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ITHACA, N.Y. – The Cornell women's lacrosse team will take on Yale in a critical Ivy League match-up Saturday on Schoellkopf Field at 3 p.m.  The Big Red (6-7, 3-2 Ivy) will be wearing pink uniforms against the Bulldogs (8-6, 2-3 Ivy) for its annual Pink game to show support for breast cancer awareness.

ABOUT THE BIG RED
Sophomore midfielder Emily Tripodi is currently third in the Ivy League and 28th in the nation for assists with 21, and third in the Ivy League and 23rd in the nation for assists per game with 1.75. Junior midfielder Sarah Hefner is currently third in the Ivy League and 19th in the nation for draw controls with 4.33 per game. Sophomore attack Lindsay Toppe is currently second in the Ivy League and 31st in the nation for goals with 37, and second in the Ivy League and 19th in the nation for goals per game (3.08). She is also second the Ivy League in points per game (3.92) and is fourth in the Ivy League in points (47), good for 38th and 58th in the nation, respectively.
 
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 156-106 record at Cornell and earned her 160th career win against Binghamton late last season.    

ABOUT YALE
The Bulldogs, based in New Haven, Conn., have eight wins this season but only two in the Ivy League. Though it lost three of its five Ivy League contests, the Bulldogs fought to a 9-6 win against Columbia last weekend to pick up their second conference win. Yale is 18th in the country in scoring defense, allowing just 8.23 goals per game and the Bulldogs are led by goalkeeper Erin McMullin's 6.69 goals-against average. Jen DeVito leads the way on offense with 50 points on 18 goals and 32 assists, while Nicole Daniggelis has 36 goals and 12 assists.
 
THE SERIES WITH YALE
The Big Red's rivalry with the Bulldogs dates all the way back to 1980. In the 33 years since, Yale has won 19 of the teams' 35 meetings. Cornell, though, has won six consecutive times and no current member of the team has lost to the Bulldogs. Last season, Cornell won 13-7 thanks to four goals from Lindsay Toppe. Caroline Salisbury '13 and Maddie Kiep each had two, while Sarah Hefner, Emily Tripodi and Claire MacManus chipped in one each.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Junior attack Lindsay Toppe recorded a natural hat trick, with two goals coming from free-position attempts, against No. 1 Syracuse last Tuesday to lead the Big Red's offense. Rachel Moody had two goals while Emily Tripodi (2 assists) and Catherine Ellis (1 assist) each added helpers. Junior goalkeeper Carly Gniewek ended the day with 7 saves. Cornell had a 21-16 advantage in ground balls.

ANNUAL PINK GAME
Saturday's contest against Yale will be Cornell's annual Pink game to raise money for breast cancer awareness. The Big Red will be wearing pink uniforms to show its support. Donations are welcome and proceeds will go to the Cancer Resource Center of the Finger Lakes.
 
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 was a perfect 7-0 at home.
 
THE HUNT FOR 300
Cornell picked up its 298th program win on April 12 against Brown with an 11-10 overtime victory and will look to hit the 300-win milestone this season.

100-POINT CLUB
Junior attack Lindsay Toppe reached the 100-point mark with two goals against Albany on March 16. She is the currently the only member of the Big Red women's lacrosse team this season with over 100 career points (98-26—124).
 
SNAPPING RECORDS
With her one draw control won against No. 8 Penn State, Sarah Hefner broke the Cornell single-season record for draws. The record was previously held by Caroline Salisbury '13, who had 48 last season. Hefner currently has 53. She is also currently the Big Red's all-time leader in draw controls per game (2.56) and third all-time in draws won (105).
 
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Two Cornell players have been named Ivy League Offensive Player of the Week this season. Freshman attack Catherine Ellis received the honor this week (April 7) for her six-goal performance in the Big Red's 11-10 double-overtime victory against Dartmouth last Saturday. Junior attack Lindsay Toppe shared the award with Brown's Danielle Mastro on March 11.

2014 CAPTAINS
The Big Red will be represented by three captains this season: senior midfielder Amanda D'Amico, senior midfielder Chelsea Rowe, and junior attack Lindsay Toppe.
 
BACK ON THE FIELD
The Big Red has five returning seniors this year: attack 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 nine 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 has 61 goals, 48 ground balls and 72 points.
*Sarah Hefner has 34 goals and 63 ground balls. She is currently third in the all-time Cornell rankings for draw controls with 105.
*Claire MacManus has 49 ground balls.
*Rachel Moody has 40 goals and 61 points.
*Chelsea Rowe has 34 draw controls.
*Cat Thomas has 35 ground balls.
*Lindsay Toppe has 98 goals, 26 assists and 124 points. She is tied for first in the all-time rankings for game-winning goals (8).
*Emily Tripodi has 59 assists and 76 points. She is fifth all-time for assists (59) in the Cornell record books.
 
UP NEXT
The Big Red will play host to Penn at Schoellkopf Field, Saturday, April 26 at 1 p.m. in Cornell's last home game of the season.