ST. PAUL, Minn. – Cornell's men picked up their first victory of 2021 Saturday evening with a 12-8 neutral-site triumph over Northland in the Midwest Lacrosse Conference opener for both teams at Northwestern's Reynolds Field.

Kyle Jussila and Ethan Kupka (SO/Thornton, Colo.) had the victory bell on their mind, scorching the Lumberjacks for a combined eight goals. Jussila kicked things off with a first-half hat trick. Kupka followed it up with his own in the second half, while Jussila added on two more goals.

After a slow first quarter, Jussila and Demarius Pittman (JR/Denver, Colo.) put the Rams (1-1 overall, 1-0 MLC) up 4-1, but Northland overtook the lead 17 seconds before halftime.

Northland (0-1 overall, 0-1 MLC) tacked on one more score to start the third quarter, but the Rams gained back momentum and rattled off seven straight goals.

Warren Wiberg (SO/Valley Center, Calif.) tallied his second score on a helper from Kupka to ice the match.

Cornell was efficient with the ball, scoring the 12 points on only 28 shots, and only turning the ball over 13 times, including just once in the fourth quarter.

Lincoln Warner (SO/Oak Park, Ill.) and Jussila scooped up four ground balls each.

Evan Begner (FR/Evergreen, Colo.) recorded his first career win in the Rams' net, fending off 16 of Northland's 40 shots in 60 minutes of action.

Coming up – The Rams are back in the Twin Cities Wednesday for an MLC matchup against the University of Northwestern St. Paul. Faceoff is set for 7 p.m.