This Saturday, the men’s lacrosse team (5-7, 1-4 Ivy) lost to No. 6 Cornell (10-2, 4-1 Ivy) at home on senior day. Despite brief runs from the Bears in the first and third quarters, Cornell was dominant in the latter part of each half to hand Bruno their fourth loss in Ivy League play.
“We made some early plays and … we made a few mistakes,” Head Coach Mike Daly said. “They punished us on those mistakes but our team never quit. They kept battling.”
After the game, the Bears recognized the seniors who played their last home game for Bruno.
The team also celebrated the 1973 men's lacrosse team — who went undefeated in Ivy League Play and played in the NCAA tournament quarterfinals — by bringing some of the 1973 team’s players onto the field during halftime. Announcers joked that these alumni had played with wooden sticks before plastic became the standard.
In the first quarter, Cornell scored almost immediately, taking a 1-0 lead after only 31 seconds of play. The Bears battled back with goals by Matteo Corsi ’25 and Wells Bligh ’25 in the third and fifth minutes respectively to give Bruno an early 2-1 lead. Cornell equalized in the seventh minute, but Corsi gave the Bears a 3-2 lead with his second goal of the game in the eighth.
The Bears conceded four goals to close the first, and despite a breakaway by Griffin King ’23 to close the quarter, the Bears trailed 6-4 at its conclusion.
The third quarter was the Bears’ best of the day. Bruno outshot the Big Red 16 to six, outscored Cornell and won five of the six faceoffs. Though Cornell was the first to score, Bruno fired back with a goal from attacker Devon McLane ’23 to make it 12-7. McLane’s goal was followed by a score from midfielder Tanner Burns ’25 and then a second McLane goal, bringing the score to 12-9.
It looked to be all Bears in the third after the 3-1 run, but the Big Red fired back in the last minute to make it a 4-point game.
“They scored the first goal. You know, then we went on a three-one run and we were making plays. We're doing what you need to do,” Daly said. “Just (Cornell) answered it. And they had the answers today, and that's what good teams do.”
Despite the Bears' run early in the first and third, Cornell dominated in the second, outscoring Bruno 5-2. Cornell put the final nail in the coffin in the fourth, shutting the Bears out and scoring thrice to win 16-9.
Daly lamented the loss as he felt “like we’ve let (the seniors) down.”
After the game, the Bears seniors were brought out onto the field in front of their families and friends with a slideshow of their lacrosse careers.
“We really just can't thank them enough,” Daly said. “(We’re) appreciative of everything they've done for this program.”
The Bears will end their season on the road with a game at Bryant tomorrow and the season closer on Saturday at Dartmouth. The games will be televised on ESPN+.
Dennis Carey is a Sports editor who enjoys playing volleyball, listening to and collecting vinyl records and poorly playing the guitar in his spare time.
