In retrospect, maybe it wasn’t such a great idea to consider Cornell a mystery team coming into this year.

Sure, the Big Red didn’t play last year when the Ivy League sat out the season. It has a first-time coach, and much of the lineup that seemed poised to deliver a strong 2020 has scattered elsewhere in the college ranks or simply graduated. So, the program has a lot of new contributors.

Cornell, though, is Cornell, and a personality well-established through the years has keyed a 3-0 start that includes defeats of Albany (16-8), Lehigh (9-5) and Hobart (15-12).

“The biggest feather in our cap right now is we’re just playing hard,” coach Connor Buczek said. “We’re gritting games out and doing some things in the middle of the field and just competing for loose balls and at key times making some important effort plays. That’s been really big for us, but I think there’s so much to work on.”

The Big Red actually shares the longest winning streak in Division I with Virginia. The Cavaliers’ eight-game winning streak is conventional: Four in last year’s NCAA tournament, and four more in February to open the season.

Cornell? It hasn’t lost a game since 2019. Of course, it’s only played eight since then.

Which is why, in a way, just about anyone playing well for the Big Red is enjoying a breakthrough performance. Buczek and his staff were optimistic before the season about CJ Kirst’s ability to make an instant impact after his first year in Ithaca was wiped out. Sure enough, he had a seven-point showing against Albany and leads the Big Red in goals (nine) and assists (six).

There’s also junior midfielder Aiden Blake, who played mostly at the defensive end two years ago but has eight goals and three assists to establish himself as a threat on the first line.

“The incredible part about those two has really been their poise,” said Buczek, whose team plays host to unbeaten Ohio State on Saturday. “For guys that don’t have much game experience and haven’t been in the roles they’re in now, to see the way they managed the ups and downs, to see the way they steadily go about their business has been really impressive for two young guys.”

One other thing Buczek anticipated has come to fruition. Senior goalie Chayse Ierlan struggled along with the Big Red’s defense during the 5-0 start in 2020, and it appeared Cornell was simply going to have to win high-scoring games. Ierlan has a .576 save percentage through three games and made 15 stops against Lehigh over the weekend.

That is part of a larger early indicator. Though tempered by the modest sample size, it appears the Big Red might be able to win in many ways.

“I wouldn’t categorize any of those three wins as ‘pretty,’ but I would say that when the time came that we had to put our foot in the ground and we had to make plays, you saw it from all facets — the offensive, the defensive, the middle of the field, the special teams there,” Buczek said.

And if that doesn’t sum up what Cornell’s usually about, what else does? No one is more aware of how it mirrors the Big Red’s historical performance than a guy who played for the program and was an assistant before taking over nearly two years ago.

“To see our guys respond, to see our guys manage those ups and downs and really turn the corner when the time is necessary to make the difficult play, has been gratifying just in the ethos of Cornell lacrosse,” Buczek said. “Across the board, I know we have Cornell guys in our locker room. It certainly makes that a lot easier in helping that come to fruition.”

NUMBERS OF NOTE

5

Consecutive victories for Jacksonville, the longest winning streak in program history. The Dolphins swept a western swing to Denver and Air Force over the weekend and added to a run that already included a victory over Duke. At 5-1, Jacksonville is four games over .500 for the second time in its 13-season existence; the Dolphins were 8-4 at the end of April 2013 before falling in the Metro Atlantic tournament to Siena.

11

Points for Ohio State’s Jack Myers in Saturday’s 17-12 victory over Harvard. Myers’ effort, which included five goals and six assists, was tied for the fifth-most points in a single game in program history and was the most for any Buckeye since Joel Dalgarno had 12 against Denver in 2008.

49

Years since Army won back-to-back games over Syracuse, a streak that ended with Wednesday’s 17-13 victory over the Orange in the Carrier Dome. Combined with the Black Knights’ 18-11 triumph last season, it is the first time Army has won consecutive games over Syracuse since taking 15 in a row from 1958-73.

165

Career goals for Loyola’s Kevin Lindley, breaking former Colgate star Peter Baum’s Patriot League record. Lindley scored a second-quarter goal in the Greyhounds’ 11-8 loss to Towson on Wednesday to break the record.