MOUNT VERNON – Cornell goalie Thomas Cook recorded 17 saves against a relentless Lake Forest attack in Saturday's 17-7 Midwest Lacrosse Conference loss at Van Metre Field at Ash Park.
 
Lake Forest (10-1 overall, 1-0 MLC), the defending MLC champion, took control early in building a 10-2 halftime lead. The Rams (4-6 overall, 0-1 MLC) held their own after intermission, scoring five times against the MLC preseason favorite.
 
Cook logged 52 minutes in net for the Rams before being relieved by Nathan Diveley in the fourth period. Cook raised his career saves total to 442, only 25 shy of Cornell's all-time mark.
 
Luke Baldwin scored twice for Cornell's balanced offense, which saw six players record a goal. Tyler Foster, Ash Hoelscher, Charley Kobets, Matt Norwood and Caden Lynch all found the back of the net once. Foster and Alex Wallis each added one assist.
 
The Rams converted 23-of-27 clear attempts, although were plagued by 45 turnovers. Lake Forest attempted 76 shots and held a 58-33 advantage in ground balls.  
 
Cornell received five ground balls apiece from Cook and Ben Schwartz.
 
Saturday marked the teams' fifth meeting over the past 23 months. They've battled in the semifinals each of the past two MLC Tournaments.
 
Coming up – The Rams travel to play Earlham for an 11 a.m. nonconference match Saturday, April 6 in Richmond, Ind.