GAME INFORMATION
Game #4: Cornell at No. 7 Loyola
Date/Time: Friday, March 11 at 1 p.m.
Site: Ridley Athletic Complex, Baltimore, Md.
2011 Records: Cornell (1-2, 0-1 Ivy); Loyola (3-0, 0-0 Big East)
Series Record: Series tied 2-2
Last Meeting: Loyola won 11-9, March 13, 2010 in Ithaca, N.Y.
Game #5: Cornell at Columbia
Date/Time: Sunday, March 13 at 1 p.m.
Site: Robert K. Kraft Field, New York, N.Y.
2011 Records: Cornell (1-2, 0-1 Ivy); Columbia (0-2, 0-1 Ivy)
Series Record: Cornell leads 14-0
Last Meeting: Cornell won 9-7, March 10, 2010 in Ithaca, N.Y.
HEAD COACH JENNY GRAAP '86
Cornell head coach Jenny Graap is in her 14th season at Cornell (124-82, .602) and 18th overall (145-126, .535) 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: The Cornell women's lacrosse team will attempt to knock off a ranked squad and even its conference record during its first road weekend of the 2011 season when it visits No. 7 Loyola on Friday, March 11 at 1 p.m., then visits Columbia on Sunday, March 13 at 1 p.m. The Big Red is off to a 1-2 start after splitting a pair of one-goal contests at home last week, knocking off Central New York rival Colgate (15-14) before falling to Ivy foe Harvard (12-13).
SCOUTING THE GREYHOUNDS: Loyola brings a perfect 3-0 mark into Friday's contest, with easy wins over No. 7 Virginia (15-8) and No. 15 Towson (12-2), as well as a comeback win over No. 16 Penn State (10-7). The Greyhounds are limiting opponents to 5.7 goals and 18.3 shots per game through three contests and have outscored their three ranked opponents 37-17, including allowing just one free-position goals. The Greyhounds have received balanced scoring, with Grace Gavin (eight goals, three assists) leading the way with both Marlee Paton (eight goals) and Caroline Hager (five goals, three assists) not far behind. Kellye Gallagher leads the team with seven caused turnovers and 13 ground balls, while Meg Decker has a team-best 13 draws. In goal, Kerry Stoothoff has a 5.67 goals against average and a .595 save percentage in three contests. Former Maryland All-American Jen Adams is in her third season guiding Loyola's program and has posted a 25-13 mark.
LAST TIME VS. LOYOLA: The Big Red women's lacrosse team gave No. 17 Loyola all it could handle, but couldn't steal the win, as the Greyhounds pulled off the 11-9 victory on March 13, 2010, at Schoellkopf Field. The Big Red received a pair of goals from
Jessi Steinberg,
Shannon McHugh and
Katie Kirk, while
Libby Johnson led Cornell with three points on one goal and two assists.
Olivia Knotts and
Lauren Halpern rounded out the scoring with one goal apiece. Loyola was led by Meg Decker and Abby Rehfuss, who scored three goals apiece, while Emily Gibson and Grace Gavin both chipped in two goals. Mary Heneberry finished with three points on one goal and two assists. In between the pipes,
Kyla Dambach got the start and made six saves and allowed seven goals in 38:16 of action, while
Kristen Reese was credited with the loss after allowing four goals in 21:44. The Greyhounds' Kerry Stoothoff earned the win with seven saves. Cornell held the slight edge in shots, 26-25, ground balls, 13-12, and draw controls, 13-9, but struggled clearing the ball (11-for-17). The Big Red also converted just 3-of-13 free positions, while the Greyhounds scored on 2-of-5 tries. Both teams turned the ball over 16 times, but Cornell caused 10 of Loyola's turnovers, thanks mostly to
Tissy O'Connor, who forced three.
THE SERIES: The two teams have split four meetings right down the middle, with each team going 1-1 at home and on the road, with the Big Red capturing the first two meetings and the Greyhounds winning the last two, including an 11-9 decision last season in Ithaca.
BIG RED VS. THE BIG EAST: Cornell has posted a 22-22 all-time record against members of the Big East Conference, including a 2-2 mark against Loyola. Cornell has faced Georgetown (0-2), Notre Dame (3-6), Rutgers (12-3) 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 second of four scheduled regular season meetings with Big East teams, as the Big Red will play Syracuse on April 26 on the road, while also playing Notre Dame on March 20 in Lutherville, Md. at St. Paul's School. Cornell lost to Rutgers 11-7 in the 2011 season opener.
SCOUTING THE LIONS: The Lions are off to an 0-2 start, including a 14-6 defeat at Brown, entering a Friday matchup at Iona. Olivia Mann had five goals to lead the Lions, while Kacie Johnson has three goals and an assist for four points. In goal, Karlee Blank sports a solid .477 save percentage while playing every minute between the pipes. Amanda Goodhart and Flannery Gallagher each have three caused turnovers, while Goodhart and Mollie Andreae each have a team-leading five ground balls. Columbia has been outscored 15-8 in the first half of games. First-year head coach Liz Kittleman was an assistant coach who helped Penn to four straight Ivy titles and a pair of NCAA Final Fours.
LAST TIME VS. COLUMBIA: Sophomore
Jessi Steinberg scored six of Cornell's nine goals and powered the Big Red to a 9-7 win over Columbia in the Ivy League opener for both teams on March 10, 2010, at Schoellkopf Field. After Columbia tied the game at 4-4 less than a minute into the second half, the Big Red scored five of the next six goals, including three by Steinberg, to give Cornell an insurmountable 9-5 edge with three minutes to play. The Lions scored twice in the final 42 seconds to narrow the margin of defeat. Steinberg was far from the only hero, as
Libby Johnson had a goal and an assist and
Olivia Knotts scored the go-ahead goal in the second half. All-American
Tissy O'Connor had a pair of caused turnovers and four draw controls. Sophomore goalkeeper
Kyla Dambach came off the bench to make six saves and allowed just four goals in the final 40:26. Cornell held a 25-20 advantage in shots and cleared the ball successfully on 14-of-15 attempts. Kacie Johnson had two goals and an assists in the loss for Columbia, with both Taylor Gattinella and Sarah Avallone scoring twice. Karlee Blank was excellent in goal, stopping 12 shots and winning two ground balls.
THE SERIES: Cornell has dominated the series with wins in all 14 meetings. The Big Red has scored in double figures in 13 of the games and has won 10 of the meetings by seven goals or more. Last year, Cornell earned a 9-7 victory over the Lions at Schoellkopf Field.
NEW YORK STATE OF MIND: The Big Red women's lacrosse has had great success against lacrosse programs from New York State under the tutelage of head coach
Jenny Graap. Cornell is 33-14 against teams from the Empire State. The Big Red is 14-0 all-time vs. Columbia under Graap.
AVOIDING 0-2: When the Big Red faces Columbia on Sunday, it will attempt to avoid its first 0-2 start in Ivy League play since starting out 0-3 in 2004 after losses to Penn (13-7), No. 1 Princeton (16-10) and No. 12 Dartmouth (7-6). The Big Red responded by going 3-1 in conference play the rest of the way, with the only loss coming to No. 14 Yale.
BIG DAY FOR JOHNSON: Senior captain
Libby Johnson scored a career high seven goals, including the game-winner, in Cornell's 15-14 victory over Colgate on March 2 at Schoellkopf Field. Her seven goals is tied for third in a single game bu a Cornell player and is the most by a Cornellian since Sarah Averson notched seven in the 2003 ECAC Championship game against Massachusetts.
STEINBERG ON TEWAARATON WATCH LIST: For the second straight year, Cornell attacker
Jessi Steinberg has been named to the Tewaaraton Trophy Watch list, joining an elite group of 48 players nationwide who are candidates for the 2011 national player of the year. The annual list is made up of the top lacrosse players across all three divisions of collegiate lacrosse. The watch list will eventually be whittled down three more times until the top ten male and female Tewaaraton Award Finalists are named in May of 2011.
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: Cornell returns to action on Sunday, March 20 at noon when it meets Notre Dame at St. Paul's School in Lutherville, Md. to kick off its spring break trip.
