The Cornell and Princeton men’s lacrosse teams remain deadlocked for first place in the Ivy League after each team grabbed a league victory this weekend. The nationally-ranked No. 11 Big Red bounced back from an April 8 loss to No. 4 Syracuse by defeating Dartmouth Saturday. The No. 2 Tigers beat Harvard Saturday in Princeton, N.J. Meanwhile, Brown and Harvard captured their first league wins last week, but remain, along with Pennsylvania, in the basement of the Ivy League.
Syracuse 13, Cornell 8
With just a one-goal lead midway through the third quarter, Syracuse scored three straight goals to pull away for a win over the Big Red (7-3, 3-0 Ivy) April 8. Sean Lindsay contributed six points for the Orange on four goals and two assists. After Cornell opened the game with a goal, Syracuse scored the next four, and was ahead by three at halftime. Sean Greenhalgh and Dave Pittard both put in a pair of goals for the visiting Big Red.
Harvard 12, Brown 6
Brown (3-7, 1-2) extended its losing skid to six games with a loss to Harvard (4-6, 1-3) April 9. Helped by a Sean Kane hat trick, the Cantabs stormed out of the gates with five opening goals before Brown could answer. The Bears’ Jon Thompson, who scored seven times against nationally-ranked Georgetown and leads the Ivy League in scoring, managed only one goal and two assists against a stingy Crimson defense. Harvard snapped a two-game losing streak with the win.
Princeton 12, Harvard 8
On Saturday, Harvard’s fortunes were again reversed, as the second-ranked Tigers (7-2, 3-9) dispatched the Crimson. All-American Ryan Boyle returned to the Princeton lineup earlier than expected, tallying six assists in his first game since an April 1 hamstring injury. By the end of the first half, Princeton had already built a 10-3 lead. Harvard, however, kept pressure on the Tigers, holding them scoreless while bringing its deficit to just three. Princeton held its ground for the game’s remainder. Sean Hartofilis scored a hat trick that brought his goal total to a Division I-leading 30.
Cornell 13, Dartmouth 5
Despite Russell Radebaugh’s four goals, the Big Green (7-2, 1-1) fell to Cornell, suffering their first Ivy League loss. The Big Red held the lead almost exclusively, aided by Kevin Nee’s three goals. Brandon Ross stonewalled the Big Green with 13 saves for Cornell. The Hanover, N.H., crowd saw Cornell earn its league-leading fourth Ivy win. The Big Red await Princeton, who will visit Ithaca on April 19 in a game that will likely decide the league championship.
Brown 10, Pennsylvania 9
They needed overtime to do it, but the Bears finally got their first league win Sunday. Trailing the Quakers (4-6, 1-4) by three in the fourth quarter, Brown mounted a comeback and tied the game at nine by the end of regulation. Both goalies made a pair of impressive saves in overtime. For the Bears, however, junior attackman Charles Towers sealed the win on a goal with 15 seconds remaining in the first four-minute overtime. The game-winning goal was one of Towers’ three in the game, giving him his first career hat trick. Will Phillips contributed five goals for Penn.