YALE at CORNELL
Sat., Mar. 23 – Noon
Ithaca, N.Y.
ESPN+ Video | Live Stats
 
NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The Yale men's lacrosse team opened Ivy League play in strong fashion, knocking off previously unbeaten Harvard last Saturday at Reese Stadium. The road doesn't get any easier for the Bulldogs in week two as they head to Ithaca., N.Y., to face preseason favorite Cornell on Saturday. The opening faceoff is slated for noon at Schoellkopf Field. ESPN+ has the video.
 
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:
 
• Both the Bulldogs and Big Red won their Ivy openers. Carson Kuhl scored four goals, and Matt Brandau tied a school record with eight assists as Yale defeated Harvard 17-15 before a big crowd at Reese. Cornell got a goal from defenseman Matt Dooley with 1.6 seconds left in the fourth quarter to edge Princeton 15-14 in New Jersey.
 
• The Bulldogs are ranked No. 8 nationally by Inside Lacrosse this week and are No. 9 in the USILA Coaches' poll. Cornell is ranked 11th by the coaches and 12th by Inside Lacrosse.
 
• Brandau is the national leader in assists per game (4.80) and points per game (7.00). With 129 career assists, he is closing in on the school record of 139 held by Ben Reeves (2015-18).
 
• Machado Rodriguez leads the nation in ground balls per game at 11.0. He also leads the Ivy League and is sixth nationally in faceoff percentage at .635.
 
• Defenseman Patrick Pisano is the league leader and eighth in the nation in caused turnovers (2.20 per game).
 
• David Anderson is the Ivy leader and is sixth nationally in goals per game (3.40).
 
• The Bulldogs are fourth in the nation in scoring offense (16.0). The Big Red is fifth (15.8).
 
• Yale and Cornell met twice last season. The Big Red won the regular season game 20-10 at Reese, but the Bulldogs took the rematch 22-15 in the semifinals of the Ivy League Tournament.
 
SCOUTING CORNELL
 
The Big Red (4-2, 1-0 Ivy) is the Ivy League favorite, receiving all 14 first-place votes in the preseason media poll. Cornell's two losses have come to Denver, 17-16, and Penn State, 20-9. The Big Red has beaten Lehigh, Hobart and Ohio State in addition to Princeton. Michael Long leads the team in assists (17) and points (29), while CJ Kirst has a team-best 19 goals. The Big Red is fifth in the nation in shot percentage (0.363) and seventh in ground balls per game (36.67).