Live Video (Cornell RedCast subscription required) I Live Stats I 2011 Roster I 2011 Schedule and Results
GAME INFORMATION
Game #1: Rutgers at Cornell
Date/Time: Saturday, February 26 at 3 p.m.
2011 Records: Cornell (0-0, 0-0 Ivy); Rutgers (1-0, 0-0 Big East)
Series Record: Cornell leads 12-2
Last Meeting: Rutgers won 8-6 (Feb. 28, 2010), RU Turf Field (Piscataway, N.J.)
HEAD COACH JENNY GRAAP '86
Cornell head coach Jenny Graap is in her 14th season at Cornell (123-80, .606) and 18th overall (144-124, .537) 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 and 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.
THE STORY LINE: Cornell will open the 2011 season today at Schoellkopf Field at 3 p.m. in the second game of a doubleheader that begins with the Big Red men's lacrosse team facing Hobart at noon. Head coach
Jenny Graap and her Big Red squad returns its top nine scorers, its starting goalkeeper and two starting defenders from last season's 5-10 squad. Leading the way are returning captains
Libby Johnson (21-13-34),
Jessi Steinberg (40-6-46) and defender Caroline Helmer (26 ground balls, 15 caused turnovers), all of whom earned All-Ivy accolades in 2010. The trio of captains will be expected to provide leadership for a roster that includes 14 freshmen and sophomores. A year ago, the team's constant improvement throughout the year included earning the No. 3 seed in the inaugural Ivy League tournament. Cornell earned its first win over Princeton since 1988 with an 11-8 road victory, and also dropped decisions of two goals or less against nationally ranked squads from Loyola, Syracuse and Dartmouth Rutgers topped Temple 11-10 on Wednesday afternoon behind. three goals by Lindsey Watts.
SCOUTING THE SCARLET KNIGHTS: After posting an 11-5 overall record and finishing 4-4 in Big East play a season ago, head coach Laura Brand-Sias' team has been picked to place sixth of nine teams in the conference's preseason poll. It opened the season the right way, knocking off Temple 11-10 in Philadelphia to win its season opener for the second consecutive season.
Stephanie Anderson scored the game-winning goal on a free-position shot with 39 seconds remaining. Returning five of its top seven goal scorers, including preseason All-Big East midfielder Marlena Welsh, Rutgers should have a prolific offense. In all, the team returns 14 letter winners. Sophomore goalkeeper Lily Kalata was an IWLCA Mid-Atlantic All-Region pick, joining Welsh on the team. Rutgers finished 18th in the final IWLCA preseason poll.
LAST TIME VS. RUTGERS: Cornell rallied from several deficits but could never gather the lead and dropped an 8-6 decision to Rutgers on Feb. 28, 2010, in its season opener on the RU Turf Field. The Big Red held a 20-14 edge in shots, but Scarlet Knight goalkeeper Lily Kalata had 10 saves to help the home team to the victory. Kristen Anderson had a game-high three goals and an assist in the victory for Rutgers, while Lindsey Watts scored twice. For the Big Red, sophomore
Olivia Knotts and junior
Libby Johnson each scored two goals, while
Jessi Steinberg had a goal and an assist. Both
Shannon McHugh and
Kaitlyn Giles won three ground balls, with McHugh adding a team-best four draw wins.
Lindsey Kane and Caroline Helmer also had three caused turnovers apiece as Cornell forced 19 Rutgers turnovers on the day. Goalkeeper
Kristen Reese made six saves in the loss.
THE SERIES: Cornell has had great success over the years against Rutgers, holding a 12-2 advantage in the all-time series. The early years featured Cornell dominance, as each of the first seven meetings were Big Red victories in games decided by four goals or more, starting with a 12-2 triumph in 1992. While Cornell has won five of the seven meetings since 2004, five of those contests have been decided by two goals or less, with four being decided by a single goal and two coming down to overtime. The Scarlet Knights recorded its first win in the series in 2007 with an 11-10 victory in an extra session, then captured last year's game with an 8-6 victory in Piscataway, N.J.
BIG RED VS. THE BIG EAST: Cornell has posted a 22-21 all-time record against members of the Big East Conference, including a 12-2 mark against Rutgers. Cornell has faced Georgetown (0-2), Loyola (2-2), Notre Dame (3-6) and Syracuse (5-9), while never having met Cincinnati, Connecticut or Louisville. Villanova also plays Division I women's lacrosse, but competes in the Patriot League. Cornell and Villanova have never met. This is the first of four scheduled regular season meetings with Big East teams, as the Big Red will play Loyola on March 11 and Syracuse on April 26 on the road, while also playing Notre Dame on March 20 in Lutherville, Md. at St. Paul's School.
BIG RED IN SEASON OPENERS: Cornell looks to open the 2011 season much the same way it has opened virtually every other year under head coach
Jenny Graap ... with a win. The Big Red is 10-3 in season openers under Graap, outscoring its opponents 153-103. Cornell is 21-19 all-time to begin its 40 seasons.
LAST TIME OUT: Cornell got within a goal early in the second half, but No. 3 North Carolina scored four goals in the span of 1:40 to pull away from a feisty Big Red team 13-7 on May 8, 2010, at St. Stephens & St. Agnes School. The Big Red ended the 2010 season with a 5-10 overall mark.
Libby Johnson had two goals and an assist in helping Cornell get within 7-6 three minutes into the second half, but Jenn Russell got the Tar Heels back of the board 33 seconds later, triggering a quick-strike UNC run that essentially sealed the game played at a neutral site. The Big Red hung around throughout but could never really get all the way back.
Jessi Steinberg added two goals and two assists for four points, while
Katie Kirk scored twice.
CORNELL MAKES APPEARANCE IN FIRST IVY TOURNAMENT: Cornell played in the first-ever Ivy League lacrosse tournament game when it met second-seeded Dartmouth in the semifinals on April 30, 2010 at Franklin Field in Philadelphia, Pa. The third-seeded Big Red dropped a 10-8 contest to the eventual tournament runner-up.
SISTERLY COMPETITION: Big Red junior
Jessi Steinberg and Rutgers junior Ali Steinberg come from a lacrosse family, and the twins have continued the tradition with their older sister, Lindsay, who was a three-year letter winner for the Big Red. As a junior for the Scarlet Knights, Ali Steinberg started 15 of the team's 16 games and scored eight goals and 12 total points while leading the team with 40 draw controls.
Jessi Steinberg has been one of the top attackers in the country for the Big Red, as the Tewaaraton Trophy candidate was a first-team All-Ivy pick a season ago after leading Cornell is goals (40), points (46) and draw controls (33) en route to second-team IWLCA All-Region honors. Each of the sisters have a win against the other in college, with Ali knotting the series at 1-1 last year after an 8-6 Rutgers victory in Piscataway, N.J.
BAKER JOINS BIG RED COACHING STAFF: Jennifer Baker, a well-respected high school lacrosse coach and Navy veteran, has joined the Big Red staff as a volunteer assistant coach on
Jenny Graap's staff for the upcoming 2011 season.Baker spent six seasons as head coach at Cape Henry Collegiate School in Virginia Beach, Va., leading her program to three conference regular season crowns, a pair of conference championship tournament titles and a state championship. Baker also coached two state runner-up squads while directing 25 all-conference, eight all-state and five All-America performers. Her teams posted a cumulative 64-32 record and earned her a pair of conference coach of the year honors. She coached the 2005 Virginia High School All-Star Classic and served as coach and adviser for several U.S. Lacrosse national tournament clubs.
HELMER, JOHNSON, STEINBERG NAMED TEAM CAPTAINS: Senior
Libby Johnson and juniors
Jessi Steinberg and Caroline Helmer have been named team tri-captains for the 2011 season. The trio of captains will be expected to provide leadership for a roster that includes 14 freshmen and sophomores.
NEXT UP: The Big Red will be home for a pair of contests next week, starting by playing host to Colgate on Wednesday, March 2 at 4 p.m., followed by its first Ivy League contest of the season against Harvard on Saturday, March 5 at 1 p.m.
