Cornell Downs Orange, 12-6

Tuesday, April 10

Ithaca, NY

7 p.m.

Syracuse University

#5 Cornell

Tommy Palasek had three points (1g, 2a) Tuesday at Cornell.

Photo by: Michael J. Okoniewski

4/10/2012 9:04:54 PM | Men's Lacrosse

Score By Period	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final
Syracuse	2	1	1	2	6
Cornell	3	0	5	4	12
Box Score \| Photos \| Highlights \| Interviews April 10, 2012 \| Schoellkopf Field / Ithaca, N.Y. \| Attendance: 4,354

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 led the Orange with one goal and two assists. Senior Bobby Eilers and sophomore Derek Maltz each scored twice for Syracuse, while Cornell's Max Van Bourgondien and Roy Lang scored four and three goals, respectively. Van Bourgondien added an assist to finish with a game-high five points.

Freshman goalie Bobby Wardwell earned the starting nod between the pipes for the Orange for the second straight game. He was tested early and often, recording 12 saves to help Syracuse stay within striking distance for most of the night. Even with Cornell holding the advantage in nearly every statistical category, including shots (46-24), ground balls (39-23) and faceoffs (14-8), the game was tied, 3-3, at the half and SU was within three (9-6) midway through the fourth quarter.

"I think they (Cornell) are a group that's playing pretty well," SU head coach John Desko said. "They have good players. They hustle. I thought they're goalie (Andrew West) played well in the first half tonight. We just couldn't get the ball on offense to get enough opportunities to get back in the game."

The Big Red controlled the pace of play Tuesday with several long possessions. Two of those lengthy offensive opportunities helped stake the Big Red to a 2-0 lead less than five minutes into the contest on goals by Lang and Van Bourgondien.

After Wardwell made a huge save on Mike O'Neil to keep the deficit at two, junior JoJo Marasco put the Orange on the board by collecting a loose ball off a shot by Eilers and rocketing one past West with 5:50 to go in the first.

An SU goal by Palasek, the reigning BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week, two minutes after Marasco's tally tied the game, but Cornell quickly re-took 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.

Midway through the second quarter, the Orange tied the game again as Maltz received a pass from Tim Desko and fired a low shot that got between West's legs for a score. About a minute later, West deprived SU of its first lead of the game when he stoned Kevin Drew in transition, one of nine saves for the Cornell goalie on the night.

In the third quarter, Cornell began to gain control of the contest. The Big Red scored three times in the first five minutes of the period as Lang buried a pair of goals, including one just 20 seconds into the quarter, and Matt Donovan found the cage to give the hosts a 6-3 advantage.

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. However, Van Bourgondien responded with two goals to close the third-period scoring. His extra-man tally after intercepting a Wardwell outlet pass made the score, 8-4, heading into the fourth.

Syracuse was still within three (9-6) after trading goals with Cornell early in the last period before a three-goal Big Red run in the last six minutes produced the final score. Scott Austin, Cody Bremner and Donovan all scored for Cornell down the stretch to put the game out of reach.

Syracuse will play its third game in eight days on Saturday, April 14 as the Orange heads to Charlotte, N.C. to take on Rutgers in the ESPNU Warrior Classic. Game time is set for 11 a.m.

Game Notes: Marasco's first-quarter goal extended his point-scoring streak to 18 games ... Tuesday night's game marked the first time this season the Orange went into the locker room tied at halftime ... Eilers' two goals matched his season high ... Eilers also scored twice at St. John's on March 10 ... Palasek has 20 points in SU's last five games (4.0 ppg) ... Cornell picked up the 700th win in program history with the victory and extended its nation-leading, home-field winning streak to 15 games ... Syracuse wore navy blue uniforms for game ... Previously, the Orange had not worn navy blue since the 2007 season.