WHO: #4 Cornell @ University of Penn
WHERE: Adams Field (Penn Park), Philadelphia, PA
WHEN: Saturday, March 22, 1:00 pm EST
UPENN
My personal surprise of the season. Always a consistent team with pretty tough schedules, UPenn is really drawing attention this season.
They come into this game 3-2 and off a close loss to #16 Princeton. The battle against the Tigers was high octane as UPenn recorded 45 shots, 37 ground balls, and winning 15 of 31 draws. Isaac Bock had four goals, and Joe McCallion and Chris Hupfeldt each had two. Drew Belinsky is a solid feeder, leading in assists with three.
Isaac Bock stands on top so far this season with 10 goals, closely followed by Kevin Brown (7) and Nick Doktor/Joe McCallion (6 each). Drew Belinsky and Zack Losco each have five assists and five goals.
Defensively, UPenn is solid. Danny Feeney has recovered 31 ground balls and won 42-97 faces. There is a roster-wide spread of ground ball scoops. Clearing percentages are .871 followed by 34 caused turnovers.
Their weaknesses are faceoffs and turnovers. The draw specialists are only performing at a mediocre .439 (54-123) and the team has had 92 turnovers. Opponents on average and in comparison are .561 on faceoffs and only have 86 turnovers (season).
CORNELL
One word: undefeated.
This team lost their coach in the offseason due to extracurricular antics (it is college) and are making up for it. They enter this match up at 7-0 and having just played a quick schedule sprint. The Big Red had games on March 1, 4, 8, and 15.
It hasn’t halted them yet. Every game has ended in double-digit scores for them and the three big games they just had (starting with Virginia) give them huge momentum.
Against Yale, Cornell recorded 34 goals, 33 ground balls, won 13 of 23 faceoffs, and accumulated six different man-up opportunities, capitalizing on one of them.
2014 has brought Cornell to a .333 shot percentage (98-294), approximately 14 goals per game, averaging 42 shots a game, 263 ground balls, and a faceoff record of 102-81. They are a high-performance squad looking to rebuild their reputation of class and athleticism.
Dan Lintner is the top dog on offense so far with 25 goals. Matt Donovan has 18 goals, 13 assists and Connor Buczek tallies up 16 goals and seven assists. Doug Tsecoriero is a monster at the draw with a percentage of .561 (97-173).
Defense stands well-accounted with four different players scooping more than 16 ground balls each for a team total of 263. They communicate well, slide accordingly, and have great awareness.
PREDICTION
This is a no-brainer. As well as UPenn is performing, Cornell has the record, momentum, reasons and roster.
CORNELL 17 UPENN 13
