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GAME INFORMATION
GAME #9: Cornell vs. Yale
GAMETIME: Saturday, Oct. 4, at noon
SERIES RECORD: Cornell leads, 16-13-1
LAST MEETING: Cornell won 1-0, on Sept. 21, 2007, at Ithaca, N.Y.
GAME #10: Cornell vs. Lehigh
GAMETIME: Sunday, Oct. 5, at noon
SERIES RECORD: Cornell leads, 15-1-1
LAST MEETING: Cornell won, 2-1, on Aug. 31, 2007, at Bethlehem, Pa.
GAME SITE: Marsha Dodson Field (Ithaca, N.Y.)
2008 RECORDS: Cornell (4-4, 2-0); Yale (2-5, 0-2); Lehigh (3-6)
THE HEAD COACH: Cornell head coach Donna Hornibrook is in her fifth season at Cornell (34-40, .459) ... Hornibrook became the sixth coach in Cornell field hockey history in January 2004 ... She has a 205-87-10 (.695) record as a head coach, including a 111-39-4 mark at Houghton and a 60-8-6 record at New Brunswick.
THE BIG RED'S LAST GAME: The Big Red dropped a slim 1-0 decision to Fairfield on University Field in Fairfield, Conn. In her first collegiate start, freshman Alex Botte was solid in goal, making six saves to keep Cornell within striking distance. The Big Red opened the game with a great deal of offensive pressure, taking four shots in the opening minutes. Cornell hit the post with one of those shots, and despite the pressure, was unable to get on the board as the teams went into halftime in a scoreless tie. In the 43rd minute of the contest, Fairfield's Emily Janis converted a penalty corner to give the Stags all the offense they needed to earn the victory. Cornell outshot the Stags, 11-7, including a 7-1 advantage in the second half. The Big Red also had a chance late in the game to send the contest into overtime with a pair of penalty corners in the waning seconds of regulation, but was unable to convert.
THE MATCHUP WITH YALE: After a heartbreaking 1-0 loss to Fairfield last weekend, the Big Red looks to remain undefeated in Ivy League action on Saturday as it plays host to Yale on Marsha Dodson Field at noon. Cornell holds the all-time series advantage, 16-13-1, but the teams have traded victories the past two seasons with the Big Red avenging a 4-2 loss on Schoellkopf Field in 2006 with a 1-0 victory in New Haven last season.
SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS: Yale fell to 2-5 last weekend when it dropped a 2-1 decision to Lock Haven. The Bulldogs have gotten goals from six different players, with Ashley McCauley leading the pack with five goals for a team-high 10 points. Katie Cantore has a squad-best four assists, while Dinah Landshut has registered two goals and two assists. In goal, Charlotte Goins has seen the majority of minutes for Yale, posting a 3.34 goals-against average, while stopping .667 percent of the shots she has faced in 335 minutes of action. Katie Bolling has played just 154 minutes, but got the start in Yale's last outing. Bolling has a 1.36 GAA to go along with a save percentage of .864.
THE LAST TIME VS. YALE:Brenna Gulotta's first goal of the season proved to be the game-winner as Cornell defeated Yale, 1-0, on Johnson Field in New Haven, Conn. Neither team managed to get on the board in the first half, but Cornell wasted little time after the intermission with Gulotta's goal coming in the 40th minute of play. The game was a fairly even one, with Cornell holding a slight 11-8 advantage in shots, while both teams took six penalty corners and received six saves from their goalies. Cornell netminder Shannon Prescott collected the win, while Charlotte Goins recorded the loss for the Bulldogs.
THE BULLDOGS' LAST GAME: Lock Haven used some late-game fireworks to down Yale, 2-1, on Johnson Field in New Haven, Conn. The Bulldogs got on the board first, netting the go-ahead goal in the 38th minute after Ashley McCauley found the back of the cage. LHU drew even when Blair Wynne scored in the 63rd minute. The Lady Eagles took the lead for good with just 1:19 left in regulation as Suzann Hobart scored off a pass from Najia Hassan. LHU held the 16-9 advantage in shots and a 7-6 edge in penalty shots. Katie Bolling earned her first career start for Yale and made five saves in the loss, while Erin Terreson turned away six shots for LHU.
THE MATCHUP WITH LEHIGH: The Big Red plays host to Lehigh on Sunday, Sept. 28 at noon. The series began in 1991, and Cornell is 15-1-1 all-time against the Mountain Hawks, with its lone loss coming during the 1993 campaign.
SCOUTING THE MOUNTAIN HAWKS: Lehigh carries a 3-6 record into a contest with Colgate on Saturday afternoon in Hamilton, N.Y. Kelly Fox leads the Mountain Hawks with a team-high in goals (6) and points (12), while Kara Zweizig and Lindsey Smith lead the squad with three assists apiece. Zweizig has also added two goals for a total of seven points. Lehigh has used two goalies this season, with Jessica Miller seeing 440 minutes, while Lilia Stefaniwsky has played 210 minutes. The tandem has split time evenly over two games last weekend, while Stefaniwsky earned her first career start two weeks ago against Georgetown. Miller has posted a .689 save percentage and a 3.65 goals-against average, while Stefaniwsky has saved .781 percent of shots faced and registered a 2.33 GAA.
THE LAST TIME VS. LEHIGH: Cornell jumped out to an early lead and held on for the victory as it won its 2007 season-opener vs. Lehigh, 2-1, at the Ulrich Sports Complex in Bethlehem, Pa. Katlyn Donoghue scored the game's first goal off of a penalty corner at the 32:22 mark of the first half with Abbi Horn and Natalie Appleton earning the assists. Cornell upped its lead to 2-0 as Alyssa DePaola found the back of the net to score her first goal of the season just over four minutes into the second half. Lehigh cut the deficit in half when Kara Zweizig knocked in a rebound off of a penalty corner at the 44:33 mark but the Mountain Hawks were unable to get the tying goal. Between the pipes, Shannon Prescott made seven saves to pick up the victory, while Lehigh's Jessica Miller stopped nine. Cornell outshot the Mountain Hawks, 15-10, and held a 6-4 advantage in penalty corners.
THE MOUNTAIN HAWKS' LAST GAME: Lehigh dropped a 4-1 decision to Villanova last Sunday at a rain-soaked Villanova Stadium. Meredith Sabatini put the Wildcats in front at the 13:36 mark as she redirected Abby Sordoni's drive off a penalty corner for her first goal of the season. She added a second goal capitalizing on a rebound in front of the goal cage, just over 31 minutes into the half. Lehigh scored its lone goal two minutes before halftime when sophomore Taryn Hartzell netted her first goal of the season off a penalty corner. The Mountain Hawks held their own against the Wildcats in the opening 35 minutes, out-shooting the hosts by a 6-4 margin and holding a 5-2 edge in penalty corners. With their lead cut to one at the break, the Wildcats picked things up in the second half, firing 15 shots to just four for the Mountain Hawks. Villanova added two more scores in the second half, with Dana Ramsden converting a penalty stroke and Meg Ryan capping the scoring with a goal in the final minute. Sophomore Jessica Miller played the first half in goal for Lehigh and made one save. Lilia Stefaniwsky played the second half and turned aside 10 Wildcat shots.
VS. THE PATRIOT LEAGUE: The Big Red is 47-49-6 all-time vs. the current members of the Patriot League. Cornell has a winning record against Lehigh (15-1-1), but holds a losing record against Lafayette (5-12-2), Colgate (15-18-3), American (0-1), Bucknell (9-12), and Holy Cross (3-5) … Cornell is 9-8 vs. the Patriot League during Coach Hornibrook's tenure.
DON'T I KNOW YOU?: There will be a familiar face on the Lehigh sideline, as Mountain Hawk sophomore Claire Horn is the younger sister of Cornell senior Abbi Horn.
THAT'S A START: Cornell goalie Alex Botte got her first collegiate start against Fairfield on Sept. 28. The freshman netminder stopped six shots in a 1-0 loss.
MOVING ON UP: The weekend of Sept. 20-21 proved to be a successful one for Belen Martinez and Abbi Horn, both of whom moved into the top 10 of several career categories at Cornell. Currently, Martinez ranks seventh in career goals and ninth in career points, while Horn sits in eight place in career assists and 10th overall in career points. She also sits just two goals shy of moving into the top 10 in career goals.
STRONG STOPPER: In her first year with the Big Red field hockey team, junior goalkeeper Melanie Jue has been solid, ranking among the best in the nation in save percentage (.784 – 11th) and goals-against average (1.59 – 20th). She has also posted the second-highest number of saves in the nation in a single game with her 19-save performance vs. Albany on Sept. 6, second only to Susie Rowe of Maryland, who made 20 saves against Northwestern on Sept. 7.
WHERE WE RANK: Several Cornell players rank among the best in the conference in several categories. Belen Martinez ranks fourth in points (14), points per game (1.75), goals (6) and goals per game (0.75). Abbi Horn ranks sixth in points (11), points per game (1.38), goals (4), goals per game (.50) and assists (3), and is eighth assists per game (.38). Goalie Melanie Jue is second in goals-against average (1.59) and save percentage (.784) and is fourth in saves (40), and saves per game (5.71).
PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Abbi Horn was named the Ivy League Player of the Week on Sept. 23, following an outstanding weekend against Penn and Georgetown. It is the second Player of the Week award bestowed upon Horn during her career with the Big Red. Horn assisted on the final goal in Cornell's 3-1 victory over the Quakers, but that paled in comparison to her performance on Sunday in which she registered a hat trick against the Hoyas. The three goals were the best single-game performance by a Cornell player since Gina Testa tallied four scores at Rutgers on Oct. 31, 2004.
CLOSE CALLS: Cornell's 1-0 loss to Fairfield on Sept. 28 continued the Big Red's trend of playing in one-goal games. Since the start of the 2006 season, the Big Red has lost 20 games, with 14 of those coming by a single goal, including seven in overtime. During that same span, Cornell has won 10 one-goal games. So far this season, all four of Cornell's losses have come in one-goal contests, including one in overtime.
IVY OPENERS: Cornell opened its 30th season of play in the Ivy League on Sept. 20 with a 3-1 victory over Penn. With the win, the Big Red improved to 12-15-3 all-time in conference season openers, thanks mostly to an 9-3 record since 1997. Cornell has played only four of the seven Ivy League teams in its season openers through the years. Cornell has had its best outings in Ivy League openers against Yale (1-0) and Columbia (6-1). The Big Red has played Princeton more than any other team in conference openers (14), posting a 3-9-2 record, but the two teams have not met in the season opener since 1999. Cornell has met Penn eight times in its conference opener, posting a 2-5-1 record against the Quakers. All but two of those games came prior to the 1989 season, with the 2002 and 2008 meetings proving to be Big Red victories.
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 three-of-four seasons, with a high of 14 in 2005. So far this season, 10 different Big Red players have registered at least on point.
KNOCK THREE TIMES: When the Big Red fell to Syracuse during the 2006 season, 4-3, in overtime, it marked the first time in Coach Hornibrook's career with Cornell that the team scored three goals and lost the contest. Under Coach Hornibrook, the Big Red is 21-1 in games in which it scores at least three goals after a 4-3 victory over Columbia on Sept 26.
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 32-8 record in games in which they have scored first. Conversely, the team has won only two 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 coming during the 2007 season as the Big Red came back to defeat Princeton, 4-3.
THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE (A NEW) HOME: The Big Red is 2-0 on its new field, Marsha Dodson Field. Built this past summer and christened against Penn on Sept. 20, the field features AstroTurf, the preferred surface for NCAA Division I play, a permanent scoreboard, a set of portable bleachers and a portable scorer's table. The stadium provides an intimate setting for fans of the Big Red, as it seats approximately 300 spectators. The stadium also features a state-of-the-art sprinkler and drainage system which allows the field to be watered for all training and competition.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK: Melanie Jue was named the Ivy League Rookie of the Week on Sept. 9 after helping the Big Red open the season with a 1-1 record. In her first collegiate start, Jue made 19 saves against No. 19 Albany before dropping a 1-0 decision to the Great Danes on Sept. 6. The following day, Jue was not called upon to make a single save as she recorded her first career shutout. Jue, who is a junior at Cornell, is considered a rookie because she has not played field hockey at the collegiate level prior to this season.
A RUDE WELCOME: After a two-year hiatus from field hockey, junior Melanie Jue saw action in her first collegiate game, getting the start in goal vs. No. 19 Albany on Sept. 6. The two-sport athlete was called on to make 19 saves during the contest, the most since Kaitlin Tierney stopped 20 shots vs. Princeton on Oct. 21, 2000.
BACK-TO-BACK-TO-BACK: Cornell has posted a winning record in Ivy League action in each of the last three seasons (5-2 in 2007, 4-3 in 2005 and 2006), marking the first time in program history that the Big Red field hockey team has had three straight winning records in conference play.
RANKED OPPONENTS: Cornell is 0-1 this season against ranked opponents after losing in the first weekend of play to No. 19 Albany. Last year, the Big Red was 2-1 vs. teams that were ranked in the NFHCA rankings, with its only loss coming to No. 15 Albany.
FOR OPENERS: After the loss to No. 19 Albany, the Big Red is 21-12-4 (.636) all-time in season-openers … The loss vs. the Great Danes was Coach Hornibrook's first in season-openers during her time with Cornell (4-1).
THE 200: Coach Hornibrook secured her 200th career win last season as the Big Red defeated Siena, 4-2, on Oct. 28, 2007.
UP NEXT: The Big Red will travel to Hamilton, N.Y. to play a mid-week contest vs. instate rival Colgate on Thursday, Oct. 9 at 7 p.m., before returning to Ithaca to face Division I newcomer Bryant on Marsha Dodson Field on Saturday, Oct. 11 at 1 p.m.
