GAME INFORMATION
GAME #8: Cornell vs. Yale
GAME TIME: Saturday, Oct. 2, at 12:00 p.m.
GAME SITE: Marsha Dodson Field (Ithaca, N.Y.)
SERIES RECORD: Cornell leads, 17-14-1
LAST MEETING: Yale won, 1-0 (OT) on Oct. 3, 2009 (New Haven, Conn.)
2010 RECORDS: Cornell (5-2, 2-0 Ivy); Yale (5-3, 1-1)
LIVE STATS: www.CornellBigRed.com

GAME #9: Cornell vs. Saint Francis (Pa.)
GAME TIME: Sunday, Oct. 3, at 1 p.m.
GAME SITE: Marsha Dodson Field (Ithaca, N.Y.)
SERIES RECORD: Cornell leads, 1-0
LAST MEETING: Cornell won, 9-1 on Sept. 11, 2005 (Ithaca, N.Y.)
2010 RECORDS: Cornell (5-2); Saint Francis (Pa.) (2-7)*
LIVE STATS: www.CornellBigRed.com

* records prior to contests played on Friday, Oct. 1

THE MATCHUP: The Big Red field hockey team has a busy weekend coming up as it plays host to Yale and St. Francis (Pa.) on Marsha Dodson Field. The game against the Bulldogs will be played on Saturday, Oct. 2 at noon, before Cornell faces the Red Flash on Sunday, Oct. 3 at 1 p.m. The Big Red split a pair of games last weekend, defeating Columbia before falling to No. 3 Virginia to run its record to 5-2 on the year and 1-1 in the Ivy League. Yale also split a pair of games last weekend, falling to Princeton before beating Hofstra to improve to 5-3 overall (1-1 Ivy), while SFU (2-7) comes to Ithaca on a two-game skid.


THE SERIES WITH YALE: The series with the Bulldogs began in 1979, the first official season of Ivy League play, with a 3-0 Yale victory. The Bulldogs went on to enjoy an eight-game unbeaten streak before Cornell earned a 2-1 overtime victory in 1987. Despite not winning a contest until the 1987 season, the Big Red still holds a 17-14-1 advantage in the all-time series. In recent years, the series has been extremely competitive with 13 of the last 14 meetings being decided by one goal.

SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS: After starting the season with three straight victories, Yale has fallen to 5-3 overall and 1-1 in the Ivy League. The Bulldogs are solid on offense, ranking 16th in the nation with 3.00 goals per game, as nine different players have scored at least two goals on the season. Dinah Landshut sparks the offense, ranking seventh in the country in assists per game (1.0), while Taylor Sankovich leads the team with five goals. In goal, Katie Bolling has started all eight games and has posted a 2.29 goals-against average to go with a .736 save percentage and a 3-3 record.

LAST TIME VS. YALE: For the first time during the 2009 season, the Big Red came out on the wrong end of a decision, falling to Yale in overtime, 1-0. The Bulldogs Erin Carter scored off a penalty corner just 1:44 into the extra session to drop Cornell to 7-1 on the season and 2-1 in the Ivy League. The game-winning goal came despite Yale being down one player thanks to a yellow card. Yale outshot Cornell, 17-13, and held a 13-9 advantage in penalty corners, but Mel Jue made seven saves, all of which came in the second half of play, to keep Cornell in the game. The Big Red put just three shots on goal, with two stopped by Katie Bolling and one stopped by Charlotte Goins.

THE SERIES WITH SAINT FRANCIS (Pa.): Cornell has met the Red Flash just once before on the field hockey pitch, with the Big Red earning a 9-1 victory on Sept. 11, 2005. The nine goals and 25 points registered by Cornell during the game set single-game records for the program.

SCOUTING THE RED FLASH: Saint Francis (Pa.) comes to Ithaca on a two-game skid, having lost a pair of games last weekend to Colgate and La Salle to fall to 2-7 on the year. The Red Flash has struggled on offense and has been shut out in five of its nine games this season. SFU's 10 goals on the season have been scored by five different players with Tia Dudukovich leading the team with three goals. Dudukovich and Rebecca Reiff also have the team's only assists, with one helper apiece. In-between the pipes, Katelyn Vitali has seen the majority of action, starting all nine contests. Vitali has posted a 3.45 goals-against average and a .674 save percentage to go with a record of 2-6.

LAST TIME VS. SAINT FRANCIS (Pa.): Nine different players scored goals as the Big Red set a single-game record for goals in a 9-1 victory over Saint Francis (Pa.) on Sept. 11, 2005 at Schoellkopf Field. The nine goals was one more than the Big Red tallied against Wells in 1977 and most recently against Bucknell in 1996. The eight-goal margin of victory was the highest since the Wells game of 1977 (8-0). Four different Cornell players had multi-point games in the victory and 13 players were credited with at least one point as the Cornell offense spread out the point distribution against an overmatched Red Flash squad. Cornell outshot SFU 28-3 on the afternoon and held a 17-3 edge in penalty corners while liberally substituting in the second half. Freshman goalkeeper Shannon Prescott made one save and allowed the only goal in picking up her first collegiate win. She was backed up by several of her classmates as five freshmen scored goals. Senior Blair Corcoran, junior Lindsay Moyer and rookie Alyssa DePaola each ended the afternoon with a goal and an assist, while senior Natalie Serle had two assists on penalty corners.

VS. THE NEC: The Big Red owns a 2-0 record vs. the current members of the Northeast Conference, thanks to one victory each over Sacred Heart and Saint Francis (Pa.). Cornell has never faced Bryant, Central Connecticut State, Fairleigh Dickinson, Long Island, Monmouth, Mount St. Mary's, Quinnipiac, Robert Morris, Saint Francis (N.Y.) or Wagner.

THE HEAD COACH: Cornell head coach Donna Hornibrook is in her seventh season at Cornell (56-48, .538) ... Hornibrook became the sixth coach in Cornell field hockey history in January 2004 ... She has a 226-95-10 (.683) record as a head coach, including a 111-39-4 mark at Houghton and a 60-8-6 record at New Brunswick.

LAST TIME OUT: The Big Red split a pair of games last weekend, defeating Columbia before falling to No. 3 Virginia to run its record to 5-2 on the year and 1-1 in the Ivy League. Against the Lions, Catie De Stio scored off a penalty corner with just 2:23 remaining in the second overtime period to hand the Big Red a 3-2 victory. Cornell also received goals from Hannah Balleza and Christine Hibler. Two days later, De Stio scored two goals and Alex Botte made 11 saves in a 5-2 loss to No. 3 Virginia.

ROOKIE OF THE WEEK: Hannah Balleza was named the Ivy League Rookie of the Week on Sept. 28 after helping the Big Red to a 3-2 overtime victory over conference foe Columbia. She becomes Cornell's first Rookie of the Week since Mel Jue took the honor on Sept. 9, 2008. The freshman forward got Cornell on the board early-on, converting a penalty stroke to give the Big Red a 1-0 lead in the 20th minute of action. She later assisted on Catie De Stio's game-winner with 2:23 to play in the second overtime period.

IN THE RPI: As of the rankings on Sept. 21, Cornell is No. 20 in the RPI standings. The Rating Percentage Index is a quantity used to rank teams based upon a team's wins and losses and its strength of schedule. In its current formulation, the index comprises a team's winning percentage (25%), its opponents' winning percentage (50%), and the winning percentage of those opponents' opponents (25%). The next RPI report is scheduled to be released on Oct. 5.

IN THE RANKINGS: Catie De Stio currently ranks 16th in the country in points per game (2.14) and is 28th overall in goals per game (0.86). Alex Botte ranks 18th in the nation in saves per game (6.57) and is 22nd overall in save percentage (.754).

IVY LEADERS: Several Big Red players are ranked in the top 10 of the Ivy League in several statistical categories. Catie De Stio leads the way, as she ranks in the top 10 for points (3rd – 15), points per game (4th – 2.14), goals (4th – 6), goals per game (4th – 0.86) and game-winning goals (1st – 2). Alex Botte is ranked in four categories, including saves (2nd – 46), saves per game (3rd – 6.57), goals-against average (3rd – 2.04), and save percentage (3rd – .754). Hanna Balleza (goals – 8th – 4), Liz Schovee (defensive saves – 1st – 1) and Mattie Prodanovic (defensive saves – 1st – 1) are also ranked for the Big Red.

STROKE OF GENIUS: Hannah Balleza converted Cornell's first penalty stroke in nearly three years when she scored in the 20th minute at Columbia. The Big Red did not earn any penalty strokes in 2009 and had one missed in 2008. Cornell's last converted penalty stroke came from Natalie Appleton vs. Syracuse on Oct. 25, 2007.

BOMBARDING BOTTE: Junior netmider Alex Botte made a career-high 11 saves against No. 3 Virginia, the fourth-ranked offensive team in the nation at the time of the contest.

A BALANCED SHEET: So far this season, the Big Red has seen a tremendously balanced scoring offense, averaging 2.4 goals per game, but having only one game in which the same player scored multiple goals (Catie De Stio – 2 vs. Virginia).

HIGH PERCENTAGE SHOTS: Freshman Hannah Balleza has proven to be a very selective shooter for the Big Red, scoring four goals on just 10 shots. Additionally, of her 10 shots this season, nine have been on goal.

THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE (A NEW) HOME: The Big Red is 12-4 all-time on the newly constructed Marsha Dodson Field. Collectively, the team has outscored its opponents by a margin of 36-22 and has taken twice as many shots (356-144) as its opponents. The defense has been equally solid in the circle, allowing just 75 penalty corners (4.6 per game).

GET TO THE POINT: Cornell senior Catie De Stio has registered at least one point in 29-of-55 games since arriving on East Hill in 2007. Of those 29 games, Cornell has won 25. The Big Red has won only 11 games during that same span in which De Stio was held without a point.

MOVING ON UP: Catie De Stio is steadily making her way up the Cornell career records lists. She is currently ranked in Cornell's top-10 in career assists (3rd – 20), career points (4th – 80) and career goals (t-2nd – 30). Meanwhile, senior Kate Thompson needs three more assists to move into the top-10.

CIRCLE OF TRUST: So far this season, the Big Red defensive unit has allowed 6.1 penalty corners per season, just up from last season when Cornell allowed just 5.3 penalty corners per game, the best school average since the stat began to be recorded in 1998. Since taking over the program, Coach Hornibrook's teams have allowed just 6.8 penalty corners per game. That is significantly down from the 8.4 average prior to her arrival.

KNOCK THREE TIMES: When the Big Red fell to Syracuse during the 2006 season, 4-3, in overtime, it marked the only time in Coach Hornibrook's career with Cornell that the team scored three goals and lost the contest. Under Coach Hornibrook, the Big Red improved to 34-1 in games in which it scores at least three goals after a 3-2 double-overtime victory against Columbia on Sept. 24, 2010.

COMING AT YOU FROM ALL SIDES: Since taking over the Cornell program in 2004, Coach Hornibrook has had a dozen or more players register at least one point in four-of-six seasons, with a high of 14 in 2005. Just seven games into the 2010 season, the Big Red has seen eight players reach the points' column.

FAST STARTS: Scoring first has been a big part of the Big Red's success in recent years. Since Coach Hornibrook has taken over the program, Cornell has posted an impressive 51-8 record in games in which they have scored first. Conversely, the team has won only five games in which they have had to come back from an early deficit to win. The first was Coach Hornibrook's very first victory with the team, a 6-3 win over Lehigh in 2004, with the latest came on Sept. 12, 2010 as Cornell defeated Saint Joseph's, 3-1, in Philadelphia, Pa.

CLOSE CALLS: Cornell's 3-2 double-overtime victory against Columbia on Sept. 24, 2010 continued the Big Red's trend of playing in one-goal games. Since the start of the 2006 season, the Big Red has lost 28 games, with 17 of those coming by a single goal, including nine in overtime. During that same span, Cornell has won 42 games, with 22 coming in one-goal games, including seven in overtime.

FREE FIELD HOCKEY: Through the first seven games of the 2010 season, the Big Red has played in two overtime games, down significantly from the five overtime games it played in during the 2009 campaign. The five overtime games were the most since the 2001 season, when Cornell played six overtime contests.

TWINS AND MORE TWINS!: While ardent fans of the Big Red know that seniors Sara and Steph Sanders are twins, many might not know that three other members of the team have twins, all of which play collegiate sports. Sophomore Molly Casey's twin brother, Daniel, is a member of the Brown football team, while Carolyn Horner's twin, Gabrielle, plays lacrosse at Tufts, and Mallory Bannon's twin, Keelin, plays field hockey for American. Additionally, senior Kate Thompson has younger twin sisters, Helen and Becky.

PUTTING PENN IN PERSPECTIVE: Cornell's 4-0 victory over Penn was one of the best for the Big Red in the series with the Quakers. It was just the second time Cornell shut out Penn, with the first time occurring in 2002.The four goals were the most ever scored by the Big Red against Penn and it was the largest margin of victory for Cornell in the series. The win was also Cornell's third straight, which is the Big Red's longest winning streak in the series.

BUCKNELL BLANKS BIG RED: For the second straight season, Cornell was shutout by the Bison, falling 1-0 last season and 3-0 this season. The Big Red hasn't been blanked by the same team in consecutive seasons since Vermont did so in 2005 (2-0) and 2006 (2-0).

OPENING UP: Big Red is 23-12-4 (.641) all-time in season-openers. This season, the Big Red defeated Lock Haven, 1-0, in its first game, improving Coach Hornibrook to 6-1 in season-openers during her time with Cornell.

HATS OFF: After going three seasons without seeing a Cornell player score three goals in a single game, the Big Red has had four players register hat tricks since the start of the 2008 season – Catie De Stio (Penn, Sept. 18, 2009), Abbi Horn (Georgetown, Sept. 21, 2008), Kelley Kantarian (Colgate, Oct. 9, 2008) and Catie De Stio (Bryant, Oct. 11, 2008). The three hat tricks during the 2008 season was the most by the Big Red since having four during the 1995 season. That year, Cari Hills scored three goals vs. Colgate and four goals against Holy Cross, while Emily Robb tallied three against both Lehigh and Brown. Until the 2008 season, Cornell had never had three different players register hat tricks in the same season.

HALL OF FAME COACH: This summer, Cornell head coach Donna Hornibrook was inducted into the Prince Edward Island Sports Hall of Fame. Hornibrook, a native of Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, has an enjoyed an excellent field hockey career, not only as an outstanding player, but as a very successful coach.

OH CAPTAIN, MY CAPTAIN: Seniors Sara Sanders and Kate Thompson have been named captains for the 2010 season.

EVERYBODY'S ALL-AMERICAN: Following the 2009 season, Catie De Stio was named to the NFHCA Division I Mideast Region All-America second-team.

ALL-IVY ACCOLADES: Cornell had three players named to the respective All-Ivy teams in 2009, including two players that return for the 2010 season – senior Catie De Stio (first-team) and senior Kate Thompson (second-team).

SMARTY PANTS: The 2009 Big Red squad earned the NFHCA National Academic Team Award for the second time during head coach Donna Hornibrook's tenure, while Cornell placed at least three players on the NFHCA National Academic Squad for the sixth-straight year as Katie Kirnan, Alex Botte, Lauren Neal, Mattie Prodanovic and Kate Thompson were all honored.

UP NEXT: The Big Red hits the road for a non-conference game at Colgate on Wednesday, Oct. 6 at 7 p.m., before returning to Ithaca for a non-conference game against Lehigh on Sunday, Oct. 10 at noon.