The Cornell women's soccer team will embark on its 32nd season this weekend, starting with a road game at Sacred Heart before returning to Charles F. Berman Field for a 1 p.m. Sunday showdown with regional rival Colgate.
 
GAME INFORMATION
GAME #1: Cornell at Sacred Heart
DATE: Friday, Sept. 6, 2013
TIME: 4 p.m.
SITE: Campus Field – Fairfield, Conn. (artificial surface)
2013 RECORDS: Cornell 0-0, Sacred Heart 1-3
VIDEO: None
AUDIO: None
LIVE STATS: None
 
GAME #2: Colgate at Cornell
DATE: Sunday, Sept. 8, 2013
TIME: 1 p.m.
SITE: Charles F. Berman Field – Ithaca, N.Y. (grass surface)
2013 RECORDS (not including Friday's game): Colgate 3-1, Cornell 0-0
VIDEO: None
AUDIO: None
LIVE STATS: http://www.sidearmstats.com/cornell/wsoc/

ABOUT THE BIG RED
Cornell is kicking off its 32nd season of varsity women's soccer, coming off a 1-14-1 campaign in 2012. It was a year of change under head coach Patrick Farmer, who returns for his second season at the helm of the Big Red and his 21st as a head coach in the NCAA. The team will have a different look to it, with just 11 of 21 letterwinners returning from last season. While there is a younger slant to the squad, a group of nine freshmen will also be complemented by 10 upperclassmen. The Big Red will be seeking its first winning season in 11 years.
 
ABOUT SACRED HEART
The Pioneers have enjoyed a two-week head start on their season, compared to Cornell, with a 1-3 record to show for it. All four of Sacred Heart's game have been decided by one goal, including a pair of losses to Vermont and New Hampshire at the TD Bank Classic in Burlington, Vt. The Pioneers responded with their first victory of the season on Aug. 29, downing Rhode Island, 2-1. Lafayette then handed Sacred Heart a 3-2 loss in the Pioneers' most recent game on Sept. 1. … Sophomore forward Marissa Christy leads the team in scoring with two goals for four points. Freshman forward Lindsay Jossick, and junior midfielders Jillian Picinich and Kristin Verrette have the other Sacred Heart goals this season. … Senior Sydney Judkins has been the team's exclusive goalkeeper to date, sporting a 1-3 record with a 1.75 goals-against average and .682 save percentage.
 
THE SERIES WITH SACRED HEART
In the programs' first-ever meeting, the visiting Pioneers left Berman Field with a 2-1 victory on Sept. 18, 2012. All three of the goals came in an eight-minute span, with the two Sacred Heart tallies bookending a strike from Claire MacManus off a corner kick in the 51st minute. It was her first goal of the season and second of her career. Goalkeeper Tori Christ made eight saves on the day, including five in the first half.
 
ABOUT COLGATE
The Raiders are 3-1 after dropping a 1-0 decision to host Syracuse on Sept. 1. The Orange's goal was the first conceded this season by Colgate, which won its first three games via shutout. Colgate started out the season at the TD Bank Classic in Burlington, Vt., where it secured a 2-0 victory over New Hampshire on Aug. 23 before using Sidney Parodie's goal in the 43th minute for a 1-0 win over Vermont two days later. The Raiders then cruised to a 3-0 triumph over Siena in their home opener on Aug. 29. … Parodie, a freshman forward, leads the team in scoring with two goals for four points. Sophomore forward Taryn Tomczyk and freshman midfielder Sarah Coy each have a goal and an assist for three points, while sophomore forward Catherine Williams and junior midfielder Caroline Brawner have provided the other goals. … Sophomore Erin Cummings has been the team's primary goalkeeper, sporting a 2-1 record with a 0.36 goals-against average and .833 save percentage. Freshman Brenna Mason has the team's other start, posting a three-save shutout against New Hampshire.
 
THE SERIES WITH COLGATE
While the Raiders went on to capture the Patriot League title in 2012, they needed a second-half surge to defeat the Big Red on Sept. 7, 2012 at Van Doren Field in Hamilton, N.Y. The teams were knotted at 1 through 45 minutes before Colgate produced two goals in the second half to fuel a 3-1 victory. The victory gave Colgate the all-time series lead, 16-15-3, with the teams now splitting their last four games. The Central New York rivals have played each other at least once per season since the Big Red program gained varsity status in 1982.
 
HEAD COACH PATRICK FARMER
Now in his 21st season as a head coach in the NCAA, Patrick Farmer is entering his second season as the Cornell women's soccer program's fifth head coach. Farmer comes to the Big Red via the University of Wisconsin, where he served as an assistant coach with the Badgers' women's soccer team for three years. Prior to his stint at Wisconsin, Farmer has amassed a 261-97-40 record at Ithaca College, Penn State, Tennessee Tech and Syracuse. He also served as a head coach at the professional level for two seasons, heading the New York Power of the Women's United Soccer Association. Megan Ramey returns to Cornell for her third season as an assistant coach, and Dwight Hornibrook is in his second season as an assistant coach after serving as the head coach of SUNY Cortland men's soccer for eight years. Brett Sarsfield has also joined the staff as a volunteer assistant coach.
 
GOOD THINGS COME IN THREES
The Big Red will have tri-captains for the fifth time in seven years with seniors Tori Christ and Rachel Nichols, and junior Claire MacManus wearing the armbands. Christ is the Big Red's first goalkeeper to serve as a two-time captain since Sherrie Chocola in 1985 and 1986.
 
SHE'S HONORED
Junior midfielder Claire MacManus was recognized for being one of the top defensive midfielders in the Ivy League last season, when she was tabbed as an All-Ivy Second Team selection. One of the team's best aerial threats, MacManus scored her only goal of last season against Sacred Heart. Off a corner kick on Sept. 14, MacManus redirected the service 10 yards from goal and past the Pioneers' keeper for the second of her collegiate career. MacManus is also a midfielder on the women's lacrosse team.

FOR STARTERS
Cornell has had great success in the 30 season openers in the program's history, picking up a 16-10-4 mark in the first game of the season. That trend has been reversed of late, though, with the Big Red's last win in a season debut coming in 2008 against Oakland (Mich.).
 
YOUTH IS SERVED
The Big Red is carrying a roster of 25 players this season, which is the smallest since it carried 25 in 2009. While there are six seniors on this year's team, the most-represented class is the freshmen. Patrick Farmer's first recruiting class included eight freshmen, plus the addition of one transfer and two walk-ons.  

NATIONAL APPEAL
The Big Red has 12 different states and China represented on the team roster, with its home state of New York claiming seven players. Cornell has three players that hail from New Jersey and Pennsylvania, two each from California and Virginia, and single representatives from Hawaii, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Mexico and Oregon. Dana Daniels comes from China, but joins the Big Red via The Bullis School in the Washington, D.C. metro area.

UP NEXT
Cornell wraps up a demanding stretch of three games in five days with a trip to Buffalo at 7 p.m. on Tuesday. The Big Red will then kick off a three-game home stand with a match against Marist at 5:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 13.