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UNIONDALE, N.Y. — There’s no shortage of drama whenever Syracuse and Cornell meet. The last two meetings proved that. Despite a combined 66 goals between the squads, only one separated them on both occasions. In 2022, then-No. 4 Cornell overcame a five-goal deficit to defeat Syracuse 16-15 in overtime. And last season, then-No. 4 SU jumped out to a 7-0 lead before a second half collapse resulted in a 18-17 Cornell overtime win.

Syracuse’s capitulation last season had left it with a sour taste, giving the 107th meeting between the two upstate New York rivals some extra juice. Syracuse and Cornell entered Saturday as two of the hottest teams in college lacrosse. The Orange had won six straight, while the Big Red totalled five victories on the trot.

Cornell blitzed Syracuse early, jumping out to an 8-2 lead in the second quarter, giving the Orange their largest deficit of the season. Syracuse eventually got back into the game, but it never recovered from that early deficit, dropping its first game in nearly two months.

Here are some observations from No. 4 Syracuse’s (9-3 2-0 Atlantic Coast) 17-12 loss against No. 1 Cornell (10-1, 4-0 Ivy League)

CJ Kirst dominates

There’s little debate surrounding who the best player in college lacrosse is this year. That honor belongs to CJ Kirst. The graduate student is set to walk his way to a Tewaaraton Award while leading the country in goals (4.9) and points per game (6.6). Kirst entered Saturday just 14 goals shy of breaking Payton Cormier’s all-time goals record, which he set last year.

Stopping Kirst isn’t just a tall task, it’s nearly impossible. And containing him is just as difficult, which Syracuse found out on Saturday. Kirst’s only been held under five points twice this season. SU opted to defend Kirst with Billy Dwan III as opposed to Riley Figueiras, who typically takes on the opposing team’s best attack.

Kirst didn’t touch the ball much on Cornell’s opening two possessions, but once the Big Red settled in, he immediately got going. Michael Long fed Kirst on the left wing for an easy step down to get the scoring started. A few minutes later, Syracuse lost track of Kirst after a loose ball, leaving him open for a pinpoint bullet to the upper right corner.

Halfway through the second quarter, Kirst struck again. He initiated a pick-and-roll from the top of the key, using it effectively and losing Dwan behind his man. After that, Kirst waltzed to goal for an easy finish.

And after Syracuse opened up the second half with two straight goals, Kirst again calmed things down, finding Andrew Dalton to restore Conrell’s three goal advantage. In Cornell’s biggest game of the season, Kirst came up huge with an eight-point performance.

Solving Knust

Wyatt Knust has been a thorn in Syracuse’s side throughout his entire career, even when he wasn’t a starter. During his past two meetings against the Orange, Knust came off the bench to slow down SU’s offense, recording 17 saves on 28 shots in those appearances. This season, Knust earned the starting job and has excelled, saving 56% of the shots he faced.

Once again, Knust stood on his head against Syracuse. The Orange couldn’t get the ball by him early, going scoreless for the first seven-and-a-half minutes. Syracuse tried Knust a number of ways. Luke Rhoa and Owen Hiltz both fired shots from distance, which Knust gobbled up easily. And Payton Anderson tried to muscle one home after dodging from X and getting goal side of his defender.

But even after Syracuse got on the board with two goals, Knust continued to give it headaches. In the first quarter, Joey Spallina fed Hiltz for a point blank look, and Knust stuck his foot out to deny Hiltz for his eighth save of the frame.

Knust cooled off throughout the rest of the game. But when Cornell needed him, he came up with big saves, finishing with the contest with 14. The same couldn’t be said for Knust’s counterpart Jimmy McCool. The sophomore has been excellent since getting benched against Harvard, but he stopped a season-worst 30.4% of shots on goal against the Big Red.

Syracuse couldn’t capitalize

Syracuse and Cornell are two of the best teams at taking care of the ball in the country. Syracuse commits the least amount of turnovers with 12 per game, but Cornell ranked eighth with 14. The Big Red nearly matched that in the first half, recording 11.

Despite those missteps, Cornell didn’t turn the ball over during its offensive sets. Most of its struggles stemmed from not being able to deal with Syracuse’s ride. Whether it was a simple pass that went awry or Syracuse’s attacks providing pressure, Cornell went just 6-of-10 on the ride in the first half.

But even with that, Syracuse couldn’t take advantage. The Orange had scoreless droughts of seven minutes and 15 minutes in the first half. They opted not to cycle the ball through Spallina at X, continuing to play him above the goal and using Anderson behind the cage more. That tactic just allowed Cornell to hold Spallina quiet. SU’s star attack recorded just two shots in the opening quarters, and his only goal came on a man-up advantage.

Wild third quarter

Syracuse faced its largest halftime deficit of the season against Cornell. SU grew into the game after a sloppy start, but it still trailed 10-6. When it opened the third quarter, it showed a sense of urgency that was missing in the first half.

Leo got the Orange on the board within a minute, and Rhoa quickly followed with another tally. After trailing by as much as six, Syracuse cut its deficit to two for the first time since the first quarter. In a matchup that’s historically entailed many back-and-forth contests, Syracuse was threatening to pull off another comeback.

But that was before Cornell restored its six-goal advantage, answering with four straight goals. The Big Red’s pace continued to give Syracuse trouble. Their crisp ball movement around the perimeter led to wide open looks, and SU was too slow to recover. The Orange were at risk of suffering a knockout blow.

Then they came storming back. John Mullen got comfortable at the faceoff X, winning possessions to spark SU’s offense. Sam English stopped the bleeding, allowing Tyler Cordes and Leo to extend it into a run. With each goal, Syracuse’s bench grew more rabid. When Hiltz unleashed a howitzer from the middle of the field, it reached a breaking point.

With 19 seconds remaining in the third, Hiltz’s fourth goal of the day cut Syracuse’s deficit to 13-11. During the 15 minute stretch, both teams combined for 10 goals. The Orange had a chance to parlay Hiltz’s goal into a comeback, though SU’s offense fell flat, scoring just one goal in the fourth quarter.

Published on April 12, 2025 at 6:34 pm
Contact Zak: zakwolf784254@gmail.com | @ZakWolf22