GAME INFORMATION
GAME #1: Cornell at Lock Haven
GAME TIME: Friday, Sept. 3, at 6 p.m.
GAME SITE: Charlotte E. Smith Field (Lock Haven, Pa.)
SERIES RECORD: Lock Haven leads, 2-1
LAST MEETING: Cornell won 2-1 (OT) on Sept. 12, 2009 on Marsha Dodson Field
2010 RECORDS: Cornell (0-0); Lock Haven (0-2)
LIVE STATS: None
LIVE VIDEO: mediasite.lhup.edu/Mediasite51/SilverlightPlayer/Default.aspx

GAME #2: Cornell at Delaware
GAME TIME: Sunday, Sept. 5, at Noon
GAME SITE: Bob Carpenter Sports Center (Newark, Del.)
SERIES RECORD: First Meeting
LAST MEETING: First Meeting
2010 RECORDS: Cornell (0-0); Delaware (1-1)
LIVE STATS: www.bluehens.com/sportsinfo/livestats/fieldhockey/xlive.htm
LIVE VIDEO: None

For a full season preview on the 2010 Big Red field hockey team, click here .

OPENING UP: The Cornell field hockey team opens the 2010 season on the road as it takes on Lock Haven on Friday, Sept. 3 and Delaware on Sunday, Sept. 5 … The Big Red is 22-12-4 (.632) all-time in season-openers. Last season, the Big Red defeated Davidson, 3-1, in the first game of the season, improving Coach Hornibrook to 5-1 in season-openers during her time with Cornell.

THE SERIES WITH LOCK HAVEN: The Eagles won the first two contests in the series with Cornell, as the former DII powerhouse defeated the Big Red, 3-1, in 2007, before needing overtime to escape with the 3-2 victory in 2008. The Big Red earned its first win against Lock Haven last season with a 2-1 overtime victory in Ithaca.

SCOUTING THE EAGLES: Lock Haven is off to an 0-2 start on the season after a pair of 3-1 losses to Vermont and New Hampshire last weekend. Amy Hordendorf, a 2009 NFHCA Division I All-Mideast Region first team selection, has registered both goals on the season for the Eagles with Kristi Shepps and Abbey Hordendorf each chipping in one assist. In goal, Erin Terreson has seen every minute of action, posting nine saves and allowing six goals. Lock Haven, which called the Northeast Conference its home for the last six seasons, was picked to finish fourth in the 2010 A-10 preseason coaches' poll in its first season in the league.

LAST TIME VS. LOCK HAVEN: Kelley Kantarian registered the game-winning goal just 1:35 into overtime to lift the Big Red to a 2-1 victory over Lock on Sept. 12, 2009 on Marsha Dodson Field. Kantarian's heroics were preceded by Kate Thompson's spectacular goal with just 37 seconds remaining in regulation, which sent the game into the extra session. Cornell (4-0) dominated the game, outshooting the Eagles, 18-5, and taking nearly three times as many penalty corners (8-3). In addition to the goals by Thompson and Kantarian, the Big Red got assists from Catie De Stio, Natalie Appleton and Mattie Prodanovic. In goal, Alex Botte made one save and allowed the Eagles' lone goal in the first half, before Mel Jue came on in relief. Jue did not register a save, but did breakup a Lock Haven rush late in the second half to keep the Big Red in the game. Junior Sarah Sanders also registered a defensive save for Cornell. Lock Haven (3-2) used a stifling defense and outstanding goaltending by Erin Terreson, who finished with nine saves, to hold the Big Red off the scoreboard until the final minute of the contest.

VS. THE ATLANTIC 10: Cornell is 1-6 all-time vs. the current members of the Atlantic 10 with its lone victory coming against the conference's newest member, Lock Haven (1-2). The Big Red also has a losing record against Massachusetts (0-1), Richmond (0-1), Temple (0-1) and West Chester (0-1), and has never faced La Salle, Saint Joseph's or Saint Louis.

THE SERIES WITH DELAWARE: Sunday's game will mark Cornell's first-ever contest vs. Delaware in field hockey.

SCOUTING THE BLUE HENS: Delaware already has two games under its belt, as it participated in the New Hampshire Tournament last weekend. The Blue Hens defeated Vermont, 4-2, in the opening game on Saturday, getting two goals from Michelle Drummonds to get by the Catamounts. On Sunday, Delaware took on the host Wildcats and couldn't overcome two quick first half goals, falling to New Hampshire 2-1. The Blue Hens will look to preseason All-CAA selections, Drummonds and Missy Woodie to lead the team this season. Drummonds returns to the Blue Hens after recording a league-leading and school record seven defensive saves last season, while Woodie recorded eight assists in 2009, which led the squad and ranked sixth in the CAA.

VS. THE CAA: Cornell is 2-0 all-time vs. the current members of the Colonial Athletic Association, with both victories coming against Hofstra. The Big Red has never faced Delaware, Drexel, James Madison, Northeastern, Old Dominion William & Mary or VCU.

THE HEAD COACH: Cornell head coach Donna Hornibrook is in her seventh season at Cornell (51-46, .526) ... Hornibrook became the sixth coach in Cornell field hockey history in January 2004 ... She has a 222-93-10 (.698) record as a head coach, including a 111-39-4 mark at Houghton and a 60-8-6 record at New Brunswick.

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

THE BIG RED'S LAST GAME: The Big Red closed the 2009 season with a victory as it defeated Dartmouth, 1-0, on Nov. 7 in Hanover, N.H. With the victory, the Big Red improved to 10-5 overall, 4-3 in the Ivy League and tied Cornell with the Big Green for third in the conference standings. It also gave the Big Red a .500+ record in the Ivy League for the fifth straight season, the most consecutive winning seasons in program history, as well as 10 or more wins in four of Coach Hornibrook's six years with the team. In her final collegiate game, senior Katie Kirnan registered the game-winner early in the second half of play, finding the back of the net at the 36:14 mark. Kirnan's goal was one of the few opportunities Cornell had, as the Big Red was outshot, 15-4. Dartmouth also held the slight 5-3 lead in penalty corners. Sophomore Alex Botte kept Cornell in the game with seven saves, while Meagan Vakiener stopped just two shots.

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.

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.

MOVING ON UP: Catie De Stio enters her final season with the Big Red ranked in Cornell's top-10 in career assists (t-3rd – 17), career points (5th – 65) and career goals (7th – 24). Meanwhile, senior Kate Thompson needs four more assists to move into the top-10.

CIRCLE OF TRUST: Last season, the Big Red defensive unit 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 6.9 penalty corners per game. That is significantly down from the 8.4 average prior to her arrival.

THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE (A NEW) HOME: The Big Red is 11-3 all-time on the newly constructed Marsha Dodson Field. Collectively, the team has outscored its opponents by a margin of 30-17 and has taken nearly three times as many shots (318-123) as its opponents. The defense has been equally solid in the circle, allowing just 65 penalty corners (4.6 per game).

FREE FIELD HOCKEY: Last season, the Big Red played in five overtime games, the most since the 2001 season, when Cornell played six overtime contests. The Big Red went 3-2 in OT games last season, while the 2001 squad went 2-4.

CLOSE CALLS: Cornell's 1-0 victory over Dartmouth on Nov. 7, 2009 continued the Big Red's trend of playing in one-goal games. Since the start of the 2006 season, the Big Red has lost 26 games, with 17 of those coming by a single goal, including nine in overtime. During that same span, Cornell has won 38 games, with 18 coming in one-goal games, including five in overtime.

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 30-1 in games in which it scores at least three goals after a 7-3 victory over Brown on Oct. 24, 2009.

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.

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.

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 47-8 record in games in which they have scored first. Conversely, the team has won only four 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 coming on Sept. 12, 2009 as Cornell defeated Lock Haven, 2-1, in overtime.

UP NEXT: The Big Red remains on the road next season as it travels to Bucknell on Saturday, Sept. 11, before playing St. Joseph's College, at Drexel University, on Sunday, Sept. 12.