CORNELL at YALE
Sat., Mar. 17 – Noon
Reese Stadium
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NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The Yale men's lacrosse team kicks off Ivy League play by hosting Cornell on Saturday. Both teams are ranked in the top-10 nationally. The Big Red sit at No. 7 in the Inside Lacrosse and USILA polls, while the Bulldogs are No. 8 in both polls. The opening faceoff is set for noon on Alumni Day at Reese Stadium.
 
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
 
*  The Bulldogs (3-1) have won two straight games and are coming off an 11-9 victory over Denver at Reese last Saturday. Yale got off to a strong start and had a 4-3 lead after 15 minutes, its first lead of the season at the end of the first quarter. Brad Sharp and Matt Brandau each scored three goals to pace the Bulldogs.
 
*  The two middle quarters have been Yale's strongest so far this season. The Bulldogs are outscoring their opponents 21-9 in the second quarter and 17-5 in the third quarter.
 
* Chris Lyons continues to lead the nation in goals per game (4.5) despite being held without a goal last Saturday against Denver. Lyons' 18 overall goals tie him for second in the Ivy League. Cornell's CJ Kirst has 22 goals in five games, while Princeton's Coulter Mackesy has 18 goals in five games.
 
* Yale goalie Jared Paquette leads the nation in saves per game (16.25). He made 13 saves last week against Denver after stopping a season-high 22 shots at UMass on Mar. 3.
 
* Brandau still has scored at least one goal in every game he has played at Yale. His streak of 44 straight games with a goal is the longest active streak in the nation. Brandau is fourth in the nation in points per game (5.75) and sixth in assists per game (2.75).
 
* Brandau and Lyons are both on the Tewaaraton Award Watch List. The Tewaaraton Award annually honors the top male and female college lacrosse player in the United States.
 
* The Bulldogs are seventh in the nation in scoring offense, averaging 15 goals per game.
 
* Yale remains No. 1 in the New England Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association regional poll. Boston University, UMass, Harvard and Brown follow the Bulldogs.
 
* Yale's season-opening win over Villanova is looking more impressive. The Wildcats haven't loss since falling to the Bulldogs on Feb. 19, are ranked in the top 10 in both national polls and are coming off a 9-8 win over Penn.
 
* Yale and Cornell played a pair of memorable games last year. In Ithaca in the regular season, the Big Red edged the Bulldogs 13-12. Yale trailed 11-5 after three quarters but outscored Cornell 7-2 in the fourth, nearly pulling off a big comeback. Lyons scored his first career hat trick in the game for the Bulldogs. Yale avenged that loss in the semifinals of the Ivy League Tournament at Brown, knocking off the Big Red 14-11. The Bulldogs outscored Cornell 3-0 in the second quarter. Leo Johnson had a team-high five points on two goals and three assists.
 
SCOUTING CORNELL
 
Like Yale, Cornell's only loss thus far came to Penn State, 10-6 last Saturday in Ithaca. The Big Red (4-1) ranks eighth nationally in scoring defense, allowing 9.20 goals per game. The Big Red also ranks seventh in groundballs per game, averaging 38.20, and 10th nationally in caused turnovers per game (10.00). Cornell returns the Ivy League Rookie of the Year in CJ Kirst, who notched 55 goals and 79 points for the Big Red last year. Kirst has 29 points in five games played. He ranks second nationally in goals per game (4.40) and third in points per game (5.80). The Big Red, the preseason Ivy League favorite, reached the NCAA Championship game last year, falling to Maryland.