GAME INFORMATION
GAME #17: Cornell vs. Dartmouth
GAME TIME: Saturday, Nov. 3, at Noon
GAME SITE: Marsha Dodson Field (Ithaca, N.Y.)
SERIES RECORD: Dartmouth leads, 21-11-1
LAST MEETING: Dartmouth won, 2-1 (OT), Nov. 6, 2011 (Hanover, N.H.)
2012 RECORDS: Cornell (8-8, 3-3); Dartmouth (10-6, 5-1)
LIVE STATS: CornellBigRed.com
LIVE VIDEO: None

ITHACA, N.Y. – The Big Red field hockey team will look to secure a third place finish in the Ivy League standings as it tries to knock off Dartmouth on Senior Day, Saturday, Nov. 3 on Marsha Dodson Field at noon. The Big Green have already secured at least a second-place finish in the conference and could earn a share of the title with a victory, paired with an upset win by Penn over Princeton.  Prior to the game, the team will honor its three seniors – Genevieve Collins, Kat DiPastina and Paige Mollineaux

THE SERIES WITH DARTMOUTH: The Big Green holds a commanding lead in the series with Cornell, going 21-11-1 against the Big Red. The teams first met in 1979, a 0-0 tie, and Dartmouth won the next five meetings before Cornell snapped its losing streak in 1985 with a 1-0 victory. From then, the series was fairly even until 1998 when Dartmouth began an eight-game winning-streak against the Big Red. Cornell ended the Big Green's run in 2006 and won five straight, its most consecutive wins in the series, before falling in overtime last season. … Head Coach Donna Hornibrook is 5-3 against Dartmouth.

SCOUTING THE BIG GREEN: Dartmouth had a four-game winning streak snapped with a 5-4 overtime loss to No. 22 New Hampshire on Sunday afternoon to fall to 10-6 overall. The Big Green has won five consecutive Ivy League games, dating back to a loss to Princeton on Sept. 15, to improve to 5-1 in the conference and secure at least a second place finish in the league standings. Dartmouth still has an outside chance at sharing the Ivy League title with the Tigers if they beat the Big Red and Penn pulls off the upset over No. 2 Princeton. The Big Green has a well-balanced offense, with a dozen players registering at least one point, with 10 scoring at least two goals on the season. Ali Savage and Lisa Masini both have a team-best 24 points, with Savage leading the team with 10 goals and Masini handing out a team-high six assists. In goal, Jenna Mearns has seen slightly more playing time (610:17) than Ellen Meyer (515:36), and has started 10-of-13 games, with Meyer getting the nod in just 6-of-12. Mearns owns a 2.29 goals-against average and a .697 save percentage, while Meyer has posted a 3.39 GAA and a .662 save percentage.

LAST TIME VS. DARTMOUTH: A season full of growing pains came to a disappointing end on Nov. 6, as the Big Red fell to Dartmouth in overtime, 2-1, at Chase Field in Hanover, N.H. An exceptionally young Cornell squad ended its season with a 7-9 record overall and a mark of 1-6 in the Ivy League. In her final game wearing the Red and White, Alex Botte did all she could to give her team the victory, making 10 saves to keep Cornell in the contest. The Big Red also received a defensive save from Keelin Bannon. But the Dartmouth offense was too strong, outshooting the visitors, 20-8 and holding the 13-4 edge in shots on goal. The Big Red defense was impressive, however, in limiting the Big Green to just five penalty corners, well below its season average of 11.7 penalty corners per game. Dartmouth opened the scoring in just the fourth minute of action when Meghan Everett put back a rebound off a Botte save to make it a 1-0 game, but the Big Red answered right back with Kat DiPastina scoring off a pass from Brittany Thompson in the 13th minute. The score remained deadlocked for the next 57:57 before Ali Savage and Lisa Masini teamed up for a 2-1 break to give the Big Green the victory just 48 seconds into overtime.

THE HEAD COACH: Cornell head coach Donna Hornibrook is in her ninth season at Cornell (76-69, .524) ... Hornibrook became the sixth coach in Cornell field hockey history in January 2004 ... She has a 246-116-10 (.675) record as a head coach, including a 111-39-4 mark at Houghton and a 60-8-6 record at New Brunswick.

SENIOR DAY: The game against Dartmouth is the final game in the collegiate careers of seniors Genevieve Collins, Kat DiPastina and Paige Mollineaux. All three have been an integral part of the Big Red's success over the past four seasons and the trio has represented Cornell as team captains this year. Collins has started all 64 games of her collegiate career. A solid defender out of the midfield, she has also provided the Big Red with an offensive spark, scoring four career goals, including the game-winner in a 1-0 victory over Villanova last season, to go along with six assists. DiPastina has been one of the team's best forwards during her time at Cornell. She has played in 58 career games, making 31 starts, and to date has posted 13 goals and six assists for 32 career points. DiPastina has also registered three game-winners during her time on East Hill, including her overtime tally against Yale earlier this season. Mollineaux has been a steady contributor to the Big Red's defense, seeing action in 46 games and making 30 starts. A solid tackler and a steady presence in the backfield, she also registered one defensive save earlier this season against No. 8 Penn State.

SINGLE SEASON RECORD WATCH: With one game 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 2.13 points per game and 0.88 goals per game, has already tied the goal record and needs just two more points to match the Cornell single-season record.

SHOT STOPPER: Carolyn Horner ranks sixth in the nation in save percentage (.801) and is eighth overall in saves per game (7.8).

IN THE RANKINGS: Also in the national rankings is junior Hannah Balleza, who entered the week ranked 13th in the country in points per game (2.13) and 14th overall in goals per game (0.88).

SAVE THE DAY: As a team, the Big Red ranks third in the nation in save percentage (.807).

A CLEAN SLATE: Cornell ranks 11th in the nation in shutouts per game (0.31).

MOVING ON UP: Junior Hannah Balleza ranks third overall in Cornell history with 31 career goals. She needs just five 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 73. She needs just 11 more points to move into a tie with Emily Robb (1995-98), who sits in fourth place overall with 84 points.

HORNER SHUTOUTS: With her shutout victory against Holy Cross on Oct. 28, Carolyn Horner moved into third place in Cornell history for shutouts in a single-season with five, along with Yanaka Bernal (1990). If she earns a shutout against Dartmouth, she will finish the year tied with Amy Wright (1991) for second overall.  

MORE SHUTOUTS: Carolyn Horner ranks fourth overall in Big Red history with six career shutouts, along with Kaitlin Tierney (2000-03). She needs just one more shutout to move into a tie for third place with Kelly Clark (1985-87).

WINNING!!: With her 10 career wins, Carolyn Horner ranks 13th in Cornell history. She needs just one more to move into 12th place overall with Kelly Clark (1985-87).

SAVES A LOT: Carolyn Horner has 158 career saves to her credit, good for 12th overall in Big Red history. She needs 50 more to surpass her predecessor, Alex Botte '12, who sits in 11th place with 207 career saves.

THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE (A NEW) HOME: The Big Red is 25-13 all-time on Marsha Dodson Field. Collectively, the team has outscored its opponents by a margin of 83-62 and has taken significantly more shots (687-411) than its opponents. The defense has been equally solid in the circle, allowing just 214 penalty corners (5.6 per game).

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 68-11 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 improved to 47-3 in games in which it scores at least three goals when it defeated Holy Cross (4-0) on Oct. 28, 2012.

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 Oct. 15, the Big Red posted its first six-game winning-streak since the 2009 squad opened its campaign on a seven-game streak.

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 47 games, with 28 of those coming by a single goal, including 13 in overtime. During that same span, Cornell has won 63 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.

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.

UP NEXT: Sunday's game concluded the 2012 Cornell field hockey season.