MLAX Cornell(3-0) Saturday,Feb 28 noon,Ithaca,NY ESPN+

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All A-10 player
Next up for Cornell is Hobart (1-2) at Ithaca,NY,Tuesday Feb 24 ESPN+ 5pm

SCOUTING THE BIG RED (2-0)

The defending national champions are off to a perfect start, posting road wins at UAlbany 11-10 and No. 17/No. 16 Denver 13-9. The Big Red lead the nation in faceoff winning percentage (.720) and are fifth in assists per game (9.0).

Junior Ryan Goldstein quarterbacks the offense with 12 points on four goals and eight assists. He's first in the nation in assists per game (4.0) and third in points per game (6.0). Classmate Willem Firth is close behind with 10 points (6g,4a).

Senior Jack Cascadden is dominating at the X, winning 70.5% of his faceoffs (31-of-44), and boasts a team-high 12 ground balls while contributing a goal and an assist to the offense.

Junior goalie Matthew Tully has started both games this season, bring a .548 save percentage and a 9.50 GAA into the contest.

 
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Goalie:

55% save







X

71% Win







Overall and Individual:


 
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Any chance we see this game also cancelled/postponed because of the weather? Any chance they move it indoors?
 
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Saw some snow earlier in the morning that day. Maybe I’m just overly worried about losing out on this game because we lost out on the Maryland game. These next 2 weeks are huge for us.
 
Next up for Cornell is Hobart (1-2) at Ithaca,NY,Tuesday Feb 24 ESPN+ 5pm

SCOUTING THE BIG RED (2-0)

The defending national champions are off to a perfect start, posting road wins at UAlbany 11-10 and No. 17/No. 16 Denver 13-9. The Big Red lead the nation in faceoff winning percentage (.720) and are fifth in assists per game (9.0).

Junior Ryan Goldstein quarterbacks the offense with 12 points on four goals and eight assists. He's first in the nation in assists per game (4.0) and third in points per game (6.0). Classmate Willem Firth is close behind with 10 points (6g,4a).

Senior Jack Cascadden is dominating at the X, winning 70.5% of his faceoffs (31-of-44), and boasts a team-high 12 ground balls while contributing a goal and an assist to the offense.

Junior goalie Matthew Tully has started both games this season, bring a .548 save percentage and a 9.50 GAA into the contest.

 
No more dominant C J Kirst but Goldstein and Firth gotta be shut down.

Their X guy is among the best and biggest at 6-3,220.
 
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Need to Know​

• The fifth-ranked Cornell men’s lacrosse team has opened the 2026 season with a perfect 3-0 record, outscoring opponents 43-27 through its first three games. The Big Red opened on the road with an 11-10 victory over UAlbany on Feb. 14, followed by a 13-9 win at No. 17 Denver on Feb. 21, before returning home to rout Hobart 19-8 on Feb. 24.

• The offense has been led by junior Willem Firth with 10 goals and eight assists for 18 points through three games. Ryan Goldstein has complemented Firth with six goals and a team-leading nine assists, combining with Firth to account for 33 of the team’s 72 total points.

• Cornell has been dominant in the faceoff circle, winning 57 of 81 draws at a .704 clip — good for first in the nation. The Big Red have also ranked fifth nationally in turnovers per game and have collected 108 ground balls to opponents’ 77, giving Cornell a consistent possession advantage through the early portion of the schedule.

• Goaltender Matthew Tully has been one of the steadier goalkeepers in the country, ranking 19th nationally and fourth in the Ivy League in goals-against average while sitting 21st in the nation and fifth in the conference in save percentage. Tully has made 34 saves across three starts, anchoring a Cornell defense that ranks third in the nation in scoring defense, holding opponents to nine goals per game.

• Cornell had three players, Ryan Goldstein, Willem Firth, and Jack Cascaddedn named to the 2026 Tewaaraton Award Watch List. The Big Red have had three Tewaaraton Award winners in program history with CJ Kirst ‘25 winning it last season. Cornell will look to become the third school in the awards history to have the Tewaaraton Award winner in back-to-back seasons.

• Junior Willem Firth was selected by the coaches to carry the Hard Hat for 2026, a Cornell men’s lacrosse tradition that honors a player who embodies a blue-collar selfless and hardworking ethos, while the red hard hat, marked with the number 21 in remembrance of George Boiardi, has become a sacred symbol of his legacy, dedication, and character.

• Cornell has been picked to finish second in the 2026 Ivy League Preseason Media Poll. The Big Red earned 85 points and two first-place votes from the 14-member media panel, finishing behind Princeton, which received 12 first-place votes and 96 points. Cornell went 6-0 in Ivy League play last season and 18-1 overall en route to the program’s first national title in 48 years.

• Connor Buczek, the Richard M. Moran Head Coach of Men’s Lacrosse, who guided Cornell to the program’s first NCAA Championship in 48 years, was named the 2025 USILA Division I Coach of the Year and former Mario St. George Boiardi ‘04 Associate Head Coach of Men’s Lacrosse, Jordan Stevens ‘15, was named IMLCA Division I Outstanding Assistant.
 

Scouting Richmond​

• No. 3 Richmond men’s lacrosse has been one of the nation’s most dominant teams through the early portion of the 2026 season, rolling to a perfect 4-0 record while outscoring opponents 66-31.

• The Spiders have yet to leave the friendly confines of Robins Stadium, beating Robert Morris (17-7), Virginia (18-12), Mercer (15-5) and Lehigh (16-7), making Saturday’s contest at Schoellkopf the teams first road game of the season.

• Richmond’s offense has been nothing short of prolific, averaging 16.5 goals per game behind a balanced attack led by Aidan O’Neil, who has posted 12 goals and 12 assists for a team-leading 24 points. Joe Sheridan and Gavin Creo have each added 10 goals, while Lucas Littlejohn has contributed 10 goals and 11 points. The Spiders have seven players with eight or more points, making them one of the deepest offensive units in the country.

• Richmond’s defense has been equally impressive, limiting opponents to just 7.75 goals per game while forcing 71 turnovers compared to just 43 of their own. The Spiders have also been exceptional in the clearing game, converting 86 of 91 clear attempts for a .945 clip, and have dominated man-up situations, converting four of eight opportunities while holding opponents to just one goal on seven chances.

• In goal, Connor Knight has been a steady presence, going 4-0 with a 7.78 goals-against average and a .600 save percentage across four starts. The Spiders’ defensive unit has held each of its four opponents to single digits, with their stingiest performance coming against Mercer, limiting the Bears to just five goals.
 
My recollection last year was that we lost both games in the faceoff circle. I see they are still strong there. Let's hope we mitigate that advantage this time.
 
My recollection last year was that we lost both games in the faceoff circle. I see they are still strong there. Let's hope we mitigate that advantage this time.
Exactly what I was thinking as I read the scouting report. Show the Big Red that Spider Red is ready to take over the mantle. Go Spiders!
 
Can the Big Red find any holes in the Spiders?

  • No. 3 Richmond at No. 5 Cornell -1.5 (o/u 25), Noon Saturday
Lehigh’s Will Scudder had the best scouting report on the 2026 Richmond squad. “They don’t have any holes.” That quote was the thesis of Christian Swezey’s piece this week on the Spiders. The three-headed monster of Richmond’s offense (Aidan O’Neil, Joe Sheridan and Lucas Littlejohn) has consistently broken down opposing defenses, while the “wolfpack” defense led by SSDM Jack Pilling has put the clamps down on opposing offenses.

The Big Red offense had to battle Richmond last year, coming from behind late to knock off the Spiders in the tournament. This year, Cornell is working to find their identity without CJ Kirst. Willem Firth and Ryan Goldstein are the keys to Big Red scoring. To conquer the Wolfpack, though, they will need to find more depth of scoring.

Richmond set a new benchmark for their program when it knocked off Virginia for the second-straight year. A win over Cornell may be what removes some of the doubt and questions and continues the Spiders' upward trend.
 
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