GAME INFORMATION
GAME #12: Cornell vs. Bryant
GAMETIME: Saturday, Oct. 11, at 1 p.m.
GAME SITE: Marsha Dodson Field (Ithaca, N.Y.)
SERIES RECORD: First Meeting
2008 RECORDS: Cornell (7-4); Bryant (1-10)
LIVE STATS: http://livestats.internetconsult.com/cornell/fhockey/
LIVE VIDEO: None
THE MATCHUP WITH BRYANT: The Big Red will welcome Division I newcomer Bryant to Marsha Dodson Field today. Cornell is fresh off a 6-4 victory over Colgate as it improved to 7-4 on the season. Bryant, which will play as an Independent until it joins the Northeast Conference for the 2012-13 academic year, has had a difficult season, posting a 1-10 record and playing only two home games all year long. The Bulldogs' lone win came against Division II Mansfield when they defeated the Mounties, 3-2.
SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS: Bryant fell to 1-10 last weekend when it dropped a 2-1 decision to Rider. The Bulldogs have struggled on offense, being outscored by 3.64 goals per game. Offensively, Bryant is led by Elise Boissoneau with a team-high four goals for eight points, while Alexandra Czerniak has registered five points on two goals and one assist. Kundayi Mawema has seen the majority of minutes in goal for Bryant, posting a 4.89 goals-against average, while stopping .672 percent of the shots she has faced.
THE BULLDOGS' LAST GAME: Despite a surge early in the second half and a goal from sophomore Elise Boissoneau, the Bryant field hockey team was unable to pull out a win on Senior Day, falling to Rider, 2-1, at the Bryant Turf Complex. The Broncs came out fast in the first half, scoring just eight minutes in off a rebound. Amanda Barretta got the goal for Rider to go up, 1-0. Rider scored again in the 20th minute, off the stick of Margaret Ecke, off a Kundayi Mawema, rebound for the 2-0 lead that would stick through halftime. After the break the Bulldogs came out on fire, controlling the opening minutes of the second frame and getting a goal just two minutes in from Boissoneau - her fourth of the year - who put the ball past Rider goalkeeper Lyndsie Johnson off a dish from teammate Julie Kuchyt. But despite keeping it even through the remainder of the game - the shots were 5-5 in the second - the Bulldogs couldn't find net again, falling 2-1. The Broncs outshot Bryant, 19-12, while Mawema made 11 saves in the loss. Johnson recorded two saves for Rider.
THE BIG RED'S LAST GAME: Junior Kelley Kantarian registered a hat trick, including the game-winning goal in the 60th minute as Cornell defeated Colgate in an offensive shootout, 6-4, on Thursday evening at Tyler's Field in Hamilton, N.Y. Kantarian also added an assist for seven points on the night, while sophomore Catie De Stio tallied a goal and two assists. The Big Red also got goals from Kate Thompson and Abbi Horn, while Mattie Prodanovic and Natalie Appleton added one assist apiece. The game was a fairly even one, with both teams taking five penalty corners each, while the Big Red held the slight edge in shots, 17-15. Both teams put 11 shots on goal but Cornell had the advantage as junior goalie Melanie Jue made seven saves to pick up the win, while Colgate's Sarah Pedersen managed to stop only five shots.
THE HEAD COACH: Cornell head coach Donna Hornibrook is in her fifth season at Cornell (37-40, .481) ... Hornibrook became the sixth coach in Cornell field hockey history in January 2004 ... She has a 208-87-10 (.698) record as a head coach, including a 111-39-4 mark at Houghton and a 60-8-6 record at New Brunswick.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Two Cornell players have earned Ivy League Player of the Week honors so far this season – Catie De Stio and Abbi Horn. De Stio was given the award on Oct. 7 after a stellar weekend in which she registered both game-winning goals as the Big Red defeated Yale, 2-1 in overtime, and Lehigh, 2-0. She also assisted on Cornell's first goal against Yale for a five-point weekend. Horn was named the Ivy League Player of the Week on Sept. 23, following an outstanding weekend against Penn and Georgetown. 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.
SIX OF ONE: The Big Red scored six goals against Colgate to take a 6-4 victory away from Tyler's Field on Oct. 9. The six goals was the most by a Cornell team since the Big Red registered a school record nine goals against St. Francis on Sept. 11, 2005. Under Coach Hornibrook, the team has scored six goals just one other time, doing so against Lehigh on Sept. 4, 2004.
CIRCLE OF TRUST: Cornell's defense has been extremely calm in the circle this season, allowing just 5.2 penalty corners per game. That is 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. Last weekend, the Big Red held Yale and Lehigh to just one penalty corner each. That is the best performance in back-to-back games since Cornell held Lafayette and Columbia to one and three penalty corners, respectively, in back-to-back contests in 2006.
QUICK HITS: Abbi Horn scored just 37 seconds into the game against Yale on Oct. 4. The goal was the quickest registered by a Cornell player since Carissa Mirasol scored at the 15-second mark against American on Oct. 28, 2001.
THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE (A NEW) HOME: The Big Red is 4-0 on the newly constructed Marsha Dodson Field. Collectively, the team has outscored its opponents by an impressive margin of 11-2 and has taken four times as many shots (84-21) as its opponents. The defense has been equally solid in the circle, allowing just 12 penalty corners (3.0 per game), including giving up just one penalty corner in each of its last two contests on the field against Yale and Lehigh.
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 (17) and 10th in career points (43), while Horn sits in seventh place in career goals (17) and in eighth place in both career assists (13) and career points (47).
HATS OFF: The Big Red has had two players register hat tricks this season as Abbi Horn scored three goals against Georgetown on Sept. 21 and Kelley Kantarian tallied three goals against Colgate on Oct. 9. Horn's hat trick against the Hoyas was the best single-game performance by a Cornell player since Gina Testa tallied four scores at Rutgers on Oct. 31, 2004.
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 improved to 22-1 in games in which it scores at least three goals after a 6-4 victory over Colgate on Oct 9.
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 34-8 record in games in which they have scored first. Conversely, the team has won only three 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 this past week as Cornell defeated Colgate, 6-4.
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 (.786 – seventh) and goals-against average (1.34 – 13th). 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 goals (6) and goals per game (0.60), and is seventh in points (13) and eighth in points per game (1.30). Abbi Horn ranks fourth in points (15), goals (6) and goals per game (.60) and is fifth in points per game (1.50). Natalie Appleton and Kate Thompson are tied for sixth in assists (4) and tied for eighth in assists per game (0.40). Goalie Melanie Jue is second in goals-against average (1.34), third in save percentage (.786), fifth in saves (44) and seventh in saves per game (4.89).
CLOSE CALLS: Cornell's 1-0 victory over Yale in overtime on Oct. 4 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 11 one-goal games. So far this season, all four of Cornell's losses have come in one-goal contests, including one in overtime.
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.
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, 11 different Big Red players have registered at least one point.
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.
SMARTY PANTS: The 2007 season marked the fourth-straight year that the Big Red placed at least four members on the NFHCA National Academic Squad. Last season's honorees were Stephanie Brownstein, Alyssa DePaola, Katlyn Donoghue, Lizzie Goldblatt, Katie Kirnan and Mattie Prodanovic.
OH CAPTAIN, MY CAPTAIN: Seniors Abbi Horn, Belen Martinez and Eva Olesky have been named captains for the 2007 season.
UP NEXT: The Big Red hits the road next weekend, traveling to Cambridge, Mass., to take on Harvard on Saturday, Oct. 18 at noon.
