last season, when he limped through his freshman season with a high right ankle sprain sustained in the first spring practice. Although he appeared in all 15 games, finishing with seven goals and five assists, the injured ankle never fully healed. “I tried to come back a little too
early and play through it, but it ended up not being 100 percent throughout the season,” James Pannell said. “It was a nagging injury.” Pannell’s explosiveness has returned this season. The 5-foot- 10, 195-pound attackman scored 30 goals in Virginia’s first 11 games. Not coincidentally, the Cavaliers,
coming off an uncharacteristic 7-8 season in which they missed the NCAA tournament for just the second time since Dom Starsia took over as coach in 1993, won eight of their first 11 games — including wins over Loyola, Syracuse and Johns Hopkins. A healthy Pannell
on attack, paired with Mark Cockerton (a team-high 32 goals at press time), helps light the fire for the rejuvenated Cavaliers.
Dan Lintner
THE BIG RED EDGE
Cornell lost the most prolific scorer in NCAA history and his favorite target as part of a
team from last year and the team from this year on the field against each other, it would be a great battle.”
massive senior class exodus, and then lost its coach after a hazing investigation derailed its fall season. No one expected the Big Red to be back.
“From Day 1 we’ve had a chip on our shoulder,” faceoff man Doug Tesoriero said. “We went through a lot of stuff in the fall. A lot of people doubted us. But I feel like if we put our
Cornell, ranked 18th in the preseason by Lacrosse Magazine, was No. 1 in LM’s Top 20 at press time after running to a 9-0 start—its best since 2007. “We knew there would be a growing period, but we were a little disappointed that coming off a final-four season, some people didn’t even have us in the top 20,” interim coach Matt Kerwick said. “The goals are the same here, and those are the Ivy League title and to be playing deep into May. There is an edge with us right now, and I don’t have a problem with that.” — Gary Lambrecht and Eamon McAnaney
“He’s playing with great confidence
right now,” said Starsia, noting Pannell’s seven-goal performance against Syracuse. “He’s a very important piece of our puzzle, because we have Cockerton on the other side, who can be so dangerous. James just makes us so much harder to defend, because he is so dangerous on the right-hand side.” Pannell’s teammates thought a breakout season was looming after watching him in fall ball, especially his three-goal performance against Princeton at the San Francisco Fall Lacrosse Classic in October. “He’s made some moves that you
didn’t see him make last year,” junior attackman Owen Van Arsdale said. “He’s just blowing by guys.” Pannell always will be compared to
his brother, who’s quick to note the differences between them. “He is about 10 times the athlete I
am,” Rob Pannell said. “He’s a natural athlete. I worked very hard to improve my speed, improve my strength. Because of that, I’ve become a very good athlete.” The Pannells are completely different attackmen, too. Rob Pannell is a playmaker, often looking to get his teammates in position to score. James Pannell is a finisher, an off-ball shooter and an initiator,
A Publication of US Lacrosse
often the player to get the Virginia offense moving. “He’s a better athlete, and I have a
higher lacrosse IQ,” Rob Pannell joked. “He’s a better athlete. I’m a better lacrosse player.” There also is a significant difference
in how the brothers were recruited. Rob Pannell used a post-graduate year at Deerfield (Mass.) to get Cornell’s attention. “To be honest, 20 years ago, we probably would’ve missed on Rob Pannell, because he was such a late bloomer,” Starsia said. James Pannell began his varsity
career at Long Island’s Smithtown West as an eighth-grader. He eventually broke Rob’s school scoring record. He had his choice of the top programs in the country. It came down to Virginia and Cornell. “Anywhere I went,” he said, “I was going to be compared to him.” Starsia tied James Pannell’s development to Virginia’s turnaround. “I don’t feel Rob’s shadow as much as
James does. Ultimately, that’s not going to go away overnight,” Starsia said. “It’s going to take a little while before he completely steps out of that shadow, because his older brother was just one of the finest players that has come down the pike in some time.” LM
May 2014 >> LACROSSE MAGAZINE 49
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