GAME INFORMATION
GAME #7: Cornell at Columbia
DATE: Friday, Sept. 26, 2008
TIME: 7 p.m.
SITE: New York, N.Y.- Columbia Soccer Stadium (3,000)
2008 RECORDS: Cornell (1-4-1); Columbia (4-2-1)
SERIES HISTORY: Cornell leads, 17-5-0
LAST MEETING: Columbia won, 2-1, on Nov. 10, 2007, in Ithaca, N.Y.
LIVE STATS: http://www.gocolumbialions.com
GAME #8: Cornell at Colgate
DATE: Sunday, Sept. 28, 2008
TIME: 1 p.m.
SITE: Hamilton, N.Y. - Van Doren Field (1,500)
2008 RECORDS: Cornell (1-4-1); Colgate (2-7-1)
SERIES HISTORY: Tied, 13-13-1
LAST MEETING: Colgate won, 3-0, on Sept. 30, 2007, in Ithaca, N.Y.
LIVE STATS: none
LIVE VIDEO: http://www.gocolgateraiders.com
Following its four-game home stand, the Cornell women's soccer team returns to the road for a pair of matches this weekend. The Big Red opens Ivy League play with a Friday night contest against Columbia in New York, N.Y, before returning to Central New York for a 1 p.m. matinee at Colgate in Hamilton, N.Y.
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 5-16-1 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 closed out its four-game home stand by battling to a scoreless draw against Buffalo on Sept. 19 and falling to Maine, 2-0, on Sept. 21. The Big Red continues to search for a spark offensively after being held scoreless for the fifth straight contest. Sophomore Lena Russomagno has four points to lead the Big Red, scoring a pair of goals in the season opener against Oakland, while freshman Brook Chang and sophomore Cristina Law both have a single tally on the season. In goal, sophomore Jodi Palmer has played four matches for just under 350 minutes and has a 1.55 goals-against average to go along with a .750 save percentage and one shutout.
ABOUT COLUMBIA
The Lions enter the weekend with a potent offensive attack, having scored an average of two goals per game this season, while also being very stingy on defense, allowing just four goals. Columbia is paced offensively by Sophie Reiser and Ashlin Yahr, who both have four goals and two assists for 10 points. A trio of players have each added two goals for the Lions. In goal, Rebecca Taylor has played in five matches, posting a 0.76 goals-against average and a .862 save percentage to go with a pair of shutouts.
THE SERIES WITH COLUMBIA
Cornell has dominated the all-time series against the Lions, holding a 17-5-0 lead in the series, though Columbia has won both of the last two meetings between the two schools. In last year's season finale, the Lions got a pair of goals in the first half to counter Samantha Wiener's first career tally for a 2-1 victory.
ABOUT COLGATE
Colgate has struggled on the early season to a 2-7-1 mark, scoring just 10 goals while surrendering 24 over that span. Danielle Wessler leads the offense for the Raiders with three goals and an assist for seven points, while Jessica Bitsack and Josie Johnson both have a pair of goals. In goal, Rebecca Michlin has played every minute this season, posting a 2.29 goals-against average and a .564 save percentage.
THE SERIES WITH COLGATE
Sunday's meeting will be the 28th in the history between Cornell and Colgate, and the two squads have split the all-time series evenly with 13 wins apiece and one tie. Last season, Colgate took a 3-0 victory from the Big Red at Berman Field, scoring a pair of goals late in the second half to break open a close contest.
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.
CLEAN SHEET
Cornell's shutout against Buffalo on Sept. 19 marked the third shutout in the career of sophomore goalkeeper Jodi Palmer. Last season, Palmer posted clean sheets against Hartford and Siena on her way to four victories on the season. One more shutout will move Palmer into a tie for 10th place all-time in Cornell history with Kristin Pepe, who posted four from 1995 through 1997.
AND ANOTHER ON PALMER...
Jodi Palmer made a career-best eight saves in the tie against Buffalo on Sept. 19, surpassing her previous high of seven stops, set in her second career game on Sept. 2, 2007, at St. John's.
THE SCORE TELLS HALF THE STORY
Despite Cornell's current 1-4-1 record, a closer look at the numbers shows Cornell has played even with its opponents for the season. On the year, Cornell has taken 90 shots while allowing opponents to take 103, while the shots on goal margin has the Big Red just down 10, 44 against to 34 shots for. Additionally, Cornell's three goalkeepers have combined for 34 saves, while opposing goalkeepers have made 30 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 takes to the road to play at Columbia and Colgate this weekend 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 returns home for its Ivy League home opener on Oct. 4, taking on Penn in a 7 p.m. contest at Berman Field as part of a doubleheader with the Big Red men's team.
