MOUNT VERNON – Sophomore goalie Thomas Cook registered a career-high 26 saves in Cornell's 15-4 home-opening men's lacrosse loss to Illinois Tech Saturday at snow-surrounded Van Metre Field at Ash Park.
 
The Scarlet Hawks (1-0) struck for two goals in the opening minute and had Cornell (1-1) playing catchup the rest of the contest.
 
Fifth-year Kyle Jussila accounted for all four goals by the Rams, boosting his season total to 10 through only two games. Freshman Rory MacLean assisted on two scores, while Warren Wiberg provided one helper.
 
Cook was under heavy pressure an aggressive attack by Illinois Tech, which fired 62 total shots. The Cornell goalie came within three saves of the program's single-game record. Cook also led the team with nine ground balls.
 
Jussila scored twice in the second period, helping cut the deficit to 5-2 with 5:51 to go in the first half. The Scarlet Hawks answered with a 9-1 spurt that put the game out of reach.
 
Lincoln Warner and Luke Baldwin collected five and four ground balls, respectively. Warner had four face-off wins.  
 
The Rams converted 21-of-30 clear attempts and were outshot for the day, 62-23.
 
Coming up – The Rams travel to play Aurora next Saturday, Feb. 25, in Aurora, Ill.