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GAME INFORMATION
Game #12: Syracuse at Cornell
Date/Time: Wednesday, April 21 at 7 p.m.
Site: Schoellkopf Field, Ithaca, N.Y.
2010 Records: Syracuse (9-4, 4-1 Big East); Cornell (4-7, 3-3 Ivy)
Series Record: Syracuse leads 8-5
Last Meeting: Syracuse won 11-8, April 15, 2009 in Syracuse, N.Y.

Game #13: Yale at Cornell
Date/Time: Sunday, April 25 at 1 p.m.
Site: Schoellkopf Field, Ithaca, N.Y.
2010 Records: Yale (6-7, 3-3 Ivy); Cornell (4-7, 3-3 Ivy)
Series Record: Yale leads 19-12
Last Meeting: Cornell won 7-6, April 18, 2009 in New Haven, Conn.

HEAD COACH JENNY GRAAP '86
Cornell head coach Jenny Graap is in her 13th season at Cornell (122-77, .613) and 17th overall (143-121, .542) 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. SYRACUSE, YALE: With a chance to knock off a Central New York rival situated in the top 10 and an opportunity to clinch a spot in the inaugural Ivy League championship, the Cornell women's lacrosse team will play its final two home games this week. The Big Red will face No. 8 Syracuse on Wednesday, April 21 at 7 p.m., then will celebrate Senior Day against Yale on Sunday, April 25 at 1 p.m.

SCOUTING SYRACUSE: The high-scoring Orange have won five of their last six games and have won four games this season against top 20 competition. Christina Dove (44 goals, 19 assists) and Tee Ladouceur (30 goals, 31 assists) lead an offense that is averaging better than 14 scores per contest, with Dove also posting a team-best 31 draws. Halley Quillinan (31 goals, seven assists) leads the team in both ground balls (27) and caused turnovers (26). In goal, Liz Hogan has a solid .513 save percentage and an 8.73 goals against average. Third-year head coach Gary Gait has a 41-12 record on the SU sidelines and led the Orange to the NCAA semifinals in 2008.

THE SERIES: Syracuse leads the all-time series 8-5, including winning the last three contests. Syracuse won last year's contest 11-8 in Syracuse. The Big Red holds a strong 5-2 advantage in the series in games played in Ithaca, dating back to the first-ever meeting between the teams in 1998.

SCOUTING YALE: The Bulldogs have put themselves into position to claim the fourth and final spot in the 2010 Ivy League tournament with wins in two of its last three games, including a 12-4 victory over Columbia in its most recent outing. Devon Rhodes leads five players who have hit double figures in points with her 26 goals and eight assists, while Jenna Block paces the team with 13 helpers. Rhodes also leads the way with 19 draw controls. Kaitlyn Flatley, who has 20 goals on the year, had a team-high 18 caused turnovers. In goal, Whitney Quackenbush has put up All-Ivy numbers, posting a strong .514 save percentage and a 9.38 goals against average while leading the team with 23 ground balls. Head coach Anne Phillips has an 11-18 record in her two seasons directing the Bulldog program.

THE SERIES: Yale holds a 19-12 edge in the series that dates back to the origination of Ivy League women's lacrosse in 1980. Cornell is 7-5 in the last 12 meetings between the teams, including a 7-6 Big Red victory last season in New Haven, Conn. Five of the last six contests between the teams have been decided by two goals or less.

LAST TIME OUT: Senior Kate Dewey, who entered the game with one goal on the season, scored her second of the day with one second left on a free-position shot to give Cornell a 10-9 victory at Brown at Stevenson Field. Dewey also won two draw controls in the win for Cornell, which keeps it in the race for the fourth and final spot in the inaugural Ivy League playoff. Sophomore Jessi Steinberg added four goals and Kyla Dambach had six saves in goal. Shannon McHugh scored two goals and won three draws in earning the victory. Brown's Kaela McGilloway scored four times, including three straight late in the second half to help the Bears rally to tie the game after going down as many as three goals. Lindsay Minges scored twice and Paris Waterman added a game-high six draws and four ground balls to her two-goal effort.

SENIOR DAY: Cornell will honor its six seniors prior to Sunday's Ivy League finale against Yale.
Kate Dewey — Needs one to become 33rd Cornellian with 50 career goals
Kaitlyn Giles — Scrappy defender has played in 29 contests in three seasons
Morgan Hale — Team tri-captain in 2010
Lindsey Kane — 48 career games, 13 goals and 14 points
Tissy O'Connor — 2009 IWLCA Second-Team All-American
Kristen Reese — Three-year starter in goal

EASY SCENARIO: When the Big Red meets Yale on Sunday, the scenario is very easy. The winner of the game will secure the fourth and final spot in the 2010 Ivy League championship tournament. The loser, meanwhile, would not necessarily be eliminated. Princeton, who is currently 3-2, still needs to play Penn and Dartmouth, currently 1-2 in the standings. If Cornell and Princeton finish tied with 3-4 records, the Big Red would still earn a spot in the tournament thanks to its head-to-head victory earlier this season. Seven teams in the Ivy standings are mathematically alive for a spot in the conference tournament heading into the final week.

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).

ANNUAL DODGEBALL TOURNAMENT HELPS FIGHT AGAINST MS: On December 7, 2008, the Cornell women's lacrosse team hosted the Fourth Annual Dodgeball Tournament to benefit Multiple Sclerosis. The event was held in Cornell's indoor turf facility, the Ramin Room, and was a fun stress-reliever during fall semester study days. The tournament was a great success again this year, with 41 teams participating, representing many of the varsity athletic programs.

NEXT UP: If the Big Red defeats Yale, it will compete in the inaugural Ivy League championship tournament beginning on April 30 at the home of the highest seed. If it doesn't, it will close its 2010 season on May 8 at 4 p.m. when it meets North Carolina at St. Stephen's & St. Agnes School in Alexandria, Va.