Syracuse Men’s Lacrosse Shuts Down Cornell

By Karl Moeglein

Syracuse Men’s Lacrosse Beat Reporter

The No. 9 Syracuse men’s lacrosse team (7-3, 1-2 Atlantic Coast) stifled the No. 2 ranked offense in a 13-8 win over No. 8 Cornell (7-4, 2-2 Ivy League).

Defense Nick Mellen was a man on a mission. The redshirt junior held Cornell attackman Jeff Teat to just a pair of assists, the lowest scoring output of the season for the All-American.

Offensively for the Orange, Stephen Rehfuss scored a season high three goals, while Bradley Voigt tacked on his own hat trick.

“It was a very good win for us. The guys stuck with the game plan all game,” Head Coach John Desko said. “I thought our faceoff guys and wings did a good job getting us possessions and when they did get opportunities I thought our defense did a nice job, especially Nick Mellen on Teat and Drake Porter was great for us again.

Seven different players scored a goal for Syracuse in the contest. David Lipka was the only starter not to find the back of the net. Desko credited the experience the young players got last year to their success this season. Sophomore Brendan Curry had another strong game. The middie scored twice and added an assist.

Another place Syracuse found success was at the X. FOGO Jakob Phaup was 11-18, with Danny Varello going a perfect 6-6 in relief. They also won the turnover battle 12-11, but Desko did cite that as an area of concern for the week ahead. The Orange also won the ground ball battle 40-24.

That possession helped Syracuse get and hold an early lead. It took four minutes for Rehfuss to break through for the game’s first goal, but the Orange struck in bunches, and quickly built a three-goal advantage. The Big Red could never pull back within one. Consistency was key for the defense, too. Cornell was held to three goals or less in every quarter.

In net, Drake Porter had a strong day for SU. The junior turned aside 10 shots, and continues to look strong after getting pulled at halftime against Notre Dame two games ago. His counterpart on Cornell did his best to deal with the Orange’s onslaught. Freshman Chayse Ierlan stopped 17 of the 30 shots he faces. 

Up next, Syracuse starts a two-game road trip to end the regular season. The Orange will take on North Carolina on Saturday to close regular season ACC play. Syracuse has won 8 of its last 10 games against UNC.

kpmoegle@syr.edu | @karl_moeglein