FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- With more than a little magic in the air, underdog controlled top-seeded Virginia from start to finish, advancing to the program's first NCAA title contest in 21 years with a 15-6 victory over the Cavaliers on Saturday afternoon at Gillette Stradium. The Big Red's NCAA semifinal triumph sets up a Central New York showdown for the Division I title, as Cornell will face No. 2 Syracuse, a 17-7 winner over No. 3 Duke, on Monday at 1:00 p.m. in a game that will be televised by ESPN. The Big Red improved to 13-3 overall, while Virginia's season ended with a 15-3 record.

Cornell held the high-powered Cavalier offense to two goals in the first half while running out to an 8-2 edge and never trailed after opening the game with a 3-0 lead. The Big Red avenged an early-season loss at Virginia and will attempt to do the same against the Orange to claim the program's fourth NCAA title on Memorial Day.

Freshman Rob Pannell was again fearless in the face of pressure, putting up his second six-point day of the season against Virginia with three goals and three assists to lead the offense. Junior Ryan Hurley broke out of a slump in a big way with three goals and an assist, while both Chris Finn (three goals) and Rocco Romero (two goals, one assist) also had three-point days. Tewaaraton Trophy candidate Max Seibald had a goal and an assist, as did David Lau, whose father scored a goal for the Big Red in the 1977 national championship game.

Defensively, Jake Myers had eight saves and was steady throughout in front of a defense that has limited its opponents to last opponents (No. 4 seed Princeton and No. 1 seed Virginia) to a combined 10 goals. Pierce Derkac and Matt Moyer combined for five ground balls and two caused turnovers, while Max Feely and Michael Howe were among the defenders who made a difference in limiting the Hoos throughout.


FOXBOROUGH, MASS-Cornell used excellent shooting and tremendous defense to defeat Virginia 15-6 in the semifinals of the NCAA Championship this afternoon at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass. The top-seeded Cavaliers see their season end with a 15-3 record, while Cornell improves to 13-3. The Big Red meets Syracuse for the national championship Monday at 1:00 p.m. Syracuse defeated Duke in the other semifinal today 17-7 to advance to the title game for the 16th time.

The Big Red shot 40.5 percent (15 of 37) and forced Virginia to commit 18 turnovers, while never allowing the Cavaliers to string together back-to-back goals.

Cornell controlled play from almost the beginning and built a 3-0 lead after five and a half minutes of action. Chris Finn opened the scoring at the 11:28 mark by taking a pass from Ryan Hurley on the crease and beating Virginia goalie Adam Ghitelman. Fifty seconds later the Big Red capitalized when Jonathan Thomson pounced on the free ball in a mass of players in front of the Virginia goal and putting it in the back of the net. Following a UVa penalty Hurley's extra-man goal extended the lead to 3-0.

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2009-05-23