ITHACA, N.Y. – Lacrosse season has arrived. After nearly 10 months since the team's last game, the Big Red women will open their season on at Canisius. It will be just the second meeting in the teams' history, and the No. 16 Big Red is expecting to challenge for an Ivy League crown in 2013. Saturday at 2 p.m., the team's quest for the postseason begins.
GAME INFORMATION
GAME #1: No. 16 Cornell vs. Canisius
GAME TIME: Saturday, Feb. 23, 2013, 2 p.m.
GAME SITE: Demske Sports Complex (Buffalo)
SERIES RECORD: Cornell leads 1-0
LAST MEETING: Cornell won 21-7 on March 13, 2012
2011-12 RECORDS: Cornell (0-0); Canisius (0-1)
LIVE STATS:
Canisius Live Stats
LIVE VIDEO:
Canisius Live Video ($)
ABOUT THE BIG RED
Cornell closed out the 2012 campaign with an 11-5 record, just missing the NCAA Tournament after making it to the Ivy League Tournament semifinals. Cornell knocked off multiple NCAA Tournament teams during the year, and it hopes to continue its success in 2013. The team graduated nine seniors in 2012, including the third-leading goal scorer in school history and four captains, but the 2013 squad still has plenty of firepower and returning talent plus nine new freshmen. This season should be a competitive one in the Ivy League and nationally.
HEAD COACH JENNY GRAAP
Jenny Graap returned to her alma mater in 1997 with one goal in mind: to build the Cornell women's lacrosse team into a championship contender. Now in her 16th year at the helm, the 2002 Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association Coach of the Year and 2006 Inside Lacrosse Magazine and IWLCA Northeast Coach of the Year has developed the Big Red women's lacrosse program into one of the most successful in the nation. She has posted a 129-89 record at Cornell and earned her 160th career win against Binghamton late last season.
ABOUT CANISIUS
The Golden Griffins, based in Buffalo, have a 0-1 record this season after beginning their schedule at Louisville two weeks ago. The Cardinals handed Canisius a 13-3 loss in that game. Canisius' offense so far is led by three players: Maria Kotas, Lindsey Morgan and Meghan McGunigle with one goal each. No one on the roster has an assist. Five different players have one draw control apiece, and Morgan Leonard is ahead of the pack with five ground balls. In net, Claudia Coleates started the Louisville game and gave up 10 goals in the first half for a goals against average of 20. In the second half, Kayla Scully allowed just three goals and made nine saves.
The Griffins are coached by Scott Teeter, now in his 11th season with his alma mater.
THE SERIES WITH CANISIUS
The Big Red and Golden Griffins played for the first time ever last season with Cornell coming away with a 21-7 victory. The Big Red was just one shy of tying the school record for most goals in a game. Cornell got five goals on the afternoon from
Jessi Steinberg, three from
Caroline Salisbury and two each by
Shannon Tierney,
Lindsay Toppe,
Chelsea Rowe and
Lauren Halpern.
Kyla Dambach earned the win in goal.
A WIN AGAINST CANISIUS WOULD…
…give Cornell a 2-0 lead in the all-time series…make Cornell 1-0 on the year…start the Big Red's season with a victory for the second consecutive season…start the Big Red 1-0 in non-conference play for the second consecutive season…make Cornell 6-3 all-time against MAAC teams.
CORNELL VERSUS THE MAAC
The Big Red has only played three of the 10 teams that are currently playing lacrosse in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. Cornell went 2-0 against those teams last season, defeating Canisius and Loyola. The Big Red has an all-time record of 5-3 against those MAAC teams, holding 1-0 advantages against Canisius and Fordham while going 3-3 against Loyola in its history.
NATIONALLY RANKED
Cornell begins this season ranked as the No. 16 team in the county in the IWLCA Coaches' Poll. Cornell was No. 10 before the Ivy League Tournament last season, its highest ranking of the year. In the deBeer Media Poll, Cornell is receiving votes.
LAST TIME OUT
Cornell last played a game on May 1, 2012, falling by just one goal, 9-8, in the Ivy League Tournament Semifinal to Dartmouth. The Big Red started the game in a large hole but fought back and was nearly able to tie the game in the final seconds.
Caroline Salisbury had three goals in the game to lead Cornell.
SWEET CAROLINE
A Second Team All-Ivy player and a breakout star on offense last season, Cornell's
Caroline Salisbury returns as a team captain for her senior year. A walk-on when she first arrived, Salisbury started her career slow but erupted for 44 goals last year to tie for the team lead. She scored a goal in every game last season but the opener at Rutgers, but even in that game she had four assists. She scored a hat trick in nine consecutive games to end the season.
ROAD WARRIORS
Last season brought success on the road, as the Big Red held a perfect 7-0 record in true road games. The only losses away from Ithaca came in neutral-site contests against Notre Dame in Orlando, Fla., over Spring Break and against Dartmouth in the Ivy League Tournament in Philadelphia.
SCORCHING SCORING PACE
The Big Red was stellar on offense all of 2012, posting the second-highest goal total in program history. The team finished with 227 goals, just one shy of the 2002 team's 228. Cornell also was just four points shy of the team record (311, also in 2002) and 14 assists behind the team record (94 in 2000).
GOALS, GOALS, GOALS
The Big Red's 22-goal outburst at Jacksonville on March 20, 2012 tied the team's all-time record, set on May 1, 1994 against Rutgers. Cornell had scored 20 goals in a game just twice in its history before last season, but after the Jacksonville contest the Big Red had scored 20 goals twice in eight days. Cornell also recorded a 21-goal effort against Canisius on March 13, 2012.
HATS OFF
Cornell had a player record a hat trick in all of its games last year.
Caroline Salisbury kept that streak alive by scoring three times in Cornell's loss in the Ivy League Tournament.
2013 CAPTAINS
The Big Red will be represented by three captains this season: senior attacker
Caroline Salisbury, senior defender
Kate Ivory and junior midfielder
Chelsea Rowe.
BACK ON THE FIELD
Four returning Big Red players this season did not see any time last year due to injury but should player larger roles this year. Defender and captain
Kate Ivory, defender
Meg Helmer, defender
Christine Ferguson and attacker
Rachel Moody are all expected to see plenty of playing time in 2013.
FRESH PERSPECTIVE
A large incoming class of 10 freshmen joins the Cornell roster this season. On the attacking side,
Olivia Mattyasovszky,
Jessica Schwab and
Emily Tripodi are new. The freshman midfielders are
Abby Hanson,
Maddie Kiep,
Taylor Kotas,
Brittany Marriott and
Shelby McNeilly. Rounding out the freshman class are defenders
Greer McBeth and
Catherine Moubayed.
CAREER NUMBERS WATCH
Against Dartmouth:
Approaching career numbers:
UP NEXT
The Big Red opens its home schedule with a noon contest against Ivy League rival Harvard on Saturday. Cornell doubled up the Crimson 12-6 last season.
