GAME INFORMATION
GAME #10: Cornell at Colgate
GAME TIME: Wednesday, Oct. 6, at 7:00 p.m.
GAME SITE: Tyler's Field (Hamilton, N.Y.)
SERIES RECORD: Colgate leads, 18-17-3
LAST MEETING: Cornell won, 2-1 on Oct. 6, 2009 (Ithaca, N.Y.)
2010 RECORDS: Cornell (6-3); Colgate (3-8)
LIVE STATS: www.GoColgateRaiders.com

THE MATCHUP: The Big Red field hockey team plays a rare midweek game as it travels to Hamilton to take on in-state rival Colgate on Wednesday, Oct. 6 at Tyler's Field at 7 p.m. Cornell split a pair of games last weekend, falling to Yale before defeating Saint Francis (Pa.) to run its record to 6-3 on the year. The Raiders are looking to halt a two-game skid, having lost to Bryant and Lafayette to fall to 3-8 on the year.

THE SERIES WITH COLGATE: Cornell is one-game back in the series with Colgate, which holds the slight edge, 18-17-3 all-time against the Big Red. Cornell is currently on a two-game winning streak against the Raiders, and holds a 6-4 lead since the 2000 season.

SCOUTING THE RAIDERS: Colgate is currently riding a two-game skid, having lost to Bryant and Lafayette to fall to 3-8 on the year. The Raiders have struggled on offense, scoring one or fewer goals in eight of its 11 games this season. Laura Denenga leads the team with seven goals, while Halle Biggar has chipped in four. Despite its offensive struggles, the team has registered an impressive 16 assists on 17 total team goals. Leading the way are Kendall Zaharris and Adrianna Libutti with six and four assists, respectively. Senior goalie Kristen Lalli has kept Colgate in most contests, as she leads the nation in saves (9.64 per game) and is 20th overall with a.752 save percentage. Still, she owns a 3.26 goals-against average to go along with a 3-8 record.

LAST TIME VS. COLGATE: Mattie Prodanovic scored off a penalty corner in the 61st minute of action to give the Big Red a 2-1 victory over Colgate on Marsha Dodson Field. Prodanovic's goal, her second of the season, was assisted by Catie De Stio and Natalie Appleton. The assists moved both up in the Cornell career record list, with De Stio moving into a tie for eighth (14 assists) and Appleton moving into a tie for ninth (13 assists). Kat DiPastina scored her second goal of the season when she got the Big Red on the board in the 19th minute of play. Although not credited with an official assist, Kate Thompson set up the goal. Colgate's equalizer came at the end of the first half when Peyton Hawkins scored on a penalty corner. Assists were credited to Katelyn Nerbonne and Mika Ella-Tang. Cornell dominated the play throughout the game, outshooting the Raiders, 27-6, and holding the 6-4 edge in penalty corners. Colgate was kept in the game by the play of goalie Sarahh Pedersen, who stopped 12 shots in the loss, while the Big Red's Mel Jue made three saves. Included in the three-save performance was a brilliant stop with 10 minutes remaining in the game as Courtney Burke slipped the ball past the senior goalkeeper, but Jue reached back and saved it before it crossed the goal line.

A WIN OVER THE RAIDERS WOULD:
* even the record in the series at 18-18-3.
* be Cornell's third-straight victory against its in-state rival and improve Coach Hornibrook's record to 4-3 against Colgate.
* improve Cornell to 5-2 in non-conference games, ensuring itself at least a .500 record in non-conference games for the fourth straight season.

VS. THE PATRIOT LEAGUE: The Big Red is 52-51-7 all-time vs. the current members of the Patriot League. Cornell has a winning record against Lehigh (17-1-1) but holds a losing record against Colgate (17-18-3), Lafayette (5-12-2), American (0-1), Bucknell (9-14-1), and Holy Cross (3-5) … Cornell is 14-10 vs. the Patriot League during Coach Hornibrook's tenure.

THE HEAD COACH: Cornell head coach Donna Hornibrook is in her seventh season at Cornell (57-49, .537) ... Hornibrook became the sixth coach in Cornell field hockey history in January 2004 ... She has a 227-96-10 (.697) 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 split a pair of games last weekend, falling to Yale, 3-2, before beating Saint Francis (Pa.), 4-1. Hannah Balleza and Genevieve Collins scored in both games, while Mattie Prodanovic registered an assist in each outing. Other goals came from Kat DiPastina and Kate Thompson, while Alex Botte made 11 saves over the span of the two games.

ROOKIE RANKINGS: Freshman Hannah Balleza is proving to be one of the most productive freshmen in Cornell history. She currently leads the team with six goals and ranks second overall with 13 points. In Big Red history, the rookie ranks eighth among freshmen for goals and 10th among freshmen for points. Emily Robb leads both categories, scoring 13 goals and amassing 31 points during her rookie season in 1995.

CAREER WEEKEND: With her goal against Yale and Saint Francis (Pa.) last weekend, Genevieve Collins surpassed her career scoring total, as the sophomore scored just once all of last season.

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.

IN THE RPI: As of the rankings on Sept. 21, Cornell is No. 20 in the RPI standings. The Rating Percentage Index is a quantity used to rank teams based upon a team's wins and losses and its strength of schedule. In its current formulation, the index comprises a team's winning percentage (25%), its opponents' winning percentage (50%), and the winning percentage of those opponents' opponents (25%). The next RPI report is scheduled to be released on Oct. 5.

IN THE RANKINGS: Catie De Stio currently ranks 44th in the country in points per game (1.67) and is tied for 45th overall in goals per game with freshman Hannah Balleza (0.67). Alex Botte ranks 21st in the nation in both saves per game (6.33) and save percentage (.750).

IVY LEADERS: Several Big Red players are ranked in the top 10 of the Ivy League in several statistical categories. Catie De Stio leads the way, as she ranks in the top 10 for points (9th – 15), points per game (9th – 2.14), goals (7th – 6), goals per game (9th – 0.67) and game-winning goals (3rd – 2). Alex Botte is ranked in four categories, including saves (2nd – 57), saves per game (3rd – 6.33), goals-against average (3rd – 2.03), and save percentage (2nd – .750). Hanna Balleza also ranks in the top 10 for goals (7th – 6), goals per game (9th – 0.67) and game-winners (3rd – 2), while Liz Schovee (defensive saves – 1st – 1) and Mattie Prodanovic (defensive saves – 1st – 1) are also ranked for the Big Red.

A BALANCED SHEET: So far this season, the Big Red has seen a tremendously balanced scoring offense, averaging 2.56 goals per game, but having only one game in which the same player scored multiple goals (Catie De Stio – 2 vs. Virginia).

HIGH PERCENTAGE SHOTS: Freshman Hannah Balleza has proven to be a very selective shooter for the Big Red, scoring six goals on just 17 shots. Additionally, of her 17 shots this season, 13 have been on goal.

THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE (A NEW) HOME: The Big Red is 13-5 all-time on the newly constructed Marsha Dodson Field. Collectively, the team has outscored its opponents by a margin of 42-26 and has taken more than twice as many shots (406-165) as its opponents. The defense has been equally solid in the circle, allowing just 86 penalty corners (4.8 per game).

GET TO THE POINT: Cornell senior Catie De Stio has registered at least one point in 29-of-57 games since arriving on East Hill in 2007. Of those 29 games, Cornell has won 25. 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 assists (3rd – 20), career points (4th – 80) and career goals (t-2nd – 30). 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 6.0 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 35-1 in games in which it scores at least three goals after a 4-1 victory against Saint Francis (Pa.) on Oct. 3, 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 51-8 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 3-2 loss to Yale on Oct. 2, 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 44 games, with 22 coming in one-goal games, including seven in overtime.

FREE FIELD HOCKEY: Through the first nine 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.

STROKE OF GENIUS: Hannah Balleza converted Cornell's first penalty stroke in nearly three years when she scored in the 20th minute at Columbia. The Big Red did not earn any penalty strokes in 2009 and had one missed in 2008. Cornell's last converted penalty stroke came from Natalie Appleton vs. Syracuse on Oct. 25, 2007.

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 for a non-conference game against Lehigh on Sunday, Oct. 10 at noon.