Game Notes I Live Stats

GAME INFORMATION
Game #11: Cornell at Brown
Date/Time: Friday, April 16 at 4 p.m.
Site: Stevenson Field, Providence, R.I.
2010 Records: Cornell (3-7, 2-3 Ivy); Brown (7-4, 2-3 Ivy)
Series Record: Cornell leads 16-14
Last Meeting: Cornell won 12-9, April 11, 2009 in Ithaca, N.Y.
Live Stats: Available at www.BrownBears.com
Live Video: Check for availability at www.BrownBears.com

HEAD COACH JENNY GRAAP '86
Cornell head coach Jenny Graap is in her 13th season at Cornell (121-77, .611) and 17th overall (142-121, .540) as a head coach ... directed the Big Red to the 2002 Final Four, earning IWLCA National Coach of the Year and Inside Lacrosse magazine's North Coach of the Year ... Inside Lacrosse ad IWLCA  Northeast regional coach of the Year in 2006 after leading  Cornell to share of first Ivy League title ... Graap is the fifth head women's lacrosse coach at Cornell and has posted the second-highest win total and has a school-record winning percentage.

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THE STORY LINE VS. BROWN: Despite going just 1-2 in its last three games, all coming against top 20 opponents, the Cornell women's lacrosse team will attempt to continue its much0improved play and stay in contention for a spot in the Ivy League championship tournament when it visits Brown on Friday, April 16 at 4 p.m. at Stevenson Field in Providence, R.I.

SCOUTING BROWN: As one of three Ivy teams currently at 2-3 in conference action, Brown is fighting Cornell for the fourth and final spot for the inaugural Ivy League tournament. The Bears are 7-4 overall and have won five of their last six contests, with the only blemish a 9-7 defeat to nationally ranked Dartmouth. The Bears are outscoring opponents by more than three goals per contestand have jumped on its foes early, outscoring teams 80-42 in the first half of games. Leading the offense is Kaela McGilloway (26 goals, 14 assists) and Paris Waterman (26 goals, five assists), while four other players have scored in double figures. Alexa Caldway has posted 16 goals and 18 points to go along with a team-best 21 ground balls and 19 draw controls. In goal, Isabel Harvey has seen a majority of time, posting an 8.89 goals against average and a .444 save percentage. Brown alumnae Keely McDonald is in her sixth season as head coach and has a 33-56 record.

THE SERIES: Cornell leads the all-time series 16-14, including winning the last 10 meetings between the teams. The Big Red won last year's contest, 12-9, snapping a streak of three straight wins by at least  eight goals. In Providence, the series is split evenly in 16 all-time meetings.

LOOKING TO PLAY IN THE TOURNAMENT: Seven different teams enter the final two weekends of the regular season in contention for four berths in the inaugural Ivy League playoff. Cornell likely will need to win its final two conference contests (depending on other league results) to advance to play in the tournament on April 30-May 2 on the campus of the highest seed.

O'CONNOR, HALE, JOHNSON NAMED TEAM CAPTAINS: Seniors Tissy O'Connor and Morgan Hale and junior Libby Johnson have been elected captains of the women's lacrosse team for the 2010 season. The trio will provide leadership to a young team that features 19 freshmen and sophomores on a 26-player roster.

O'CONNOR A RETURNING ALL-AMERICAN: Senior Tissy O'Connor  became Cornell's 16th All-American, earning second-team IWLCA honors when the team was announced in May of 2009. O'Connor was a unanimous first-team All-Ivy honoree and a first-team all-region pick after pacing the team in draw controls (43) and ranking second in ground balls (30) and caused turnovers (19). The 43 draws was good for third in the Ivy League and ranks second all-time in a season at Cornell.

O'CONNOR, STEINBERG ON TEWAARATON WATCH LIST: Senior Tissy O'Connor and sophomore Jessi Steinberg are on the Tewaaraton Trophy Watch List for the national player of the year in women's lacrosse. O'Connor was on the initial list released in February, while Steinberg's play in the first half of the season got her added in March.

HELMER MAKES CUT AT U.S. WOMEN'S TEAM TRYOUTS: Sophomore Caroline Helmer and former captain Deirdre Lafferty '09 were among 64 players who survived the first cut for inclusion on the 2009-10 U.S. women's developmental team. Both Lafferty, a midfielder, and Helmer, a defender, were among more than 150 players in the Stars & Stripes Division vying for spots at the U.S. team tryouts over Memorial Day Weekend at Cedar Lane Sports Park in Bel Air, Md. The developmental team practices against the national team, developing talent and preparing the senior team for international play. Helmer showed great potential as a freshman, starting in 10 of the team's 16 contests and recording 14 ground balls, 11 caused turnovers and a pair of draw controls.

BIG RED, DEFENDING NCAA CHAMP NORTHWESTERN PLAY IN RUSTY RED CLASSIC: Cornell and defending national champion Northwestern met in the Rusty Red Fall Lax Classic on Oct. 18 at Poly Prep Country Day School in Brooklyn, N.Y. The event provided underprivileged youth with the opportunity to see women's lacrosse played at the highest level, learn from some of the nation's best players and get excited about the opportunities the sport has to offer with a free clinic and an autograph session after the game. The Rusty Red Foundation, a charitable organization founded by Cornell lacrosse former tri-captain Joe Lizzio, helps youth programs across the United States. Lizzio, a former managing director at Citigroup, went from Wall Street to Italy where he now owns the Stefano Berti Vineyards and Winery. Rusty Red Wine was developed by Lizzio, who donates all profits from the sales of this wine to help to endow scholarships for underprivileged children and to fund community athletic projects in needy neighborhoods. Lizzio's daughter, Veronica, is a freshman midfielder on the Big Red women's lacrosse team.      

WOMEN'S LAX SUMMERS IN EUROPE: The Big Red women's lacrosse team went on a 10-day tour of Europe from June 2-11, 2009 that featured trips to Germany, Austria and the Czech Republic. Cornell played a semi-professional team and the Austrian and Czech national teams in preparation for their competition at the 2009 FIL Women's World Cup. The Big Red won all three matches, improving its record to 12-3 all-time on foreign tours.

IVY LEAGUE ADDS POSTSEASON TOURNAMENT IN 2010: Former Ivy League Executive Director Jeff Orleans announced last January that the Ivy League will begin four-team tournaments in spring 2010 to determine the Ivy League's automatic qualifying institutions to the NCAA Division I Men's and Women's Lacrosse Championships. The winners of the Ivy League championship will continue to be determined by results of the League's round-robin competitions. Each tournament will include the top four teams in Ivy League regular season round-robin competition and will be hosted by the round-robin winner. The men's tournament will be the season's last weekend (Friday-Sunday, May 7-9, 2010) and the women's tournament will be the preceding weekend (April 30-May 2).

NEXT UP: The Big Red returns home for a two-game set starting with a matchup against Syracuse on April 21 at 7 p.m. at Schoellkopf Field. Cornell will then play Yale on April 25 at 1 p.m. in its Ivy League finale.