CNY Lacrosse Rivalry Renewed Tuesday

#13 Syracuse (5-4) at #5 Cornell (8-1)
Details	Tuesday, April 10 \| Ithaca, N.Y. \| 7 p.m. Schoellkopf Field \| Tickets \| Weather
Game Coverage	TV: Time Warner Cable Sports \| Radio: WTKW - 99.5 FM Orange All Access: Video \| Audio \| Live Stats Twitter: @Cuse
Syracuse Links	News \| Roster \| Schedule \| Stats \| Notes \| Guide
Cornell Links	News \| Roster \| Schedule \| Stats \| Notes \| Guide

SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- No. 13 Syracuse faces its second consecutive Ivy League opponent on Tuesday, April 10 when it visits No. 5 Cornell for a 7 p.m. contest at Schoellkopf Field. It's the first of three straight road games for the Orange over the next week and a renewal of the fourth-longest rivalry in college lacrosse.

Syracuse is coming off a 10-9 triumph against Princeton Saturday at the Carrier Dome and is back over the .500 mark at 5-4. Cornell is 8-1 and will be gunning for its 700th all-time victory after defeating Harvard at home Saturday, 14-10.

Tuesday's game will be televised live in Central New York on Time Warner Cable Sports. Fans can also hear the action live on the radio home of the Orange - TK 99 (99.5 FM). Live streaming video and audio are available on SUathletics.com as part of Orange All-Access.

TWO ALL-TIME GREAT PROGRAMS
SU and Cornell rank second and seventh, respectively, on the list of all-time winningest Division I programs. The Orange has compiled 826 victories, while Cornell has 699. The two schools have combined to win 14 NCAA national championships (SU 11, Cornell 3).

Both sides have also been excellent recently. Since 2008, Syracuse is 65-12 (.844) and has won two national titles, including the 2009 championship in overtime against Cornell. The Big Red is 58-18 (.763) in that same stretch with two Final Four appearances.

FAMILIAR FOES
Syracuse is part of two of the longest rivalries in college lacrosse. The Orange has played Central New York neighbors Hobart and Cornell 97 and 96 times, respectively. The top five longest rivalries are listed below:

Cornell vs. Hobart (133 games)
Johns Hopkins vs. Maryland (107 games)
Hobart vs. Syracuse (97 games)
Cornell vs. Syracuse (96 games)
Princeton vs. Yale (93 games)

SENIOR DUO RECOGNIZED BY BIG EAST
Senior attackman Tommy Palasek was named the BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week on Monday, April 9 for his five-point performance in Saturday's win against Princeton. In addition, classmate Kevin Drew landed a spot on the league's weekly honor roll for his play in the team's 10-9 victory over the Tigers.

Palasek tied his career high with four goals and passed out one assist. His extra-man goal with 4:11 left in regulation proved to be the game-winner.

Drew scored unassisted with 13 seconds left in the third quarter to cap a 4-0 run that gave Syracuse a 9-7 advantage heading into the final period. He also tied his career high with five ground balls in the game and helped hold Princeton's first midfield line to three goals.

CLIMBING THE BIG EAST SCORING LIST
Tommy Palasek vaulted up the conference scoring chart following his five-point performance against Princeton. He went from seventh to third and trails only St. John's Kieran McArdle (3.8 ppg) and Villanova's Kevin Cunningham (2.91 ppg). Palasek is averaging 2.89 points per contest.

WARDWELL MAKES DEBUT IN GOAL
True freshman Bobby Wardwell earned the first start of his career against Princeton. The Clifton Park, N.Y. native played the entire the game and faced 28 Princeton shots. He made nine saves and allowed nine goals, but surrendered just five goals in the last three quarters.

SCOUTING CORNELL
Cornell is 8-1 this season, including a 4-0 home record. The Big Red has won its last five since suffering its only loss of the year, 9-8, in overtime to top-ranked Virginia at the Konica Minolta Face-Off Classic. Head coach Ben DeLuca's club is one of the best on both sides of the ball, ranking in the top 15 nationally in scoring offense (6th, 12.89 goals per game) and defense (14th, 8.06 goals allowed per game). Cornell has also been very good with the man advantage, converting 45.5 percent (15-33) of its extra-man chances.

The team has been without superstar attackman Rob Pannell now for seven games after he injured his ankle against Army on March 3. In Panell's absence, Virginia transfer Connor English has filled in nicely with 14 goals and five assists to complement leading scorers Steve Mock (19g, 6a) and Matt Donovan (12g, 12a). Chris Langton is the Big Red's top midfield scoring threat. He has 14 goals.

Defensively, long-stick midfielder Thomas Keith leads the team with 45 ground balls. Keith also has four goals on the year. Jason Noble anchors the close defense in front of goalie Andrew West. An Inside Lacrosse Midseason First-Team All-American, Noble has 20 caused turnovers. West boasts a 7.70 goals-against average with 67 saves. He has started eight of Cornell's nine games.

DeLuca is in his second year as the head coach of the Big Red. A 1998 Cornell alum, DeLuca spent 12 years overall as an assistant on the Cornell sideline. He was promoted to the top job after the 2010 season when Jeff Tambroni left to take over the Penn State program. DeLuca went 14-3 in his first year and guided the Big Red to the NCAA quarterfinals. He owns a 22-4 career coaching record.

THE SYRACUSE-CORNELL SERIES
The Syracuse-Cornell series dates back to 1920 and the two schools have met every season since 1979. The Orange holds a 61-34-1 advantage in the series and is 28-17-1 in games played in Ithaca. The Orange has registered double-digit goals in 25 of the last 27 meetings dating back to a 1987 NCAA playoff contest won by the Big Red, 18-15. The Orange is 21-6 against Cornell during that stretch and has won the four of the last five, including a 10-9 triumph in overtime to win the 2009 NCAA Championship.

UP NEXT ...
The Orange returns to BIG EAST Conference action Saturday, April 14 against Rutgers at the ESPNU Warrior Classic in Charlotte, N.C. Faceoff is slated for 11 a.m. on ESPNU.

Syracuse University Athletics

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