ITHACA, N.Y. – The Cornell University field hockey team closed the 2008 season with a victory as it defeated Dartmouth, 3-2, this afternoon on Marsha Dodson Field. The win was a historic one as it established a new school record for wins (11) and conference wins in a season (6). By beating the Big Green, Cornell also secured a second place finish in the Ivy League, behind only undefeated Princeton.
“I am extremely proud of the effort and the way our team moved the ball today,” said head coach
Donna Hornibrook. “I feel like this might have been our best performance of the season. It's great to cap a fantastic season with a record-setting win and to send our senior class off with another victory.”
Sophomore
Catie De Stio had a hand in each of the Big Red's goals, assisting on a score by Kelly Kantarian, before scoring the final two goals of the contest.
Stephanie Brownstein was the lone senior to register a point on Senior Day, assisting on De Stio's game-winning goal.
Cornell (11-6, 6-1 Ivy) dominated the entire game, outshooting the Big Green, 21-8, while all of Dartmouth's offense was generated off penalty corners, scoring on two of their nine attempts.
In goal, junior
Melanie Jue made three saves to pick up the win, while Meagan Vakiener stopped eight shots in the loss.
The Big Red missed a golden opportunity to score just three minutes into the contest when senior
Eva Olesky ripped pass up the sideline to classmate
Abbi Horn, who saved the ball from going out of bounds and started a perfect give-and-go with De Stio. Horn received the ball back from De Stio and managed to get a shot off, but Vakiener made the save.
Cornell would not be denied for long, however, as Kantarian scored at the 7:33 mark, when a shot by Horn was saved by Vakiener, resulting in a scrum in front of the net. De Stio collected the ball and touched it off to Kantarian, who buried it in the goal to give the home team the early 1-0 advantage.
Just under three minutes later, the Big Red struck again after being awarded a penalty corner. Sophomore Sara Sander's initial shot was saved, but Dartmouth could not clear the ball and De Stio gave Cornell the 2-0 advantage.
The Big Green scored its first goal of the game at the 11:33 mark when Ashley Hines scored off a penalty corner. The assists were credited to Virginia Peisch and Kristen McCormick.
After taking the 2-1 lead into the intermission, Cornell scored what proved to be the game-winner when Brownstein centered a pass from the left sideline across the mouth of the goal and to the stick of De Stio, who placed it to the far post to give the Big Red the 3-1 advantage.
Hines, Peisch and McCormick teamed up again to score Dartmouth's final goal of the game off a penalty corner after time expired to account for the 3-2 final.
The game was the final collegiate contest for Brownstein, Horn,
Belen Martinez and
Eva Olesky, who leave as the winningest class in field hockey program history with 38 total wins.
The 2008 season marks the third straight year that Cornell has finished ranked in second place in the Ivy League.
