OXBOROUGH, MASS. — FOXBOROUGH, MASS. - - No. 5 Cornell had the perfect game plan to upset No. 2 Syracuse in the NCAA Division I men's title game Monday, but there were several in-game decisions that cost the Big Red.
Many factors determined the outcome of this contest, but Cornell coach Jeff Tambroni didn't bring his "A" game as Syracuse won its second consecutive title with a 10-9 overtime victory before an announced 41,935 at Gillette Stadium.
Entering the game, Cornell (13-4) wanted to control the tempo, and the Big Red did for nearly three quarters. Syracuse couldn't contain Cornell's first midfield group of John Glynn, Rocco Romero and Max Seibald, and the Orange had no answer for attackman Rob Pannell behind the goal.
But once Cornell took a 6-4 lead with 6 minutes, 38 seconds remaining in the third quarter, the Big Red went to a near stall. Instead of attacking the goal, Cornell was content holding the ball. The Big Red never regained any offensive momentum.
"Yeah, we got away from that offense that was successful for us in the first half, and too much holding back with the ball. It bit us in the butt," Glynn said.
Tambroni also should have used timeouts at two crucial moments. Once freshman midfielder Roy Lang took possession of the ball inside the offensive box with two minutes left in the game and a 9-8 lead, Tambroni should have called timeout and got the ball into the hands of Pannell, Seibald or Glynn. Instead, Lang was stripped of the ball, which helped lead to the game-tying goal with four seconds remaining.
After Cornell won the opening faceoff in overtime and got the ball behind the goal to junior attackman Ryan Hurley, Tambroni should have called timeout there as well to set up a play for his upset-minded team against a proven Syracuse group.
"I tip my cap to Syracuse. They showed poise at the end of the game, and played like they had been here before," Tambroni said.
Jamieson shines
Where does the Orange find these guys?
The game-winning goal was scored by Cody Jamieson, a Native American who wasn't eligible to play until Game 13 of the Orange's 14-game regular season. Jamieson has just nine goals this season, but eight of those came in four tournament games.
His transcripts and grades had to be cleared by the NCAA before he could play, even though he practiced with Syracuse all season. Jamieson is 5 feet 9, 200 pounds, and basically plays with one hand. But that left-handed shot is lethal.
