Syracuse, Wearing Navy Blue Unis For The First Time Since ’07, Falls To Cornell


Photo Credit: Stephen D. Cannerelli (View More Photos Here)

ITHACA, N.Y. – With the score tied 3-3 at halftime, No. 5 Cornell (9-1) came out of the break with five third-quarter goals and added four in the fourth to defeat No. 13 Syracuse (5-5) on Tuesday, April 10 at Schoellkopf Field, 12-6.

Senior Tommy Palasek (Rocky Point, N.Y.) led the Orange with one goal and two assists, andBobby Eilers (Simsbury, Conn.) and Derek Maltz (Ashburn, Va.)scored twice while Cornell’s Max Van Bourgondien and Roy Lang scored four and three goals, respectively.

Cornell used two long possessions to take a 2-0 lead less than five minutes into the game on goals from Lang and and Van Bourgondien.

After goalie Bobby Wardwell (Clifton Park, N.Y.) made a huge save on Mike O’Neil to keep the deficit at two,JoJo Marasco (Yorktown Heights, N.Y.) put the Orange the board by collecting a loose ball off a shot from Eilers and rocketing a shot over the shoulder of Big Red goaltender Andrew West with 5:50 remaining in the first quarter.

Wardwell, who earned the start in goal for the second straight game, was tested early and often in the contest, finishing with 12 saves to keep the Orange within striking distance for most of the game.

An SU goal from Palasek, the reigning BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week, two minutes after the Marasco tally tied the game at two, but Cornell quickly retook the lead with 47 seconds left in the first as Van Bourgondien spun around an Orange defender and threaded a shot from 15 feet past Wardwell.

As the game’s physicality increased with the start of the second quarter, so too did the Orange defense, which held Cornell without a goal and saw Wardwell make five saves in the period.

Syracuse would wait until near the midway mark of the second quarter to tie the game at three as Maltz received a pass fromTim Desko (Syracuse, N.Y.) and fired a low shot that got between the legs of West for the score. West would deprive SU of its first lead of the game about a minute later when he stonedKevin Drew (Katonah, N.Y.) in transition.

The Big Red got right back to business early in the third quarter as Lang buried a pair of goals, one just 20 seconds into the quarter and the other three minutes later, to give Cornell a 5-3 cushion. No to be outdone, Matt Donovan made it a three-goal game 67 seconds after the Lang tally on a leaping shot past Wardwell.

SU sliced the Big Red lead to 6-4 halfway through the third as Eilers netted a man-up goal on a straightaway shot from 15 yards out. With Cornell back up by three and on the man-up, Van Bourgondien scored his second straight goal when he intercepted a clearing attempt by Wardwell and tucked a shot into the goal before the SU goaltender could recover.

A goal from Connor English was sandwiched between tallies from Eilers and Maltz and kept the Cornell lead at three with 8:14 left in regulation, but that was as close as SU would get as Scott Austin, Cody Bremner and Donovan extended the Big Red lead to six in the final three minutes.

The Big Red dominated the Orange in nearly all statistical categories, including shots (46-24), ground balls (39-23) and faceoffs (14-8).

Syracuse will play its third game in eight days on Saturday as the Orange heads to Charlotte, N.C. to take on Rutgers at the ESPNU Warrior Classic. Game time is set for 11:00 a.m.

Game Notes: Marasco’s first-quarter goal extended his point-scoring streak to 18 games … Tuesday marked the first time all season that the Orange was tied at the half … Eilers two goals matched his season high … Wardwell’s 12 saves against the Big Red are the most for any SU goaltender this season … Palasek is averaging 4.0 points per game in SU’s last five contests … Cornell picked up its 700th all-time win with Tuesday’s victory and extended its nation-leading home-field winning streak to 15 games … Syracuse wore navy blue uniforms in the game for the first time since 2007.

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