Game Notes (PDF)

ITHACA, N.Y. – The Cornell women's lacrosse team will open the 2014 season with a 12 p.m. contest against Temple on Sunday at Schoellkopf Field. Last season, the Big Red finished with 10-6 mark and went 4-3 in conference play. Temple, whose women's lacrosse program just moved to the Big East conference, finished last season with a record of 9-8 overall and 4-3 in Atlantic-10 competition. The Owls are 1-1 on the season.


ABOUT THE BIG RED
Cornell closed out the 2013 campaign with a 10-6 record, after losing in the first round of the Ivy League tournament to the University of Pennsylvania, 10-5. The Big Red started off strong, winning their first six games, including a double overtime, one-goal victory over No.7 Penn State. The team graduated six seniors in 2013, two of whom were captains, but the 2014 squad still has plenty of firepower and returning talent plus ten new freshmen. This season should prove to 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 17th 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 150-99 record at Cornell and earned her 160th career win against Binghamton late last season.

ABOUT TEMPLE (Courtesy of owlsports.com)
Temple women's lacrosse is entering its first season as a member of the Big East Conference and is under the guidance of eighth-year head coach Bonnie Rosen. The Owls went 9-8 overall in 2013, and finished 4-3 in the Atlantic 10 standings to earn the third seed at the conference tournament. Temple fell to Duquesne in the A-10 semifinals to close out the season. The Owls return a young team with the departure of six seniors from last season, including the top two goal-scorers and starting goalkeeper. Sophomore Rachel Schwaab returns after an impressive freshman campaign that saw her score 23 goals and add 10 assists (second on the team) for 33 total points. Senior Jaymie Tabor was the team's third-leading scorer as a junior with 27 goals, and senior Kelly Syphard returns after scoring 10 goals last year. Nina Falcone will serve as Temple's veteran leader on the defensive end, as she returns for a fifth year as a graduate student. Falcone ranked second on the team last year with 13 caused turnovers.

THE SERIES WITH TEMPLE
The Big Red and Owls are playing for the first time in women's lacrosse history.

LAST TIME OUT
Cornell last played a game on May 3, 2013, falling 10-5 to Penn in the first round of the Ivy League Tournament. The Big Red went into halftime with a 6-4 deficit and the Quakers proved to be too much for the Big Red. Rachel Moody had two goals and Lindsay Toppe had one assist to lead the underclassmen.

HOME SWEET HOME
Last season brought success at home, as the Big Red held an almost-perfect 6-1 record in home games. The only loss came on a 12-10 decision against Princeton, who eventually went on to the NCAA Tournament. The Big Red has posted a 20-15 home record during the past five seasons, making 2013 its most successful season at Schoellkopf since 2006 when Cornell posted a perfect 7-0 at home.

THE HUNT FOR 300
Cornell picked up its 292nd program win April 27 against Boston University and will look to hit the 300-win milestone this season.

2014 CAPTAINS
The Big Red will be represented by three captains this season: senior midfielder Amanda D'Amico, senior midfielder Chelsea Rowe, and junior attacker Lindsay Toppe.

BACK ON THE FIELD
The Big Red has five returning seniors this year: attacker Rachel Moody, midfielder Jessie Smith, midfielder Amanda D'Amico, midfielder Chelsea Rowe, and defender Cat Thomas. The current seniors are returning 26 percent of the goals scored from last season and 23 percent of the total points scored by the Big Red.

FRESH PERSPECTIVE
A large incoming class of 11 freshmen joins the Cornell roster this season. On the attacking side, Catherine Ellis, Christie Powell, and Meredith Baker are new. The freshman midfielders are Mandy Powell, Amie Dickson, Kristy Gilbert, Catie Smith, and Kailey O'Hagan. Rounding out the freshman class is goalkeeper Renee Poullott.

CAREER NUMBERS WATCH
*Amanda D'Amico is four goals away from 50 and three points away from 60.
*Rachel Moody is one goal away from 20 and one point away from 30.
*Lindsay Toppe is two goals away from 60 and one point away from 75.
*Emily Tripodi is four assists away from 40 and three points away from 50.

UP NEXT
Cornell hits the road next week as it takes on Ivy League rival Harvard in Cambridge on March 1 at 1 p.m., then takes on Colgate at Hamilton on March 5 at 4 p.m.