Ithaca, N.Y. – Men's polo put up a hard, but ultimately not strong enough fight against #3 University of Virginia in the second semifinal round of the USPA Intercollegiate National Championship on Thursday.   The 13-10 loss marks the end of the Big Red's season.
 
Cornell's starting trio of Ignacio Masias, Ryan Saul, and Dan Shaw jumped out early in the first to take the 5-1 lead.  The Cavaliers fought back to trail only 5-3 by the end of the chukker.  
 
The Big Red kept the momentum following up with a strong second chukker to lead 9-4 at the half.  
 
UVA refused to back down.   The momentum changing play came at the first throw of the second half.  The ball came out of the throw and Masias quickly jumped on it for the back shot.  His well-struck shot caught the foot of a UVA horse and kicked right to where the rider could tap it in.   From there the Cavaliers out scored the Big Red 4-1 in the chukker to close the gap to 10-8 after three. 
 
The beginning of the fourth saw the teams go end to end.  Then the ball started to bounce UVA's way.   The momentum shift combined with the Red struggling to score led to a 5-0 run for the Cavaliers. 
 
UVA went on to take the 13-10 victory for a chance to face Texas A&M in the finals.  Masias ended with eight goals while Shaw and Saul each contributed one.
 
It was the end of a dream season for a team that frightened nobody on paper.  The Big Red never gave in or got rattled in the arena.  Cornell earned its way back to a highly competitive National tournament and gave its all.  "They represented themselves and Cornell with class," says head coach David Eldredge.  " I'm extremely proud of what they accomplished this year."