GAME INFORMATION
GAME #4: Bucknell at Cornell
DATE: Saturday, Sept. 10, 2011
TIME: 3 p.m.
SITE: Ithaca, N.Y. – Charles F. Berman Field
2011 RECORDS: Bucknell 1-3; Cornell 0-3
SERIES RECORD: Cornell leads, 10-5-1
LAST MEETING: Cornell won, 2-0, on Sept. 19, 2010 at Lewisburg, Pa.
LIVE STATS: www.CornellBigRed.com
ABOUT THE BIG RED
Cornell's troubles in the second half continued on Wednesday against Colgate, with the visitors scoring all three of their goals after the intermission. Though winless through its opening three games, the Big Red has played the opening 45 minutes even with its opposition, 2-2. But the rest of the contests have been unkind to head coach Danielle LaRoche's squad, leaving the Big Red with an 0-3 mark. Junior forward Maneesha Chitanvis has factored in all of the team's goals, scoring a pair in the season opener at Fordham before setting up Brook Chang for the other tally. Seniors Kelly Murphy and Megan Bartlett have both earned starts in goal.
ABOUT BUCKNELL
The Bison are coming off their first win — and goals — of the season in a 2-1 victory over winless Maryland-Baltimore County on Sept. 4. Kayla Yee scored the winner with 1 minute, 10 seconds remaining in the second half after Liz Dwornik got Bucknell on the board earlier in the frame. But what the Bison have lacked in offense this season has been made up for on the defensive end. The team has surrendered just five goals in four games — three of them resulting in 1-0 losses to open the season against St. Bonaventure, Buffalo and Canisius in August. Sandita McDermott and Colleen Garrehy have started two games apiece in goal behind a four-back defense anchored by Corinne Collins and Casey Crowley. The Bison were scheduled to play Wednesday at Binghamton, but the game was canceled due to heavy rain and flooding in the area.
THE SERIES WITH BUCKNELL
Cornell ended a five-game losing streak to Bucknell last season with a 2-0 victory in Lewisburg, Pa. Maneesha Chitanvis and Annmarie Irwin scored second-half goals for the Big Red on assists from Abigail Apistolas and Xandra Hompe, respectively. Megan Bartlett made six saves for one of her three shutouts on the season. The Big Red owns the series lead with a 10-5-1 mark since the teams' first meeting in 1992. Cornell was unbeaten in its first 10 games with Bucknell.
HEAD COACH DANIELLE LAROCHE
Now in her fifth season directing the Big Red women's soccer program, Danielle LaRoche has assembled a team that is on the verge of a breakout. The fourth coach in Cornell history, she holds a career coaching mark of 13-48-3, but the Big Red is coming off its best season since 2005. She picked up her first collegiate head coaching victory on Sept. 7, 2007, when Cornell defeated Hartford, 1-0, in double overtime. LaRoche's career also includes stops as an assistant coach at George Mason, Binghamton and Howard. A 1995 graduate of Maryland, LaRoche played two seasons for the Terrapins under April Heinrichs, who would later go on to serve as the head coach of the U.S. Women's National Team. LaRoche is assisted by Megan Ramey and Danielle Plourde, both in their first season with the Big Red.
YOUTH IS STILL SERVED
After sporting just two seniors on its roster last season, the Big Red still has fewer seniors on its squad than any other class. Twenty of the team's 33 players are underclassmen, while just six – Megan Bartlett, Kelly Murphy, Abigail Apistolas, Abageal Vonderweidt, Brook Chang and Sidra Bonner – are seniors.
ALL-IVY ANCHORS
Not only did Cornell lose just one starter to graduation after a 2010 season that saw the team record its highest win total in five years, but it returns a decorated pair of seniors. Central defender Sidra Bonner and goalkeeper Megan Bartlett, both named second-team All-Ivy League players last season, return to anchor a Big Red back line that surrendered just 17 goals while racking up six shutouts last season.
FOLLOW THE LEADER
Seniors Sidra Bonner and Abigail Apistolas serve as co-captains for the Big Red. Both were also captains in 2010 and have played in every one of the team's games in each of the last two seasons.
NATIONAL APPEAL
The Big Red has 13 different states represented on the team roster, with Virginia having six players on the roster. Cornell has five players that hail from California, four from Massachusetts, three from New Jersey and New York, and two apiece from Minnesota, Michigan, Connecticut and Pennsylvania. States with a single representative include Hawaii, Colorado, New Mexico and Oregon.
UP NEXT
Cornell welcomes Binghamton to Berman Field on Wednesday, Sept. 14 to wrap up a four-game homestand before hitting the road to play a pair of games in the Marist Tournament on Sept. 16 (against Marist) and Sept. 18 (against Hartford).
