Cornell and Princeton. Both programs are synonymous with lacrosse growth.
Cornell won for the first time 1971 NCAA DI Men’s Lacrosse ChampionThey finished the decade with three consecutive championships in 1976 and 1977. The Big Reds were a force to be reckoned with as head coach Richie Moran built a dynasty in the 1970s and capped lacrosse’s inaugural decade in the NCAA for the first time.
Cornell’s 42-game winning streak from 1976-78 remains the longest streak in DI men’s lacrosse history.
In the 1980s, before the ’90s arrived, Moran’s teams made two more championship appearances, and Bill Tierney’s Princeton program set the record for six titles in a 10-year period (1992-2001).
🏆 CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY: DI men’s lacrosse state champion since 1971.
During the Tigers’ three-peat, Tierney’s teams went 44-2 and outscored title game opponents 47-24 from 1996-1998. Princeton’s 19-7 victory over Maryland in 1997 remains the largest margin of victory in a title game.
But despite this success in the sport’s formative years, neither program has won a title in more than two decades. The Tigers have a 23-year drought. Tom Red, 47 years old.
However, both Ivy League foes are ranked No. 1 and No. 2 nationally, and the DI men’s lacrosse selection show is less than a week away.
Former Cornell lacrosse star Connor Bucek took over the head coaching position in 2020 after spending five years with the Big Red during his playing career. At just 26 years old, Bucek is the youngest Division I head coach at the helm of one of the sport’s most storied names.
Bucek led Cornell to its first full season in 2022 after the 2020 season was canceled in March and the Ivy League dropped spring sports in 2021. The Big Red’s fall to Maryland was a disappointing finish, but it showed the lacrosse world that Cornell is back, and it may only be a matter of time before he’s back on top.
READ MORE: DI men’s lacrosse all-time scoring leader Chris Gray looks back on his career
Well, it might just be that year. Bucek’s team boasts the nation’s strongest offense, scoring 15.85 times per game. Cornell (12-1, 6-0 Ivy League) hasn’t allowed fewer than 10 goals this season, and some of that production can be attributed to fifth-year forward CJ Kirst. The two-time first-team All-American leads the nation with 4.69 goals per game, the only player in the nation to average four or more.
He set the DI men’s lacrosse career mark on April 26 in Cornell’s final regular-season game against Dartmouth. In his final season in Ithaca, this looks like the year Big Red finally put the pieces back together.
Now Princeton (11-2, 5-1 Ivy League) has more than doubled its opponent’s championship tally, but unlike Cornell, the Tigers haven’t been back to the title game since 2002. In fact, before reaching the national semifinals in 2022, the Tigers had not been to the NCAA Tournament. For the program with the fourth most international titles.
But head coach Matt Madalon has overhauled the Tigers’ program since taking over in 2017, leading Princeton to three straight tournament appearances this season, its longest streak since 15 consecutive appearances from 1990-2004.
There’s no denying Madalon’s impact, doubling his win total from five to nine in his first full season for the Tigers. If Princeton defeats Harvard in Friday’s Ivy League tournament, the Tigers will have their first 12-win season since 2009.
Princeton doesn’t have the same offense as Cornell, but the Tigers still rank in the top 15 nationally in goals scored per game (12.92). Madalon’s team has played just once in the under-10 division, losing 13-9 so far. 3 Maryland. Only the Terrapins and No. 1 Cornell have beaten the Tigers this season.
Like Kirst and Cornell, Princeton has Coulter Maxi Tevaaraton candidate, who averages nearly three goals per game. The 5-foot-10 forward set a program single-season record with 55 goals as a sophomore in 2023, and has led the Tigers in scoring every season since.
McKeesy is the cornerstone of an offense that has under 14 turnovers and is one of only seven teams in the country below that mark. On the other side of the court, junior goaltender Ryan Croddick has been a stonewall in goal, ranking second in the nation in saves per game (14.77) and third in save percentage (.604).
Both Bacek and Madalon have brought their programs to national prominence, and both competitors are guaranteed to call their names at the DI Men’s Lacrosse Selection Show on Sunday, May 4. This could be the year one of lacrosse’s blue bloods returns the trophy to his ornate collection.
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