Willem Firth scored six goals and added two assists as the Cornell men’s lacrosse team defeated Harvard 17-8 in the Ivy League Tournament semifinal on Friday at Schoellkopf Field, advancing to the championship game. The Big Red used a dominant first quarter to take control early and never relinquished momentum.
Cornell responded quickly after an early Harvard goal, stringing together five unanswered tallies in less than nine minutes to build a commanding lead. Firth jumpstarted the surge, while Ryan Goldstein contributed two goals during the stretch and Brendan Staub capped the run. Jack Cascadden added a key faceoff goal late in the quarter to extend the advantage.
The Big Red continued to pull away in the second quarter, with Firth recording three goals, including a buzzer-beater that pushed the lead to 10-4 at halftime. Goldstein orchestrated the offense throughout the half, finishing with multiple points while consistently creating scoring opportunities.
Cornell maintained its control in the second half, answering a brief Harvard push with a five-goal run spanning the third and fourth quarters. Firth added two more goals during that stretch, while Brian Luzzi, AJ Nikolic and Ryan Waldman each found the back of the net. Nikolic finished with two goals off the bench, and 10 different players contributed to the scoring.
Cascadden dominated possession, winning 18-of-24 faceoffs and collecting 12 ground balls, while Matthew Tully made 11 saves in goal.
Cornell will face Princeton in the Ivy League Championship Game on Sunday at Schoellkopf Field, with the opening faceoff set for 1 p.m.
Kyle leads sports coverage and hosts the Concrete Jungle podcast. Have a lead or question? Send it to [email protected].