UAlbany men fall to No. 2 Cornell in home opener

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- Score: #2 Cornell 12, UAlbany 10

Location: Tom & Mary Casey Stadium in Albany, N.Y.

Records: UAlbany (0-2) | Cornell (1-0)

Short Story: The UAlbany men's lacrosse team plays a tight game with the 2022 national runner-up Cornell, falling close 12-10.

Key Stats

• Graydon Hogg and Silas Richmond each scored twice
• Jack Pucci scored once with two assists
• TJ Sheehan scored one goal with one assist
• Daniel Kesselring recorded two assists
• UAlbany outshot Cornell 45-39
• UAlbany won 12 of 23 faceoff opportunities
• Cornell won 38 ground balls to UAlbany's 28

How it Happened

• Cornell, the second-ranked team in the country and the defending 2022 runners-up to unbeaten champion Maryland, opened their season on Saturday with their first game of the year coming against the Great Danes.  It was the third-consecutive season in which the Big Red opened against UAlbany when both teams were active.
• The Big Red scored quickly, just 72 seconds after the opening faceoff when JJ Lombardi found the back of the net, unassisted.  Lombardi scored again with 8:10 left in the first to give Cornell a 2-0 lead.
• As he did in the Great Danes' first game, Elijah Gash scored UAlbany's first goal.  Gash kicked off a four-goal outburst for UAlbany, capped by an unassisted score from Graydon Hogg with 2:10 left in the first to give UAlbany a 4-2 lead.
• CJ Kirst scored his first of three-straight goals just before the end of the first half and continued with two goals early in the second to retake the lead for Cornell.  Hogg scored his second goal of the day to tie the game at five before TJ Sheehan scored the first goal of his career off an assist from Daniel Kesselring with five seconds on the clock before halftime.
• UAlbany led 6-5 at the break and held a narrow advantage in shots, 25-21, over the Big Red.  Saves and faceoffs were even, with six and three apiece, respectively.  Cornell narrowly led in ground balls won, 14-12.
• Cornell scored the first two goals of the third period to take a 7-6 lead.  Declan Palandjian tied the game at seven with 11:07 left in the third before Cornell scored twice more to go up 9-7 less than one minute into the fourth.
• Peter Salit and Silas Richmond scored back-to-back, just 35 seconds apart, to tie the game at nine with 9:22 remaining.  Cornell responded by rolling off each of the next three over the ensuing five minutes to take a 12-9 lead.  UAlbany scored once more, unassisted by Jack Pucci, to make the final score 12-10.
• Cornell pulled away in ground balls in the second half winning 24 to UAlbany's 16.  Cornell's goalkeeper, Chayse Ierlan, recorded 10 total saves on Saturday, including five in the third quarter alone. UAlbany's defense forced Cornell into 19 total turnovers, including 10 in the second half.