GAME INFORMATION
GAME #12: Harvard at Cornell
DATE: Saturday, Oct. 8, 2011
TIME: 1 p.m.
SITE: Ithaca, N.Y. — Charles F. Berman Field
2011 RECORDS: Harvard 7-4 (2-0 Ivy League); Cornell 2-9 (0-2 Ivy)
SERIES RECORD: Harvard leads, 3-20-6
LIVE STATS: www.CornellBigRed.com

ABOUT THE BIG RED
Cornell is coming off a disappointing 2-1 loss at Penn, a game in which the Big Red played particuarly well in a scoreless first half before the Quakers broke through for two goals in the closing 45 minutes. Freshman Claire MacManus scored her first collegiate goal for Cornell in the 55th minute on a service by senior Abigail Apistolas. The Big Red won the game before that, defeating Niagara, 2-0, on Sept. 25 at Berman Field. Junior forward Maneesha Chitanvis and senior forward Brook Chang scored goals in the second half, and senior goalkeeper Megan Bartlett made five saves for her fourth career shutout. Chitanvis, who earned All-Ivy honored mention last season, leads the team in scoring with four goals and one assist for nine points.
 
ABOUT HARVARD
The Crimson has won four straight to establish itself as one of the Ivy League favorites, including a 2-0 victory over defending champion Penn. Offense is the clear strength of the team, which leads Ivy League teams with an average of 2.09 goals per game. Harvard has three returning first-team All-Ivy selections, including senior co-captains Lindsey Kowal and Melanie Baskind, as well as junior midfielder Alexandra Conigliaro. Baskind leads all Ivy scorers with 16 points on five goals and six assists. Freshman Meg Casscells-Hamby isn't far behind with four goals and three assists for 11 points, followed by a pair of sophomores in Peyton Johnson (3g-3a—9p) and Elizabeth Weisman (3g-1a—7p). All four of the team's goalies have appeared this season, with junior Alexandra Millet and freshmen Cheta Emba and Bethany Kanten seeing the majority of the time. The Crimson has kept just one clean sheet this season.
 
THE SERIES AGAINST HARVARD
The Crimson holds a 20-3-6 advantage in the series, including a 17-game unbeaten streak that goes back to Oct. 2, 1993, when the Big Red won a 1-0 overtime game in Ithaca. Cornell hasn't scored a goal on Harvard since a 4-1 loss on Oct. 9, 2004.
 
HEAD COACH DANIELLE LAROCHE
Now in her fifth season directing the Big Red women's soccer program, Danielle LaRoche has assembled a team that is on the verge of a breakout. The fourth coach in Cornell history, she holds a career coaching mark of 15-54-3, but the Big Red is coming off its best season since 2005. She picked up her first collegiate head coaching victory on Sept. 7, 2007, when Cornell defeated Hartford, 1-0, in double overtime. LaRoche's career also includes stops as an assistant coach at George Mason, Binghamton and Howard. A 1995 graduate of Maryland, LaRoche played two seasons for the Terrapins under April Heinrichs, who would later go on to serve as the head coach of the U.S. Women's National Team. LaRoche is assisted by Megan Ramey and Danielle Sambur, both in their first season with the Big Red.
 
LAROCHE ON THE HARVARD GAME
“The key to the game Saturday will be putting together two 45-minute halves of similar soccer. There's no reason why we can't do that well. It's what we've been focusing on in training all week.”
 
SWEET HOME PENNSYLVANIA
Freshman midfielder Claire MacManus scored her first collegiate goal in a familiar setting. A native of Rosemont, Pa., MacManus scored Sept. 30 in the Big Red's visit to Penn — which plays its games roughly 20 miles from MacManus' hometown.
 
WASHED OUT
Cornell lost a game on its schedule after heavy rain and frequent lightning forced the cancellation of a Sept. 28 non-league date at Lafayette. Even with the cancellation, the Big Red played a program-record 11 games in September. The team is scheduled for just four games in October before closing out the regular season Nov. 5 at Dartmouth.
 
WELCOME BACK
Sophomore midfielder Rachel Nichols made quite an impact in her season debut on Sunday, Sept. 25. Nichols re-entered the game against Niagara in the second half with a throw-in deep in the offensive third, leading to Maneesha Chitanvis' game-winning goal in the 60th minute. Nichols was tied for the team lead in assists as a freshman.
 
TOAST OF THE TOURNAMENT
Senior co-captain Sidra Bonner was named to the Red Fox Invitational all-tournament team. The central defender plays an integral role in the center of the Big Red's defense, also coming forward as a threat in the air on set pieces.

FRESH FACES
With injuries mounting, Cornell started a season-high three freshmen on Saturday, Sept. 10 against Bucknell, and there was no drop-off in the team's play. Forward Kerry Schubert, midfielder Claire MacManus and defender Sydney Cetrullo all played a significant role — as did forward Jaclyn Katz off the bench — with the speedy Schubert leading the way with a staggering six shots.

ALL-IVY ANCHORS
Not only did Cornell lose just one starter to graduation after a 2010 season that saw the team record its highest win total in five years, but it returns a decorated pair of seniors. Central defender Sidra Bonner and goalkeeper Megan Bartlett, both named second-team All-Ivy League players last season, return to anchor a Big Red back line that surrendered just 17 goals while racking up six shutouts last season.
 
FOLLOW THE LEADER
Seniors Sidra Bonner and Abigail Apistolas serve as co-captains for the Big Red. Both were also captains in 2010 and have played in every one of the team's games in each of the last two seasons.

NATIONAL APPEAL
The Big Red has 13 different states represented on the team roster, with Virginia having six players on the roster. Cornell has five players that hail from California, four from Massachusetts, three from New Jersey and New York, and two apiece from Minnesota, Michigan, Connecticut and Pennsylvania. States with a single representative include Hawaii, Colorado, New Mexico and Oregon.

UP NEXT
Cornell continues its Ivy League schedule on Oct. 15 with a game at Yale. The Big Red defeated the Bulldogs, 1-0, last season on a first-half goal by Maneesha Chitanvis.