MOUNT VERNON – Cornell got on the board early against defending Midwest Conference champion Lake Forest, but dropped a 3-2 match to the Foresters on a hot Saturday afternoon at home.

The Rams (2-5) jumped ahead of the Foresters (4-3-1) early on a header by Michael Paquette (SR/Erie, Colo.) at the 21-minute mark that came off of a beautiful cross by Facundo Benavidez (SO/Buenos Aires, Argentina), marking Paquette's first goal in the 2017 campaign. In the 31st minute, Benavidez again passed to an open teammate as Ethan Berube (JR/Cottage Grove, Minn.) found the back of the net for his first goal of the season as well.

Lake Forest got on the board in the 34th minute and added two second-half markers to get the win.

Seven different Rams attempted shots on the day, firing 11 total throughout the match. Logan Wright (JR/Davenport, Iowa) led Cornell with three shots.

Jerome Richards (JR/Urbandale, Iowa) manned the net for the Rams in the first half, making three saves. Tom Gallagher (FR/Cincinnati, Ohio) worked the final 45 minutes, chipping in four saves of his own.

Coming up – Cornell meets MWC opponent Ripon College (2-6-1) on Sunday afternoon for a 3:30 pm kickoff in Mount Vernon.