The men’s lacrosse team (8-4, 3-2 Ivy League) — ranked 14th before the game — defeated Cornell (10-3, 3-2) Saturday by a score of 13-8. The win on the road was the Bears’ third straight, after beating Penn and Yale in their previous two games. With the victory, the Bears jumped to No. 5 while the Big Red dropped from No. 8 to No. 14, according to InsideLacrosse.
“I thought the assistant coaches did a great job today to prepare our team for a solid road win,” said Head Coach Mike Daly in a statement to Brown Athletics. “I'm proud of our players and seniors for keeping the team focused and the energy level high all week.”
Brown opened the contest with a 6-0 first period, the first time the Bears have held an opponent scoreless for a quarter this season. Brian Antonelli ’22, Devon McLane ’23 and Nolen Rockefeller ’22 each scored a goal in a span of less than one minute to give Bruno a four-goal lead only two minutes into the game.
In addition to the offensive success, McLane credited “stifling defense led by seniors” as key to the win.
“My main takeaway from the win over Cornell is just (that it was) another consistent effort put together by our guys, and (we) really kept our momentum going from the past two wins,” McLane said. “We have been stressing the ability to learn from our wins and to continue getting better, which we certainly did.”
Antonelli, with two first-quarter goals, and McLane, with one first-quarter goal, led the team with four scores each in the game. Antonelli’s first-quarter goals extended his scoring streak to 12 games, and Brown ended the quarter with a 6-0 lead.
“We have a super talented offensive squad, and I get to be the beneficiary of some great plays,” McLane said. “My teammates around me create situations that put me in a pretty advantageous spot to get a shot on goal.”
Cornell answered in the second quarter, scoring four unanswered goals to narrow Brown’s lead to two going into halftime. Ivy League Player and Rookie of the Week goalie Connor Theriault ’24 recorded 10 saves in the first half on his way to a career-high 24 saves.
“The defense did an amazing job like they have done all season,” Theriault said. “They made it possible for me to have the best opportunity to save the ball. Our coaches did a great job of preparing our team for what Cornell was going to throw at us.”
The Bears offense came back alive with three straight goals to start the third quarter, including a pair by McLane. After the Big Red stopped the run with a goal of their own, Antonelli scored, lifting Brown to a 10-5 lead going into the final quarter.
Antonelli scored another goal 37 seconds into the fourth quarter. Cornell and Brown exchanged goals for the rest of the quarter, each scoring three. Both teams went scoreless for the final seven minutes, landing the Bears the 13-8 win.
Brown will finish its regular season this week as it hosts Bryant University (7-5, 5-1 Northeast Conference) Tuesday to compete for the Ocean State Cup and Dartmouth (4-8, 0-5 Ivy) Saturday to honor the team’s seniors on Senior Day.
