GAME INFORMATION
GAME #11: Cornell at Lafayette
DATE: Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2011
TIME: 7 p.m.
SITE: Easton, Pa. — Mike Bourger '44 Field at Oaks Stadium
2011 RECORDS: Cornell 2-8, Lafayette 5-3-1
SERIES RECORD: Cornell leads, 8-0
LIVE STATS: www.goleopards.com/gametracker/launch/gt_wsoccer.html?event=1000068
GAME #12: Cornell at Penn
DATE: Friday, Sept. 30, 2011
TIME: 7 p.m.
SITE: Philadelphia — Penn Park
2011 RECORDS: Cornell 2-8, Penn 6-2
SERIES RECORD: Penn leads, 13-6-1
LIVE STATS: www.pennathletics.com/liveStats/liveStats.dbml
ABOUT THE BIG RED
Cornell is coming off a 2-0 victory over Niagara on Sunday afternoon 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. The Big Red opened Ivy League play two days prior, falling to visiting Columbia, 3-1. Chitanvis also scored in that game, helping run her season total to a team-leading four goals. The Big Red's other win came on Sept. 14, when junior forward Xandra Hompe scored the lone goal in a victory over visiting Binghamton.
ABOUT LAFAYETTE
The Leopards got off to their first 3-0 start since 2001, but have since gone 2-3-1. Eight of the team's nine games ended 1-0, with the lone exception coming on Sept. 21 in a 2-2 tie with Princeton. Lafayette won its last game on Sunday afternoon against visiting Manhattan on Laura Zito's goal in the 67th minute. Seven players have one goal apiece for the Leopards, while junior forward Jill Dozier leads the team in scoring with four points on a goal and a pair of assists. Senior goalkeeper Lauren Smedley has backed the team's defense for every second of the season, notching five shutouts.
THE SERIES AGAINST LAFAYETTE
Cornell has won all eight meetings between the teams, with the last coming on Sept. 16, 2007. Freshman Lena Russomagno scored all of Cornell's goals in a come-from-behind 3-2 victory that day, giving head coach Danielle LaRoche her third win at the helm of the Big Red. That was the last time a Cornell player scored a hat trick.
ABOUT PENN
The Quakers were the penultimate team among Division I's 316 programs to concede a goal this season, posting five shutouts before a 3-2 loss to George Mason on Sept. 18. Penn was then blanked for the first time this season in its Ivy League opener, a 2-0 loss on Sept. 23 at Harvard, before regrouping with a 3-0 rout of visiting Youngstown State two days later. Senior forward Marin McDermott leads the team in scoring with four goals and two assists for 10 points, followed by a goal and four assists for six points from Kerry Scalora — last season's Ivy League Rookie of the Year.
THE SERIES AGAINST PENN
The Quakers have held a decided edge of late, winning the last 12 meetings between the two sides —though the Big Red's last two visits to Philadelphia have resulted in one-goal losses. The last time Cornell topped Penn was a 1-0 victory on Nov. 7, 1996, capping a six-game winning streak for the Big Red that dated back to when the Quakers joined the varsity ranks in 1991.
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 15-53-3, 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.
HAVEN'T WE MET?
Cornell and Lafayette have seen each other already this season — they just haven't played each other. Both squads were part of the four-team field at the Red Fox Invitational earlier this month, coming away winless in game's against Hartford and Marist, the host team.
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
With nothing but Ivy League contests remaining on the docket, the Big Red enjoys a one-week hiatus before playing host to Harvard at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 8. After playing a program-record 12 games in September, Cornell will play one game a week through the end of the season.
