RED ALERT: Connor Fletcher head upfield this spring in his freshman campaign for the Cornell University men’s lacrosse team. Former Princeton Day School standout Fletcher enjoyed a big debut season for the Big Red, tallying 32 points on 22 goals and 10 assists. (Photo by Dari Zehr, provided courtesy of Cornell’s Office of Athletics Communications)

It didn’t take long for Connor Fletcher to make an impact in his freshmen season for the Cornell University men’s lacrosse team.

Making his debut for Cornell as it faced Penn State in the 2017 season opener on February 18, Fletcher scored early in the second quarter.

“I was a lot more nervous going into it, there was a lot of anticipation for the season,” said Fletcher.

“It was definitely different; it was a bigger stage. It was good to get over that hump and not have that hanging over my head going into the next game.”

Building on that start, Fletcher produced a very good freshman campaign, tallying 32 points on 22 goals and 10 assists.

While Fletcher enjoyed being a three-sport athlete at PDS, competing in soccer and hockey along with lacrosse, he was ready to channel his efforts into lax at the next level.

“I do miss the other sports like soccer and hockey,” said the 6’3, 225-pound Fletcher, whose 22 goals and 32 points are the sixth most ever scored by a Big Red freshman.

“It was neat to be able to focus on lacrosse all year round and see what kind of a difference that makes in my progression of skills when I have the ability to play every single day. Being able to play the game year round with kids who are phenomenal players helped my overall stick skills and lacrosse IQ.”

Fletcher’s lax IQ was tested when he was moved to attack early in the season.

“I had been used to playing midfield at the high school level and the club level, and trying to transition those skills from high school to college was difficult,” said Fletcher.

“Then I had to switch my whole position and adapt to the college level so that was a challenge in itself. It was easier with the coaching staff around me. They did a lot of extra work with me, they were always available so that was really helpful.”

It helped to be on the field with classmate Jeff Teat who tallied 72 points on 33 goals and 39 assists in earning second-team All-Ivy League honors.

“He is one of those players like Michael Jordan who makes everyone around him better,” said Fletcher.

“He is creating offense no matter where he is and that was most of the reason I was so successful.”

One of Fletcher’s better experiences this spring came on March 11 when he faced former PDS teammate Griffin Thompson as the Big Red played University of Virginia in Costa Mesa, Calif.

“The UVA game out in California was an awesome game; it was a high scoring game,” said Fletcher, who tallied two goals and three assists in a losing cause as Cornel fell 19-18 in overtime.

“I think there were 6,000 people there. The environment was awesome. It was under the lights; it was the first warm weather game we had played all year. It was probably one of the cooler games I have ever played in my lacrosse career as a whole. Griffin didn’t start but he came in at the half. He had a great second half, he stopped a couple that I shot. He holds that over me a little bit. It was a lot of fun.”

The Big Red enjoyed a great ending to the spring, edging Princeton 18-17 in its season finale as it finished 5-8 overall and 3-3 Ivy.

“The PU-Cornell rivalry is one we look forward to; we circle that one,” said Fletcher.

“There is a reason that is the last game of the season for us mostly every single year. That was a big win for us, it was our only win beating a Top 20 team.”

Fletcher, for his part, is looking to do what he can to help Cornell become a Top 20 team.

“I want to keep improving and hopefully create more offense for the team,” said Fletcher, who is coaching for the Blue Star Lacrosse program at the Hun School this summer in addition to training on his own.

“Ultimately our goal as a team is to win the Ivy League title and after that get a berth into the NCAA tournament and go as far as we can there. The sky is the limit for us. We are confident. We have a really young and talented team so the expectations are pretty high. We lost one or two defensive starters and the rest of the offensive starters are coming back.”