sticks as the ball arrived. We missed some shots, took some poor ones. A lot of credit to that Richmond defense.

The ride , which was a strong point the past few seasons, is non-existent this season.  Kirst and Long were great on the ride. 

[Iceberg]

Princeton takes out UNC and Penn drops a game against Syracuse which they had a substantial lead before the OT. I don't think there's any doubt that the Ivy League won't be competitive enough this year to get a few teams into the NCAA's

[mike1960]

Princeton takes out UNC and Penn drops a game against Syracuse which they had a substantial lead before the OT. I don't think there's any doubt that the Ivy League won't be competitive enough this year to get a few teams into the NCAA's

The Princeton goalie was very impressive today.

[Cornell95]

I watched the 2nd half of the Penn/SU game
Every reaining school on the SU schedule should be practicing a 10 man ride against them
That Gait and March havent fixed this since week 1 against Boston is criminal

Penn dominated at FO for the first half, and SU's Mullen getting hot in the 4th really allowed SU to climb back in to it.
Penn close defense was very physical and active with their sticks, may be problematic for our undersized attack and midfield

Officiating was similarly questionable to the Cornell/Richmond game
Penn took a taunting penalty on their first goal, and SU in the middle of their comeback took one in the 2nd half (which led to the bench also getting an unsportsmanlike which led to a 2man down condition)

Penn announcers were not great

[RichH]

With Syracuse playing Harvard, Princeton, Penn, and Colgate this season, it feels like they're trolling Cornell by pointedly not putting us on the schedule.

[BearLover]

We really need to get Nurry and/or Nikolic healthy. If we can't, other teams will just stick their best defenders on Goldstein and Firth and we won't be able to create much of anything, as we saw in the Richmond game.

[rss77]

Did not realize that offensive midfields were so unproductive against Richmond I saw Quint Kessinich's Top Twenty post on the Inside Lacrosse website. Maybe Coach Buszek and staff will shake up the personnel to get better production?  Was extremely impressed with the short stick dmiddies: Box, Gilmartin, and Lamb.

[CU77]

Coaches were already trying different combos of o mids during the Richmond game. This is not a coaching issue, this is a talent on the team issue. We've not seen effective o-mid replacements for last year's Kelleher, Dalton, Sheehan, Firth (who moved to attack).

[Ken711]

Latest NCAA top ten rankings USA Lacrosse magazine.

1. Notre Dame
2. Richmond
3. Princeton
4. Harvard
5. Duke
6. North Carolina
7. Ohio State
8. Cornell
9. Army
10.Syracuse

[arugula]

Coaches were already trying different combos of o mids during the Richmond game. This is not a coaching issue, this is a talent on the team issue. We've not seen effective o-mid replacements for last year's Kelleher, Dalton, Sheehan, Firth (who moved to attack).

Yes, but.   They lost by a goal to an excellent team, a team which they beat twice last year by one goal.  No shame there.  Let's see a good bounce back.  We have a sufficiently difficult schedule both OOC and league that we can survive a few losses. 

[RichH]

That seemed like a "bend but don't break" game, and Cornell nearly got it done. I would think that Richmond has a better idea about who they are this season than Cornell, given the losses and current injuries. A lot of national championship-sized holes to fill this year, and there are talented, but inexperienced players right now attempting to do so.

[billhoward]

Kessinich in his weekly columnn / personal top twenty ranking disses Cornell for a weaker-than-2025 midfield. He has Cornell down to #10 and Richmond at #1.

USILA coaches week 4 (3/2/26) poll (who are slow to get their polls up. Goddamn, guys, you've learned to deal with an 80-second shotclock) have the polls this way:

1.  Notre Dame (26 1sts)
2.  Richmond (3)
3.  Prunceton (2)
4.  Duke
5.  Harvard (1)
6.  UNC
7.  TOSU
8.  Army
9.  Cornell
10. Syracuse
11. Hopkins
12. Georgetown
13. Penn State (our lone 2025 loss)
14. Maryland
15. Denver
16. Rutgers
17. Virginia
18. UMass
19. Penn
20. BU
Also receiving votes, in order: Saint Joseph's, Sacred Heart, Brown, Utah, Albany, Villanova (12), Towson, Navy, Dartmouth, Providence, Yale (8 years removed from its 2018 championship, sort of like what happened to Yale hockey?), Long Island, Bucknell, Drexel.

So we have 3 Ivies in the top ten plus Penn in the top twenty,

Quint Kessenich, Inside Lacrosse
Matt Tully made 16 saves while Ryan Goldstein and Willem Firth scored twice and combined for two assists, but midfield production was in short supply; the first trio shot 1-of-14 and the Big Red got zero points from the bench. Rowyn Nurry was sidelined in a boot. He's going to be legit. I was impressed with Cornell's shortstick defensive midfielders and defense overall.

Richmond's face-off dominance was a factor; the Spiders won 11-of-18, including 3-of-5 in the final quarter, allowing them to control possession during their late run. Face-offs are more important in low possession games.

Cornell and Richmond were a combined 0-for-5 on EMO. Special teams will either be a weapon helping you win more games, or be a liability, leading you to lose more.

[RichH]

Kessinich in his weekly columnn / personal top twenty ranking disses Cornell

Sunrise, Sunset

[Jeff Hopkins '82]

Kessinich in his weekly columnn / personal top twenty ranking disses Cornell

Sunrise, Sunset

To quote something I heard at a previous NC$$ playoff game, "Suck it, Quint" (clap, clap...clap, clap, clap).

[CU77]

LOL guys, over at fanlax the Hopkins crowd is utterly convinced that Quint hates Hopkins (his alma mater).

IMO, he just calls 'em as he sees 'em, and always has.

And it's not so clear that we want him on our side anyway. I distinctly remember exactly when he said "I am done criticizing this year's edition of the Big Red" ...