Cornell Left to Swallow Bitter Pill
by Paul Ohanian | Lacrosse Magazine Online Staff
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Matt Moyer, Cornell's All-American defenseman, kept Syracuse's Kenny Nims under wraps until the final seconds of Monday's NCAA championship game loss to the Orange. © Kevin P. Tucker |
FOXBORO, Mass. -- Cornell did virtually
everything necessary to claim its fourth national championship --
and first since 1977 -- Monday at Gillette Stadium.
The Big Red dictated tempo, scored timely goals, played excellent
team defense, and built a three-goal lead heading into the closing
minutes. The only thing it failed to do was to put Syracuse away
for good.
With less than 30 seconds remaining in regulation, the Orange
converted a midfield turnover into two Hail Mary passes that
resulted in a game-tying goal by senior Kenny Nims from the crease
with 4.5 seconds left. Then, 1:20 into the sudden-death overtime,
the Orange scored the game-winner to secure its second straight
championship.
"This one ending in such dramatic fashion...is just
indescribable," said Cornell coach Jeff Tambroni. "Knowing that
[we] were five seconds away from being the best team in college
lacrosse is a tough one to swallow. It would have been nice to have
a national championship trophy sitting back in Ithaca."
Amazingly, the game-tying goal was the only point of the day for
Nims, the nation's leading scorer who entered the game averaging
over four points per contest. Cornell had switched to a zone
defense coming out of a timeout with 1:30 left in regulation, and
the ploy appeared to have worked, as Nims committed a turnover on
an errant pass out of bounds with 27 seconds left.
"We felt like they were being a little more aggressive through
their dodges, and instead of trying to slide to everything, we
tried to pack it in a little bit," said Tambroni in explaining the
switch in defense. "We tried to give Jake Myers (10 saves) the
shots that he seemed to be seeing and saving pretty well."
And if not for a failed clear and a bit of Orange luck, it's a
ploy that might have brought Cornell its first championship in 32
years.
"The Syracuse players made a great play and deserved it at the end
there, the way they rode that ball back," said midfielder John
Glynn.
"It was disappointing that we didn't clear or pick up a ground
ball in the middle of the field," said Tambroni, "but it wasn't
from a lack of effort. Our guys played hard until the end. We were
just in the wrong place at the wrong time."
The fact that the Big Red was so close to capturing the
championship is testimony to the job it did in keeping favored
Syracuse under wraps for so much of the game. Senior defender Matt
Moyer mercilessly hawked Nims throughout, while fellow defensemen
Michael Howe, Max Feely and Pierce Derkec were quick to slide as
needed.
"He's been playing like that for us all season," said Glynn of
Moyer's performance. "He's the leader in that end. He's just a
great player, a great competitor and a great teammate."
"I was just trying to keep myself in front of him as much as I
could," said Moyer of Nims. "I've been playing against him for four
years and he's a great player."
The drastic, now-you-win-it, now-you don't swing of emotion was
most difficult for 16 Cornell seniors leaving the field for the
last time. The clock just didn't run out quickly enough.
"Obviously, there's an extreme rush of emotion when you start to
see the clock ticking down," said Moyer. "We just kept saying to
each other 'little plays, little plays,' and that no one needs to
achieve greatness. Just do it as a team. In the end unfortunately,
we just ended up coming short."
The late heartbreak is something many of these Cornell players had
encountered before.
"Four seconds away...it seems to be a number that haunts us," said
senior midfielder Max Seibald, referring to the goal scored by Duke
(actually with three seconds remaining) that beat the Big Red in
the 2007 national semifinals. "That makes it even tougher for us."
