GAME INFORMATION
GAME #5: Cornell vs. Buffalo
DATE: Friday, Sept. 19, 2008
TIME: 7 p.m.
SITE: Berman Field - Ithaca, N.Y.
2008 RECORDS: Cornell (1-3-0); Buffalo (4-0-1)
SERIES HISTORY: Buffalo leads, 3-1-0
LAST MEETING: Buffalo won, 3-0, on Oct. 18, 2006, in Buffalo, N.Y.
LIVE STATS: http://sidearmstats.com/cornell/wsoc
GAME #6: Cornell vs. Maine
DATE: Sunday, Sept. 21, 2008
TIME: 12 p.m.
SITE: Berman Field - Ithaca, N.Y.
2008 RECORDS: Cornell (1-3-0); Maine (2-0-4)
SERIES HISTORY: First Meeting
LIVE STATS: http://sidearmstats.com/cornell/wsoc
The Cornell women's soccer team continues its four-game home stand this weekend, playing host to Buffalo in a 7 p.m. game on Friday before taking on the Black Bears of Maine in a noon contest on Sunday.
HEAD COACH DANIELLE LAROCHE
Danielle LaRoche is in her second season directing the Cornell women's soccer program. The fourth coach in Cornell women's soccer history, LaRoche picked up her first collegiate head coaching victory on Sept. 7, 2007, when the Big Red knocked off Hartford, 1-0, in double overtime in Ithaca, N.Y. She has a career coaching mark of 5-15-0 entering the the weekend. Prior to her arrival at Cornell, LaRoche had 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 Allison Cowan, in her second season, and Brighid Wood, in her first season.
ABOUT THE BIG RED
Cornell dropped a pair of games last weekend at home, falling by a 3-0 score to St. Bonaventure on Friday night before surrendering a 1-0 defeat to Lehigh on Sunday. A pair of freshmen goalkeepers made their first collegiate starts on the weekend, as Megan Bartlett stopped six shots against St. Bonaventure and Kelly Murphy made eight saves against Lehigh. For the year, sophomore Lena Russomagno leads the Big Red offense with four points on a pair of goals, while Brook Chang and Cristina Law each have a goal. The three goalkeepers on the roster have split time this season, with Murphy posting a .889 save percentage and a 0.87 goals-against average. Sophomore Jodi Palmer has a 2.41 goals-against average and a .636 save percentage, while Bartlett has a 2.52 goals-against average and a .700 save percentage.
ABOUT BUFFALO
The Bulls enter the weekend with a 4-0-1 mark on the season, last playing on Friday to a 1-1 draw with Canisius. The Bulls own victories over Niagara, Florida Gulf Coast, Florida International and Howard, posting shutouts against each. Lindsey Bailey has been the key offensive threat for the Bulls, scoring five of the team's nine goals for a team-best 10 points. Aubrey Stahl has also been a key playmaker, recording four assists through the first five games. In goal, Amy Coron has played the vast majority of time this season, collecting a 0.20 goals-against average and a .957 save percentage to go along with three shutouts.
THE SERIES WITH BUFFALO
The Bulls lead the all-time series with the Big Red, 3-1, with a 3-0 victory in the last meeting between the two schools in 2006. Cornell's lone victory came during the 2005 season, a 3-1 victory at Berman Field. Cornell is 1-1 all-time against the Bulls at Berman Field.
ABOUT MAINE
The Black Bears are coming off a 1-1 draw with Bryant on Saturday in Orono and have a 2-0-4 mark entering the weekend. Maine will take on Dartmouth on Thursday before making the trip to Ithaca for Sunday's contest against the Big Red. Laura Martel leads the Black Bears in scoring with three goals and six points, while Christine LaBelle has two goals for four points and Carolyne Nellis has a goal and two assists for four points of her own. In goal, Jasmine Phillips has played every minute for Maine, posting a 0.55 goals-against average and a .833 save percentage with three shutouts.
THE SERIES WITH MAINE
Sunday's match will be the first meeting between Cornell and Maine in women's soccer. Cornell has played six of the other America East programs previously, posting a 14-7-4 mark against members of that league. Included in that mark are winning records against Albany (2-0), Maryland-Baltimore County (1-0), Stony Brook (4-1-3) and Vermont (4-1).
CLIMBING THE CHARTS
Despite just being four games into her sophomore season, goalkeeper Jodi Palmer has already climbed into the top 10 with her five career victories. Palmer posted four wins as a freshman last season and picked up win number five in the season opener against Oakland. She is now tied with Katrina Matlin (2003-06) and Taylor Hendren (2005-06) with five wins, while her next victory will move her into a tie for ninth place with Debbie Moreau (1987-90). Sue DeLong holds the career mark with 30 victories from 1990-94.
THE SCORE TELLS HALF THE STORY
Despite Cornell's current 1-3 record, a closer look at the numbers shows Cornell has played even with its opponents for the season. On the year, Cornell has taken 65 shots while allowing opponents to take 67, while the shots on goal margin has the Big Red at a -5, 31 against to 36 shots for. Additionally, Cornell's three goalkeepers have combined for 23 saves, while opposing goalkeepers have made 22 stops.
TO THE VICTORS GO THE SPOILS
For their efforts in helping the Big Red to a 1-1 mark at the Puma/St. Bonaventure Invitational, both sophomore Lena Russomagno and freshman Brook Chang were selected to the all-tournament team. With Cornell not having played in an in-season tournament last year, this marks the first such honor for both players.
ROAD WORK
Cornell's win on Sept. 5 against Oakland marked the first win away from Berman Field during the short tenure of head coach Danielle LaRoche. The Big Red went 0-8 a year ago away from home, but posted a 4-4 mark on its home turf, including a 4-1 record in non-conference action.
SPEEDY SCORER
Lena Russomagno's goal in the first minute against Oakland on Friday was impressive, but it was not the fastest goal in Cornell women's soccer history, or for that matter, even in the last five years. Jackie Stromberg scored a goal 22 seconds into a match against Syracuse on Oct. 13, 2004, while Molly Easterlin scored a goal 36 seconds in on Sept. 4, 2005, at Robert Morris. The goal did break Russomagno's own personal mark for fastest goal, set on Sept. 14, 2007, against Siena, when she scored at the 2:20 mark of the contest in a 3-0 Big Red win.
NEW YORK STATE OF MIND
While Cornell will be on the road several times in the opening month of the 2008 season, the Big Red will not have to leave the borders of New York state until the second week of October. Cornell's first two games of the year were played in Rochester, and are followed by a four-game home stand. Cornell then takes to the road to play at Columbia and Colgate before returning home for a contest against Penn. The Big Red's first foray outside of the Empire State will be on Oct. 11 when Cornell travels to Harvard. That marks the latest in Cornell women's soccer history that the Big Red will venture outside of the state's borders for a match.
AYE, AYE, CAPTAIN
Senior Whitney Stich has been selected as one of three tri-captains for the Big Red in 2008. Joining Stich in wearing the captain's armband will be junior Eva Dixon and sophomore Lena Russomagno.
LATE START
While the Ivy League schools traditionally start after the rest of the nation, the Sept. 5 date for the first game of the 2008 season is the latest Cornell has opened its year since the 2004 season. That year, the Big Red opened at Stony Brook, picking up a 0-0 draw against the Seawolves, on its way to a 4-10-3 overall mark. Still, the Sept. 5 date is not the latest the Big Red has ever had to open a season, as Cornell has begun its season on Sept. 14 three times, most recently in 1996.
ON THE RECRUITING TRAIL
Head coach Danielle LaRoche and assistant Allison Cowan spent countless hours on the road recruiting the incoming class of freshman for 2008, and that hard work paid off with the Big Red's first-ever top-100 recruiting class. Cornell's incoming class was ranked 94th in the nation by SoccerBuzz.com, and was also ranked ninth in the Northeast Region. Additionally, the Big Red was selected as the Ivy League's "hot mover" from 2007 to 2008. The site also singled out a pair of incoming players in Samantha Wright and Brook Chang as key recruits.
BACK FOR MORE
While the newcomers garnered headlines during the offseason, the Big Red will still look to its core of returning players to help the team to success in 2008. Cornell returns a pair of players who were selected honorable mention All-Ivy League last season in junior Eva Dixon and sophomore Lena Russomagno. Dixon struggled with injuries a year ago but still caught the attention of the league's coaches, despite not producing the same numbers she did as a freshman. Russomagno, meanwhile, made a huge impact in her first season, leading the team in goals, assists and points, including recording the 14th hat trick in program history with her three-goal outburst in a 3-2 victory over Lafayette on Sept. 16, 2007.
UP NEXT
Cornell takes to the road to open up the Ivy League slate, facing in-state rival Columbia on Sept. 26, in a 7 p.m. game in New York City. The Big Red then returns to central New York for a 1 p.m. contest at Colgate on Sept. 28.
