GAME INFORMATION
GAME #15: Cornell vs. No. 2 Princeton
GAME TIME: Saturday, Oct. 27, at Noon
GAME SITE: Marsha Dodson Field (Ithaca, N.Y.)
SERIES RECORD: Princeton leads, 26-5-3
LAST MEETING: Princeton won, 6-1, Oct. 30, 2011 (Princeton, N.J.)
2012 RECORDS: Cornell (7-7, 3-2 Ivy); Princeton (13-1, 5-0 Ivy)
LIVE STATS: CornellBigRed.com
LIVE VIDEO: None

GAME #16: Cornell vs. Holy Cross
GAME TIME: Sunday, Oct. 28, at 2:00 p.m.
GAME SITE: Marsha Dodson Field (Ithaca, N.Y.)
SERIES RECORD: Holy Cross leads, 5-3
LAST MEETING: Cornell won, 1-0, Sept. 23, 2007 (Worcester, Mass.)
2012 RECORDS: Cornell (7-7); Holy Cross (2-13)*
LIVE STATS: CornellBigRed.com
LIVE VIDEO: None

* Prior to games on Oct. 27

THE MATCHUP: The Big Red field hockey team heads into the final stretch of the season when it plays a pair of home games this weekend, welcoming No. 2 Princeton and Holy Cross to Marsha Dodson Field. Cornell will face the Tigers on Saturday, Oct. 27 at noon, before taking on the Crusaders on Sunday, Oct. 28 at 2 p.m. Live stats will be available for both contests at CornellBigRed.com.

THE SERIES WITH PRINCETON: The Tigers have dominated the series with Cornell from the get-go, winning the first five meetings, beginning with a 4-0 victory in 1978. The Big Red's best stretch in the series came from 1983-1990, as Cornell posted a 4-2-2 record, but a 2-1 overtime win by Princeton in 1991 began a 14-game unbeaten streak for the Tigers. The streak was snapped with a 4-3 Big Red victory at Princeton in 2007, but the Tigers have won the last four outings and hold the 26-5-3 advantage in the series.

SCOUTING THE TIGERS: No. 2 Princeton leads the Ivy League (5-0) and is riding a six-game winning streak, with an early season loss to No. 3 Syracuse as the only blemish on the Tigers' 13-1 record. Kathleen Sharkey leads the nation in both points (3.71) and goals (1.64) per game, while Katie Reinprecht ranks fifth in the country with 0.93 assists per game. In goal, Christina Maida has played the majority of minutes for the Tigers and owns a 1.30 goals-against average and a .705 save percentage.

LAST TIME VS. PRINCETON: Mallory Bannon scored her third goal of the season, but the Big Red field surrendered the final five goals in a 6-1 loss at Princeton in a game that was delayed a day due to a snow storm which blanketed much of the East Coast. The Tigers held dominating advantages in both shot (20-3) and penalty corners (9-1), but only Charlotte Krause scored in the first half, giving Princeton a 1-0 lead at the half. Cornell answered with Bannon's unassisted goal, which came off a rebound from the Big Red's lone penalty corner. That tied the score just shy of nine minutes into the second half. Princeton stormed back ahead a short time later with a pair of goals in a 33-second span. May-Ying Medalia tacked on another about three minutes later, and the Tigers pulled away with two more goals from Amanda Bird. Alex Botte made six saves in the loss for the Big Red

THE SERIES WITH HOLY CROSS: The Crusaders own the 5-3 lead in the series with Cornell, thanks mostly to four consecutive victories from 1997-2003. The Big Red snapped that streak in the last meeting between the two programs with a 1-0 victory on Sept. 23, 2007 ... Coach Hornibrook is 1-0 vs. the Crusaders.

SCOUTING THE CRUSADERS: Holy Cross had lost five consecutive games heading into Saturday's contest against Colgate. The Crusaders were 2-13 on the year and 1-3 in the Patriot League, with its lone conference victory, a 5-4 overtime win against Lehigh, also serving as its last victory prior to the five-game skid. More than half of the teams loses (8) have been shutouts and HC has not scored a goals since a 3-2 overtime loss to Bryant on Oct. 9. Carly Grimaudo has scored nearly half of the Crusaders total goals on the season (7-of-16) and has added a team-high two assists for a 16 points. Goalie Kat Matchett has seen the majority of time in cage for HC and has posted a 3.70 goals-against average and a .656 save percentage.

LAST TIME VS. HOLY CROSS: For the second straight game, junior Brenna Gulotta delivered a game-winning goal as the Cornell University field hockey team defeated Holy Cross, 1-0, on Sept. 23, 2007 at the Hart Center Turf Field. Gulottoa's goal came in the 26th minute of the first half, as she redirected a shot by junior Katlyn Donoghue into the back of the net. From there, the Big Red defense clamped down, allowing the Crusaders only one shot in the second half. Holy Cross held the advantage in penalty corners, 4-1, while Cornell held a slim, 6-5, edge in shots. In goal, senior Lizzie Goldblatt made four saves in the first half, before Shannon Prescott came on in relief and stopped one shot, making a brilliant point-blank save, to pick up the win. For the Crusaders, Erin Singleton made three saves in the loss

VS. THE PATRIOT LEAGUE: The Big Red is 57-53-7 all-time vs. the current members of the Patriot League, thanks mostly to a 19-1-1 lead against Lehigh. The Big Red is tied in the series with Colgate (19-19-3), but holds a losing record against American (0-1), Bucknell (10-15-1), Holy Cross (3-5) and Lafayette (5-12-2) … Cornell is 19-12 vs. the Patriot League during Coach Hornibrook's tenure.

THE HEAD COACH: Cornell head coach Donna Hornibrook is in her ninth season at Cornell (75-68, .524) ... Hornibrook became the sixth coach in Cornell field hockey history in January 2004 ... She has a 245-115-10 (.676) record as a head coach, including a 111-39-4 mark at Houghton and a 60-8-6 record at New Brunswick.

SINGLE SEASON RECORD WATCH: With three games left on the Big Red's schedule, junior Hannah Balleza is on pace to break two single-season school records – points (Cari Hills; 36 points in 1995) and goals (Linda Miller; 14 goals in 1982/Kelley Boutin; 14 goals in 1999). Balleza, who is averaging 2.21 points per game and 0.93 goals per game, needs just five more points and one more goal to match the Cornell single-season records. 

EPIC BROWN BATTLE: The Big Red's 4-3 loss to Brown in double overtime proved to be the longest game in the series between the two teams. Cornell and the Bears have now played three double overtime games all-time (1996, 2001, 2012), with the most recent edition being decided at the 93:33 mark. The two previous games were decided in 88:11 (1996) and 86:13 (2001). 

THRICE AS NICE: For the third straight week, the Big Red had a player honored by the Ivy League, as Taylor Standiford was named the conference Rookie of the Week on Oct. 16. It is the first honor of Standiford's collegiate career, as she joins Hannah Balleza (Player; Oct. 9), Marisa Siergiej (Rookie; Oct. 9) and Carolyn Horner (Player; Oct. 2) in receiving conference honors for Cornell this season. Standiford was instrumental in the Big Red's 4-0 victory over Harvard, scoring the game-winner in the opening moments of the contest, before capping the game with a tally in the final moments to give Cornell its largest margin of victory ever over the Crimson.

A RARE SWEEP: The Big Red swept the Ivy League weekly honors on Oct. 9, as Hannah Balleza was named Player of the Week and Marisa Siergiej was named Rookie of the Week. It is the first time Cornell received both awards since Brenna Gulotta was both Player and Rookie of the Week on Sept. 20, 2005 and it is the first time that two different Cornell athletes swept the awards since Nov. 14, 1995, when Molly Kauffman was named Player and Emily Robb shared Rookie of the Week honors.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: For the second time in her career, Carolyn Horner has been named the Ivy League Player of the Week after picking up a pair of shutout victories against Yale and Siena. Against the Bulldogs, Horner stopped eight shots, including three sprawling saves during the overtime session, to help the Big Red earn a 1-0 victory. The next day against the Saints, she was called on to make just two saves, but both were on legitimate scoring chances late in the game, as Cornell held on for the 1-0 victory.

HANGING FOUR ON HAVARD: The Big Red's 4-0 victory over Harvard on Oct. 13 marked the first time in program history that Cornell registered four goals against the Crimson.
WINNING WAYS: With its 2-1 victory over Davidson on Monday, the Big Red posted its first six-game winning-streak since the 2009 squad opened its campaign on a seven-game streak.

SHOT STOPPER: Carolyn Horner entered the week ranked fifth in the nation in save percentage (.811) and is seventh overall in saves per game (7.92).

IN THE RANKINGS: Also in the national rankings is junior Hannah Balleza, who entered the week ranked ninth in the country in goals per game (0.93) and 12th overall in points per game (2.21).

SAVE THE DAY: As a team, the Big Red ranks second in the nation in save percentage (.817).

A CLEAN SLATE: Cornell ranks 16th in the nation in shutouts per game (0.29).

MOVING ON UP: Junior Hannah Balleza is tied with Cari Hills (1994-97) for third overall in Cornell history with 30 career goals. She needs just six more tallies to move into a tie for second place with Catie DeStio (2007-10). She also currently ranks fifth in Big Red history for career points with 70. She needs just 14 more points to move into a tie with Emily Robb (1995-98), who sits in fourth place overall with 84 points.

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 67-11 record in games in which they have scored first. Conversely, the team has won only eight 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. 4, 2011 as Cornell defeated Lock Haven, 3-2, in Ithaca, N.Y.

KNOCK THREE TIMES: When the Big Red fell to Brown on Oct. 20, 4-3, in double overtime, it marked only the third time in Coach Hornibrook's career with Cornell that the team scored three goals and lost the contest. Under Coach Hornibrook, the Big Red is 46-3 in games in which it scores at least three goals, with its last victory coming against Harvard (4-0) on Oct. 13, 2012.

DOUBLE UP: Cornell freshman Marisa Siergiej notched two goals for the Big Red against Colgate on Oct. 3, becoming the first Big Red rookie to score twice in a game since Maura Greenwood found the back of the net twice in a 9-0 victory over Bryant on Oct. 11, 2008.

CLOSE CALLS: Cornell's 4-3 loss in double overtime to Brown on Oct. 20 continued the Big Red's trend of playing in one-goal games. Since the start of the 2006 season, the Big Red has lost 46 games, with 28 of those coming by a single goal, including 13 in overtime. During that same span, Cornell has won 62 games, with 31 coming in one-goal games, including nine in overtime.

START ME UP: Freshman goalie Elizabeth Schaeffler's complete game against Lock Haven to open the season marked the first time in the history of the Big Red field hockey program that a rookie netminder started, and played a full contest, in the season opener. Prior to Schaeffler's accomplishment, Yanaka Bernal '91 started the first game of her collegiate career in 1987, but played only the first half.

BANNON SAVES: During the 2011 season, Cornell registered just two defensive saves – both of which were credited to one of the Bannon sisters. Mallory recorded hers first against Georgetown, with Keelin getting hers in the final game of the season against Dartmouth.

DEFENSIVE SAVES: Against Penn State, the Big Red matched its 2011 total for defensive saves with a pair recorded by Ann DiPastina and Paige Mollineaux.

SISTER ACT: Since the beginning of the 2007 campaign, Cornell has had at least one set of sisters on its roster each season. This year, the team features three sets of sisters – Keelin and Mallory Bannon, Ann and Kat DiPastia, Paige and Shelby Mollineaux. The three sets of sisters is the most Cornell has ever had on a roster in the history of the field hockey program, and it is the most on any current roster of any team in the country.

TWINS AND MORE TWINS!: While fans of the Big Red know that juniors Keelin and Mallory Bannon are twins, many might not know that another member of the team has a twin, who also plays a collegiate sport. Junior Carolyn Horner's twin, Gabrielle, plays lacrosse at Tufts.

OH CAPTAIN, MY CAPTAIN: Genevieve Collins, Kat DiPastina, Paige Mollineaux and Carolyn Horner have been named captains for the 2012 season.

ALL-IVY ACCOLADES: Cornell had two players named second-team All-Ivy in 2011, both of whom are back for the 2012 season – juniors Hannah Balleza and Mallory Bannon.

U-S-A; U-S-A: Hannah Balleza has been a member of the US Indoor National Squad for the past three years.

BLACK BELTS: Sisters Paige Mollineaux and Shelby Mollineaux are both black belts in karate.

LANGUAGE 101: Juniors Carolyn Horner and Brittany Thompson are both fluent in a foreign language, speaking Chinese and Arabic, respectively.

ON THE BLOCK: Ann DiPastina is a member of Cornell's Block and Bridle Club and has trained beef heifers by halter breaking them.

THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE (A NEW) HOME: The Big Red is 24-12 all-time on the newly constructed Marsha Dodson Field. Collectively, the team has outscored its opponents by a margin of 79-57 and has taken significantly more shots (662-383) than its opponents. The defense has been equally solid in the circle, allowing just 205 penalty corners (5.7 per game).

SMARTY PANTS: The Big Red placed four student-athletes on the 2011 Gladiator by SGI/NFHCA Division I National Academic Squad. Cornell has had at least four players earn the honor in seven of the past eight seasons. Alex Botte '12 headlined the group with her fourth selection, joining Stephanie Brownstein '08 as just the second player in Cornell history to be named to the National Academic Squad all four years. Additionally, the 2011 squad earned the NFHCA Collegiate National Academic Team Award for the fourth time during head coach Donna Hornibrook's tenure.

WHAT WAS LOST: Cornell lost a pair of graduated seniors from last season's squad – Olivia Boyd and Alex Botte. Boyd played in 49 games during her career and was a solid contributor with three goals during the 2011 season. Botte graduated as the winningest goalie in Cornell history, tied with Kaitlin Tierney (2000-03) and Yanaka Bernal (1987-90), with 19 career victories.

WHAT RETURNS: The Big Red returns seven of the 10 players that registered at least one point from a season ago, including second-team All-Ivy selections Hannah Balleza and Mallory Bannon.

UP NEXT: The Big Red will play its regular season finale next weekend when it welcomes Dartmouth to Marsha Dodson Field on Saturday, No. 3 at noon. Prior to the game, the team will honor its three seniors – Genevieve Collins, Kat DiPastina and Paige Mollineaux.