Penn State secured a decisive 19-7 victory over No. 7 Cornell in men’s lacrosse on Saturday at Panzer Stadium, marking the Big Red’s second straight loss and bringing their season record to 3-2.
The Nittany Lions, ranked No. 14, opened the game with seven unanswered goals in the first quarter before Cornell managed its first shot on goal. Kyle Lehman led Penn State with six goals from eight shots. Teammates Liam Matthews and Michael Faraone each contributed three goals as Penn State outscored Cornell 17-3 across the opening three quarters.
Cornell responded in the second half, with Willem Firth scoring twice in the third quarter. In the fourth quarter, Matthew Perfetto, Luke Robinson, and Ryan Goldstein each added a goal. Ryan Waldman and Goldstein led Cornell with three points apiece, while Perfetto and Firth both scored two goals.
Penn State’s dominance at faceoff was evident as Reid Gills won 13 of 16 opportunities, allowing his team to control possession for much of the game. The Nittany Lions also collected more ground balls than Cornell (41-28) and converted their only extra-man opportunity in the fourth quarter.
Cornell goalkeeper Matt Tully made eight saves but faced pressure from a Penn State offense that produced 27 shots on goal.
“Saturday marked the 50th meeting all-time between Cornell and Penn State, with the Nittany Lions taking a 26-24 lead in the all-time series,” according to game notes provided by Cornell Athletics. “Cornell had not lost back-to-back games since the 2023 season when it lost to #11/#10 Yale and #15/#8 Michigan to end the season.”
Other highlights included a season-high 11 caused turnovers for Cornell; Luke Gilmartin, Willem Firth, Brendan Staub, and Jack Cascadden each recorded two caused turnovers. Staub now has 53 career caused turnovers, placing him tenth all-time at Cornell. Goldstein increased his career total to 147 points—four short of Mark Webster ’70 for nineteenth all-time—and has reached 74 career assists.
Cornell will return home next weekend to start Ivy League play against Brown at Schoellkopf Field.
