GAME INFORMATION
GAME #8: Cornell vs. Yale
GAME TIME: Saturday, Sept. 29, at Noon
GAME SITE: Marsha Dodson Field (Ithaca, N.Y.)
SERIES RECORD: Cornell leads, 17-16-1
LAST MEETING: Yale won, 7-2, Oct. 1, 2011 (New Haven, Conn.)
2011 RECORDS: Cornell (1-6, 1-1); Yale (3-4, 1-1)
LIVE STATS: CornellBigRed.com
LIVE VIDEO: None

GAME #9: Cornell vs. Siena
GAME TIME: Sunday, Sept. 30, at 1:00 p.m.
GAME SITE: Marsha Dodson Field (Ithaca, N.Y.)
SERIES RECORD: Cornell leads, 5-0
LAST MEETING: Cornell won, 4-0, Sept. 9, 2009 (Ithaca, N.Y.)
2011 RECORDS: Cornell (1-6)*; Siena (0-6)
LIVE STATS: CornellBigRed.com
LIVE VIDEO: None

* Prior to game played Saturday, Sept. 29

THE MATCHUP: The Big Red field hockey team will play a pair of home games this weekend, welcoming Yale and Siena to Marsha Dodson Field. Cornell will face off with the Bulldogs on Saturday, Sept. 29 at noon, before taking on the Saints on Sunday, Sept. 30 at 1 p.m. Live stats for both games are available at: http://sidearmstats.com/cornell/fhockey/scoreboard.aspx. 

THE SERIES WITH YALE: The series with the Bulldogs began in 1979, the first official season of Ivy League play, with a 3-0 Yale victory. The Bulldogs went on to enjoy an eight-game unbeaten streak before Cornell earned a 2-1 overtime victory in 1987. Despite not winning a contest until the 1987 season, the Big Red still holds a 17-16-1 advantage in the all-time series. In recent years, the series has been extremely competitive with 14 of the last 16 meetings being decided by one goal.

SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS: Yale slipped to 3-4 overall and 1-1 in the Ivy League after splitting a pair of home games last weekend, losing 8-0 to Princeton, before defeating Sacred Heart, 3-1. . The Bulldogs have scored just eight goals on the season, getting two each from Mary Beth Barham and Erica Borgo. In goal, Emily Cain has made all seven starts and played all but 24 minutes on the season. The junior netmider has posted a 2.63 goals-against average and a .760 save percentage.

LAST TIME VS. YALE: The Big Red suffered its worst lost of the season, dropping a 7-2 decision to Yale on Oct. 1, 2011 on Johnson Field. Yale dominated every aspect of the game, holding a 32-5 advantage in shots and a 17-1 edge in penalty corners. Seven different Bulldogs accounted for Yale's seven goals and four of those goals were the result of penalty corners. Cornell goalie Alex Botte made eight saves before being pulled at the 52:24 mark, including six in the first half to keep the Big Red within striking distance. Sophomore Carolyn Horner was called on to make one save in the final 17:36. After trailing 3-0 at the half, the Big Red collected two quick goals in the opening moments of the second half to make it a one goal game, 3-2, at the 37:38 mark. Brittany Thompson got Cornell on the scoreboard just 60 seconds into the second half, scoring on a great individual effort to make it a 3-1 contest. Moments later, Christine Hibler collected a rebound off an Emily Cain save and beat the Yale goalie to make it 3-2. Yale's Maddy Sharp returned the two-goal advantage to the home team, scoring in the 42nd minute to make it a 4-2 contest and the Bulldogs scored three unanswered goals down the stretch to account for the 7-2 final. Georgia Holland was the leading scorer for Yale with one goal and two assists and Cain finished with two saves and two goals-against in 59:29. Heather Schlesier came on for the final 10:31 but did not face a shot.

THE SERIES WITH SIENA: The Big Red holds a 5-0 advantage in the series vs. Siena. The closest game in the series came in 2007 when Cornell escaped Schoellkopf Field with the 4-3 victory. Every other contest with the Saints has been decided by at least three goals (1994 – Cornell won, 4-1; 1995 – Cornell won, 3-0; 2009 – Cornell won, 4-0).

SCOUTING THE SAINTS: Siena brings a 31-game losing streak to Dodson Field, with its last victory coming in a 1-0 decision against St. Louis on Oct. 8, 2010. Offense has been hard to come by for the Saints, as they have been outscored this season, 24-3. Their three goals have come from three different players – Cory dela Gorgendiere, Jessica Smith and Olivia Whelly, while Theresa Trembley and Katherine Bowie have each recorded an assist. In goal, Beth Meyers has seen the majority of action, playing 353 minutes and posting a 3.37 goals-against average and a .764 save percentage.

LAST TIME VS. SIENA: Cornell outshot Siena, 43-1, and held the 16-0 edge in penalty corners, as the Big Red rolled to a 4-0 victory over the Saints on Sept. 9, 2009 on Marsha Dodson Field. Junior Catie De Stio led the team with one goal and one assist, as four different players found their way into the scoring column. Senior Katie Kirnan added a tally, while sophomore Olivia Boyd and freshman Genevieve Collins both registered their first collegiate goals. Junior Mattie Prodanovic and freshman Kat DiPastina chipped in one assist apiece. In the cage, senior Mel Jue and sophomore Alex Botte combined for the shutout, but neither was called on to make a save in the contest, while. Siena goalkeeper Renee Clavette set the Marsha Dodson Field record with a 22-save effort.

VS. THE NORTHEAST CONFERENCE: The Big Red owns a 12-1 record vs. the current members of the Northeast Conference, thanks mostly to a perfect 5-0 record against Siena. Cornell is also a perfect 3-0 against St. Francis (Pa.) and 1-0 against both Bryant and Sacred Heart. The Big Red also owns a winning record against Rider (2-1), but has never faced Monmouth, Quinnipiac or Robert Morris in field hockey.

THE HEAD COACH: Cornell head coach Donna Hornibrook is in her ninth season at Cornell (70-67, .511) ... Hornibrook became the sixth coach in Cornell field hockey history in January 2004 ... She has a 240-114-10 (.674) record as a head coach, including a 111-39-4 mark at Houghton and a 60-8-6 record at New Brunswick.

SHOT STOPPER: Carolyn Horner ranks first in the country in saves per game (11.00) and is fifth overall in save percentage (.805).

MOVING ON UP: Junior Hannah Balleza ranks eighth overall in Cornell history with 23 goals. She needs three more tallies to move into a tie for seventh place with Beth Paciello (1985-88). She also currently ranks eighth in Big Red history for career points with 52. She needs just six more points to move into a tie with Beth Paciello (1985-88) in seventh place and 15 more points to crack the top-five and tie Joanne Powell (1976-79) with 67 points.

CLOSE CALLS: Cornell's 4-3 loss to Rutgers in overtime on Sept. 23 continued the Big Red's trend of playing in one-goal games. Since the start of the 2006 season, the Big Red has lost 45 games, with 27 of those coming by a single goal, including 12 in overtime. During that same span, Cornell has won 57 games, with 27 coming in one-goal games, including eight in overtime.

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 61-10 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 Rutgers on Sept. 23, 4-3, in overtime, it marked the only the second 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 43-2 in games in which it scores at least three goals after a 4-0 victory against Penn on Sept. 15, 2012.

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 21-12 all-time on the newly constructed Marsha Dodson Field. Collectively, the team has outscored its opponents by a margin of 75-56 and has taken significantly more shots (610-361) than its opponents. The defense has been equally solid in the circle, allowing just 190 penalty corners (5.8 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 hit the road for a midweek matchup with in-state rival Colgate in Hamilton, N.Y., on Wednesday, Oct. 3 at 7 p.m.