GAME INFORMATION
GAME #13: Cornell at Brown
GAME TIME: Saturday, Oct. 22, at Noon
GAME SITE: Warner Roof (Providence, R.I.)
SERIES RECORD: Brown leads, 15-14-3
LAST MEETING: Cornell won, 7-3 on Oct. 24, 2009 (Ithaca, N.Y.)
2010 RECORDS: Cornell (9-3, 3-1 Ivy); Brown (2-10, 1-3 Ivy)*
LIVE STATS: www.BrownBears.com
LIVE VIDEO: http://www.b2livetv.com/partner_members.asp?id=1

* Prior to Brown's game on Oct. 20

THE MATCHUP: The Big Red field hockey team looks to extend its four-game winning streak as it takes travels to Brown to face the Bears at Warner Roof on Saturday, Oct. 22, at noon. Cornell defeated Harvard last weekend to improve to 9-3 overall and remain in second place in the Ivy League with a record of 3-1. Brown enters a Wednesday afternoon game against instate rival Providence with a mark of 2-10 overall and 1-3 in the conference after falling to Princeton last weekend by a score of 7-1.


THE SERIES WITH BROWN: The Bears hold a slim advantage in the all-time series with Cornell, 15-14-2, thanks mostly to Brown's seven-game winning-streak from 1999-2005. However, the Big Red has gained some ground back in the series with its current four-game winning streak ... Coach Hornibrook is 4-2 vs. the Bears.

SCOUTING THE BEARS: Brown takes a four-game losing streak and a record of 2-10 overall into its contest against Providence on Wednesday afternoon. The four-game skid matches an earlier four-game losing streak by the Bears to open the season. Abigail Taft and Leslie Springmeyer have combined to score more than half the team's total goals with seven apiece. Taft also leads the team in points (17), while Katie Hyland has a team-high four assists. In goal, Lauren Kessler has seen the majority of minutes, starting all but one contest for the Bears. She has posted a 3.62 goals-against average and a .685 save percentage.

LAST TIME VS. BROWN: The Big Red got back to its winning ways, as it defeated Brown, 7-3, at Marsha Dodson Field on Oct. 24, 2009. Cornell was led with a career day from Catie De Stio who scored two goals and three assists to match a career-high seven points, while Kelley Kantarian chipped in two goals. Also scoring for Cornell was Katie Kirnan, Olivia Boyd and Kate Thompson. Making her first career Ivy League start, goalie Alex Botte made eight saves to earn the victory. Cornell outshot the Bears, 29-13, and doubled-up the visitors on penalty corners, 12-6. Brown's Leslie Springmeyer had a hand in all three of the Bears' goals, scoring two and assisting on Katie Hyland's tally. In goal, Caroline Washburn made 12 saves to keep Brown in the contest.

A WIN OVER THE BEARS WOULD:
* even the series at 15-15-3 and improve Coach Hornibrook's record to 5-2 against Brown.
* keep the Big Red in second place in the Ivy League with a record of 4-1.
* make Brown one of three remaining Ivy League teams, joining Columbia and Dartmouth (3-0), that the Class of 2011 is undefeated against.
* give Cornell its longest winning streak against Brown with five straight wins and surpassing the four-straight victories earned from 1990-93 and 1994-98.

THE HEAD COACH: Cornell head coach Donna Hornibrook is in her seventh season at Cornell (60-49, .550) ... Hornibrook became the sixth coach in Cornell field hockey history in January 2004 ... She has a 230-96-10 (.699) record as a head coach, including a 111-39-4 mark at Houghton and a 60-8-6 record at New Brunswick.

LAST TIME OUT: The Big Red won its fourth straight contest, defeating Harvard, 2-0, at Jordan Field on Saturday. The win was just the second ever for Cornell in Cambridge, Mass. With the victory, the Big Red improved to 9-3 overall and remained in second place in the Ivy League with a record of 3-1. The win also ensured Cornell a winning record for the fourth straight season, the most consecutive winning seasons in program history. Senior Catie De Stio registered both goals for the visitors and with her game-winning goal, she moves into a tie for first place in Cornell history with Linda Miller for game-winners in a career (11). The Big Red more than doubled Harvard in shots (15-8) and shots on goal (8-3) and also held the slim 7-6 edge in penalty corners. Junior goalie Alex Botte made three saves for her third shutout of the season. Harvard (3-10, 1-3 Ivy) received five saves from goalie Cynthia Tassopoulos, as well as a defensive save by a Crimson defender.

IN THE RANKINGS: In the latest national rankings, senior Catie De Stio is 34th in the country in points per game (1.83) and is 34th overall in goals per game (0.75), while freshman Hannah Balleza ranks 44th in goals per game (0.67). Junior goalie Alex Botte ranks 15th in save percentage (.756), 27th in goals-against average (1.7) and 33rd in the nation in saves per game (5.42).

IVY LEADERS: Several Big Red players are ranked in the top 10 of the Ivy League in several statistical categories, including:
* Catie De Stio – Points (7th – 22); Points Per Game (6th – 1.83); Goals (5th – 9); Goals per game (5th – 0.75); Game-Winning Goals (2nd – 3)
* Alex Botte – Saves (4th – 65); Saves Per Game (4th – 5.42); Goals-Against Average (2nd – 1.70); Save Percentage (1st – .756)
* Hanna Balleza – Points (10th – 17); Goals (8th – 8); Goals Per Game (9th – 0.67)
* Liz Schovee – Defensive Saves (4th – 1)
* Mattie Prodanovic – Defensive Saves (4th – 1)

STROKE OF GENIUS: Hannah Balleza has converted two penalty strokes for Cornell this season. That is the most made penalty strokes for the Big Red since it converted 2-of-4 during the 2006 season. Balleza's stroke at Columbia was Cornell's first in nearly three years, as its last converted penalty stroke came from Natalie Appleton vs. Syracuse on Oct. 25, 2007. The Big Red did not earn any strokes in 2009 and had one missed in 2008.

ROOKIE RANKINGS: Freshman field hockey player Hannah Balleza is proving to be one of the most productive freshmen in Cornell history. She currently ranks second the team with eight goals and 17 points. In Big Red history, the rookie ranks fourth among freshmen for goals and fifth among freshmen for points. Emily Robb leads both categories, scoring 13 goals and amassing 31 points during her rookie season in 1995.

BANNON BLITZ: Freshman Mallory Bannon registered her first collegiate goals as the Big Red defeated a pair of Patriot League foes. Bannon scored once each against Colgate and Lehigh, with each of her goals proving to be the game-winner in the contest.

ROOKIE OF THE WEEK: Hannah Balleza was named the Ivy League Rookie of the Week on Sept. 28 after helping the Big Red to a 3-2 overtime victory over conference foe Columbia. She becomes Cornell's first Rookie of the Week since Mel Jue took the honor on Sept. 9, 2008. The freshman forward got Cornell on the board early-on, converting a penalty stroke to give the Big Red a 1-0 lead in the 20th minute of action. She later assisted on Catie De Stio's game-winner with 2:23 to play in the second overtime period.

CAREER WEEKEND: With her goals on back-to-back days against Yale and Saint Francis (Pa.), Genevieve Collins surpassed her career scoring total, as the sophomore scored just once all of last season.

A BALANCED SHEET: So far this season, the Big Red has seen a tremendously balanced scoring offense, averaging 2.50 goals per game, but having only two games in which the same player scored multiple goals (Catie De Stio – 2 vs. Virginia; Catie De Stio – 2 vs. Harvard).

HIGH PERCENTAGE SHOTS: Freshman Hannah Balleza has proven to be a very selective shooter for the Big Red, scoring eight goals on just 22 shots (.364). Additionally, of her 22 shots this season, 18 have been on goal (.818).

THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE (A NEW) HOME: The Big Red is 14-5 all-time on the newly constructed Marsha Dodson Field. Collectively, the team has outscored its opponents by a margin of 45-27 and has taken more than twice as many shots (442-171) as its opponents. The defense has been equally solid in the circle, allowing just 91 penalty corners (4.8 per game).

GET TO THE POINT: Cornell senior Catie De Stio has registered at least one point in 32-of-60 games since arriving on East Hill in 2007. Of those 32 games, Cornell has won 28. The Big Red has won only 12 games during that same span in which De Stio was held without a point.

MOVING ON UP: Catie De Stio is steadily making her way up the Cornell career records lists. She is currently ranked in Cornell's top-10 in career goals (2nd – 33), career game-winning goals (t-1st – 11), career assists (3rd – 21), and career points (3rd – 87). Meanwhile, senior Kate Thompson needs three more assists to move into the top-10.

CIRCLE OF TRUST: So far this season, the Big Red defensive unit has allowed 5.9 penalty corners per season, just up from last season when Cornell allowed just 5.3 penalty corners per game, 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.

KNOCK THREE TIMES: When the Big Red fell to Syracuse during the 2006 season, 4-3, in overtime, it marked the only 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 36-1 in games in which it scores at least three goals after a 3-1 victory against Lehigh on Oct. 10, 2010.

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 four-of-six seasons, with a high of 14 in 2005. So far this season, the Big Red has seen 11 players reach the points' column.

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 54-8 record in games in which they have scored first. Conversely, the team has won only six 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 came on Oct. 3, 2010 as Cornell defeated Saint Francis (Pa.), 4-1, in Ithaca, N.Y.

CLOSE CALLS: Cornell's 2-1 win over Colgate on Oct. 6, 2010 continued the Big Red's trend of playing in one-goal games. Since the start of the 2006 season, the Big Red has lost 29 games, with 18 of those coming by a single goal, including nine in overtime. During that same span, Cornell has won 47 games, with 23 coming in one-goal games, including seven in overtime.

FREE FIELD HOCKEY: Through the first 12 games of the 2010 season, the Big Red has played in just two overtime games, down significantly from the five overtime games it played in during the 2009 campaign. The five overtime games were the most since the 2001 season, when Cornell played six overtime contests.

TWINS AND MORE TWINS!: While ardent fans of the Big Red know that seniors Sara and Steph Sanders are twins, many might not know that three other members of the team have twins, all of which play collegiate sports. Sophomore Molly Casey's twin brother, Daniel, is a member of the Brown football team, while Carolyn Horner's twin, Gabrielle, plays lacrosse at Tufts, and Mallory Bannon's twin, Keelin, plays field hockey for American. Additionally, senior Kate Thompson has younger twin sisters, Helen and Becky.

BOMBARDING BOTTE: Junior netmider Alex Botte made a career-high 11 saves against No. 3 Virginia, the fourth-ranked offensive team in the nation at the time of the contest.

PUTTING PENN IN PERSPECTIVE: Cornell's 4-0 victory over Penn was one of the best for the Big Red in the series with the Quakers. It was just the second time Cornell shut out Penn, with the first time occurring in 2002.The four goals were the most ever scored by the Big Red against Penn and it was the largest margin of victory for Cornell in the series. The win was also Cornell's third straight, which is the Big Red's longest winning streak in the series.

BUCKNELL BLANKS BIG RED: For the second straight season, Cornell was shutout by the Bison, falling 1-0 last season and 3-0 this season. The Big Red hasn't been blanked by the same team in consecutive seasons since Vermont did so in 2005 (2-0) and 2006 (2-0).

OPENING UP: Big Red is 23-12-4 (.641) all-time in season-openers. This season, the Big Red defeated Lock Haven, 1-0, in its first game, improving Coach Hornibrook to 6-1 in season-openers during her time with Cornell.

HATS OFF: After going three seasons without seeing a Cornell player score three goals in a single game, the Big Red has had four players register hat tricks since the start of the 2008 season – Catie De Stio (Penn, Sept. 18, 2009), Abbi Horn (Georgetown, Sept. 21, 2008), Kelley Kantarian (Colgate, Oct. 9, 2008) and Catie De Stio (Bryant, Oct. 11, 2008). The three hat tricks during the 2008 season was the most by the Big Red since having four during the 1995 season. That year, Cari Hills scored three goals vs. Colgate and four goals against Holy Cross, while Emily Robb tallied three against both Lehigh and Brown. Until the 2008 season, Cornell had never had three different players register hat tricks in the same season.

HALL OF FAME COACH: This summer, Cornell head coach Donna Hornibrook was inducted into the Prince Edward Island Sports Hall of Fame. Hornibrook, a native of Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, has an enjoyed an excellent field hockey career, not only as an outstanding player, but as a very successful coach.

OH CAPTAIN, MY CAPTAIN: Seniors Sara Sanders and Kate Thompson have been named captains for the 2010 season.

EVERYBODY'S ALL-AMERICAN: Following the 2009 season, Catie De Stio was named to the NFHCA Division I Mideast Region All-America second-team.

ALL-IVY ACCOLADES: Cornell had three players named to the respective All-Ivy teams in 2009, including two players that return for the 2010 season – senior Catie De Stio (first-team) and senior Kate Thompson (second-team).

SMARTY PANTS: The 2009 Big Red squad earned the NFHCA National Academic Team Award for the second time during head coach Donna Hornibrook's tenure, while Cornell placed at least three players on the NFHCA National Academic Squad for the sixth-straight year as Katie Kirnan, Alex Botte, Lauren Neal, Mattie Prodanovic and Kate Thompson were all honored.

UP NEXT: The Big Red returns to Ithaca next weekend as it welcomes No. 5 Princeton to Marsha Dodson Field on Saturday, Oct. 30 at noon.