GAME INFORMATION
GAME #3: Cornell at Lehigh
GAME TIME: Friday, Sept. 12 at 7:00 p.m.
GAME SITE: Ulrich Sports Complex (Bethlehem, Pa.)
SERIES RECORD: Cornell leads, 20-1-1
LAST MEETING: Cornell won, 2-0, Oct. 20, 2013 (Ithaca, N.Y.)
2014 RECORDS: Cornell (1-1); Lehigh (0-4)
LIVE STATS: http://www.sidearmstats.com/lehigh/fhockey/
LIVE VIDEO: None

GAME #4: Cornell at Delaware
GAME TIME: Sunday, Sept. 14, at 1:00 p.m.
GAME SITE: Rullo Stadium (Newark, Del.)
SERIES RECORD: Cornell leads, 1-0
LAST MEETING: Cornell won, 4-3 (OT), Sept. 5, 2010 (Newark, Del.)
2014 RECORDS: Cornell (1-1)*; Delaware (3-2)*
LIVE STATS: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=55714
LIVE VIDEO (Free): http://www.bluehens.com

* records prior to Sept. 12

THE MATCH UP: The Cornell field hockey team will look to build on its solid start to the season when it hits the road for a pair of games this weekend. The Big Red will travel to Bethlehem, Pa., to take on Lehigh on Friday, Sept. 12 at 7 p.m., before heading to Newark, Del., to face the University of Delaware on Sunday, Sept. 14 at 1 p.m.

THE SERIES WITH LEHIGH: The series with Lehigh began in 1991, and Cornell is 20-1-1 all-time against the Mountain Hawks, with its lone loss coming during the 1993 campaign. The Big Red has won 18 straight in the series and head coach Donna Hornibrook is a perfect 9-0 vs. Lehigh.

SCOUTING THE MOUNTAIN HAWKS: Lehigh is off to an 0-4 start, falling to Saint Joseph's, St. Francis (Pa.), Penn and Monmouth by a combined score of 19-5. Lindsey Schott has registered a team-high three goals and added one assist, while Amanda Granger and Gabby Tofig have scored one goal apiece. In goal, Julie Ward has started all four games and has posted a 4.65 goals-against average and a .722 save percentage. The Mountain Hawks were picked to finish sixth in the Patriot League preseason poll and sophomore forward Marissa Glatt was named a preseason All-League honoree. Glatt was the only freshman named first-team All-Patriot League a year ago, leading the team and finishing second in the league with 12 goals. Lehigh returns 12 of the 14 players that recorded a point last season, as well Ward, who started every game in goal a season ago and finished with a .756 save percentage.

LAST TIME VS. LEHIGH: Defender Marisa Siergiej capped a phenomenal weekend by registering a pair of goals in the Big Red's 2-0 victory over Lehigh on Oct. 20 at Marsha Dodson Field. Cornell dominated the game, outshooting the visitors, 18-6, and earning 11 penalty corners to Lehigh's two. In goal, senior goalie Carolyn Horner was called on to make just two saves to earn the win. With her shutout victory, Horner moved into a tie with Kristi Bullard (1995-98) for 10th place in Cornell history with 15 career wins. She also moved into a tie with Kelly Clark (1985-87) for career shutouts with seven.The Big Red defense was outstanding all game, but particularly in the first half, holding the Mountain Hawks without a penalty corner or a shot on goal for the first 35 minutes. Cornell completely controlled the flow of play and had ample scoring opportunities, but Lehigh goalie Julia Ward was up to the task, making five of her eight total saves in the first half. The home team finally managed to crack the scoreless tie in the 28th minute when a perfectly executed give-and-go off a penalty corner by Siergiej and Katy Weeks made it a 1-0 game. Despite continuing to press, the Big Red was unable to get an insurance goal until the 70th minute of play when Siergiej blasted a penalty corner shot into the corner of the cage. Standiford and Hannah Balleza were credited with the assists. With her assist, Balleza moved into sole possession of fourth place in Cornell history, surpassing Carissa Mirasol (2000-03), with 18 career helpers.

VS. THE PATRIOT LEAGUE: The Big Red is 61-54-7 all-time vs. the current members of the Patriot League, thanks mostly to a 20-1-1 lead against Lehigh. The Big Red also holds a winning record against Colgate (21-19-3) and is tied in the series and Holy Cross (5-5). Cornell holds a losing record against American (0-1), Boston University (0-1), Bucknell (10-15-1), and Lafayette (5-12-2) … Cornell is 23-12 vs. the Patriot League during Coach Hornibrook's tenure.


THE SERIES WITH DELAWARE: The Blue Hens hold the 1-0 lead in the all-time series after winning the only meeting between the two programs with a 4-3 overtime triumph during the 2010 season … Head Coach Donna Hornibrook is 0-1 against Delaware.

SCOUTING THE BLUE HENS: Delaware enters a Friday contest against Temple with a 3-2 record overall, dropping a pair of games to nationally ranked opponents Stanford and UNC. Junior All-America midfielder Michaela Patzner leads the offense with team highs in goals (3), assists (3) and points (9), while Jacki Coveleski and reigning CAA Player and Rookie of the Year, Esmee Peet, have two goals apiece. In goal, Emmeline Oltmans has started all five games and has posted a .581 save percentage to go along with a 2.62 goals-against average. The Blue Hens were picked to take home the CAA crown again in 2014 according to a preseason vote by the league's head coaches. Delaware, which captured its first-ever CAA regular season title after finishing unbeaten (6-0) in league play last year, won a program record 17 games last fall, including a victory over Liberty in an NCAA Tournament play-in contest. Fourth-year head coach Rolf van de Kerkhof won NFHCA Mid-Atlantic Coach of the Year honors in 2013 and in addition to Peet and Patzner, returns two second team All-CAA honorees from last year in junior Allie Mikelson and sophomore Meghan Winesett.

LAST TIME VS. DELAWARE: The Big Red found itself in a wild game on Sept. 5, 2010, needing an overtime goal by Olivia Boyd to defeat Delaware after relinquishing a two-goal lead in the final 10 minutes of regulation. Cornell escaped Bob Carpenter Sports Center with a 4-3 overtime victory and improved to 2-0 on the year with the win. In all, the Big Red received goals from four different players, including Boyd, Kat DiPastina, Kate Thompson and Hannah Balleza. Cornell outshot the Blue Hens, 21-15, but the home team held the 9-6 advantage in penalty corners.  In-between the pipes, Alex Botte made seven saves, including one in overtime, while Delaware goalie Noelle Diana stopped 11 shots in the loss. Boyd's heroics came at the 76:31 mark of the game as she collected the ball off a Mattie Prodanovic shot that was initially saved, and slotted it past Diana to had Cornell the victory. The game was forced into overtime after the Blue Hens earned a penalty corner as time expired in regulation. The initial shot was saved by Botte, but UD kept the ball in the circle and Melisa LeNoir scored off a pass by Michelle Dummonds. Cornell got on the board first as DiPastina tipped a Katie Laventure shot into the net in the 12th minute of play. After LeNoir knotted the contest at 1-1, the Big Red scored twice in an eight minutes span midway through the second period with goals by Thompson and Balleza to go up, 3-1. Drummonds made it a one-goal game in the 64th minute before assisting on the game-tying goal.

CORNELL VS. THE COLONIAL ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION: The Big Red is 3-2 all-time against the current members of the CAA. Cornell holds a winning record against both Delaware (1-0), and Hofstra (2-0), but a losing mark against Drexel (0-1) and Towson (0-1). The Big Red has never faced James Madison, Northeastern, or William & Mary in field hockey … Head coach Donna Hornibrook is 1-2 all-time vs. the CAA.

THE HEAD COACH: Cornell head coach Donna Hornibrook is in her 11th season at Cornell (88-78, .530) ... Hornibrook became the sixth coach in Cornell field hockey history in January 2004 ... She has a 259-125-10 (.670) record as a head coach, including a 111-39-4 mark at Houghton and a 60-8-6 record at New Brunswick.
 
OPENING UP: The Big Red opened its 43rd season on Sept. 5 with a dominating 9-0 victory over in state rival Colgate at Tyler's Field … The Big Red improved to 25-14-4 (.628) all-time in season-openers, while Coach Hornibrook improved to 8-3 (.727) in season openers during her time with Cornell.
 
ONE FOR THE RECORD BOOKS: The Big Red's 9-0 victory vs. Colgate on Sept. 5 tied a school record for most goals in a single game, matching Cornell's performances vs. against Bryant in 2008 and Saint Francis (Pa.) in 2006.
 
IN THE RANKINGS: After its offensive outburst to start the season, Cornell finds itself ranked first in the nation in goals per game (5.00), points per game (14.50), scoring average (5.00) and scoring margin (4.00). The Big Red is also second overall in assists per game (4.50).
 
INDIVIDUAL EFFORT: Senior Ann DiPastina ranks third in the nation in assists per game (1.50), while Katie Garrity and Taylor Standiford both rank eighth overall (1.00). Junior Marisa Siergiej ranks fourth in the country in goals per game (1.50), while Elizabeth Horak (1.00) is 14th overall. Siergiej is also seventh in the nation in points per game (7.00).
 
ONE OF THE BEST: Head coach Donna Hornibrook ranks among the best when it comes to winning. Among active Division I head coaches, she ranks 14th overall for winning percentage (.698) and 20th for career wins (199), rankings that would be higher if the NCAA counted her 60-8-6 record at Canada's New Brunswick.
 
FIRST POINTS: In its season-opener vs. Colgate, the Big Red saw 10 players register at least one point, with seven of those players finding the point column for the first time in their collegiate career. First time goal scorers included, juniors Katie Garrity and Stephanie Eggertson, sophomore Elizabeth Horak, and freshmen Gabby DePetro, Krysten Mayers, and Katie Carlson. Additionally, freshman Isabel Josephs added one assist for her first collegiate point. 
 
MOVING ON UP: With her six points in the opening weekend, junior Marisa Siergiej moved into 20th place in Cornell history with 33 career points. She needs just one more point to move up a spot to 19th, tying Susan Hartwell (1974-77) with 34 points. Siergiej's 15 career goals is also good for 14th place all-time and she needs just one more to move into a tie for 13th place with Alyssa DePaola (2005-07), Lindsay Grace (2000-03) and Beth Chagrasulis (1977-79) … With her two assists over the opening weekend, Taylor Standiford moved into fifth place in Cornell history with 17 career assists. She needs just four more to tie Hannah Balleza (2010-13) in fourth place.

OH CAPTAIN, MY CAPTAIN: Junior Taylor Standiford has been named team captain for the 2014 season, while senior Ann DiPastina has been named assistant captain.

RANKED OPPONENTS: The Big Red's schedule features four teams that are ranked in the current 2014 NFHCA Division I Poll – No. 5 Syracuse, No. 12 Albany, No. 14 Princeton, and No. 18 American University.  
 
USA, USA, USA –  A trio of Big Red field hockey players – Marisa Siergiej, Katy Weeks and Kelly Johnson – were selected to participate in a pair of US Field Hockey events this past summer, as Weeks played in the Women's National Championship while Siergiej and Johnson played in the Under 21 Championship.
 
CAN-A-DA, CAN-A-DA – Sam McILwrick was the youngest player selected to train with the U-21 Canadian national team in 2013 and went on to be named the 2013 U-18 Player of the Year by Field Hockey British Columbia. She was also named to the Canadian national "Target 2017" team in preparation of the 2017 Junior World Cup. 
 
EVERYBODY'S ALL-AMERICAN: Junior Marisa Siergiej was named a second-team Mideast Region All-American following the 2013 season. One of the premier defenders in the Ivy League, Siergiej was the anchor of a defensive unit that ranked fourth in the conference in goals allowed (2.12) and gave up just 6.1 penalty corners per contest. On the other side of the field, she was the Big Red's best scoring threat on penalty corner opportunities, netting 10 goals this season. She led the team in goals, game-winning goals (four), and points (22), marks that also placed her in the top 10 in the conference in all three categories.
 
ALL-IVY ACCOLADES: Cornell had four players named All-Ivy in 2013, two of whom are back for the 2014 season – junior Marisa Siergiej  and sophomore  Katy Weeks (second-team).

SMARTY PANTS: The Big Red placed a school-record 10 student-athletes on the 2013 Gladiator by SGI/NFHCA Division I National Academic Squad. The 10 honorees are the most ever, besting the mark of eight that made the team following the 2010 campaign. Additionally, freshman Katie Weeks was named a Division I Scholar of Distinction for having achieved a cumulative GPA of 3.90 or higher through the first semester of the 2013-14 academic year. Cornell has had at least four players earn the honor in nine of the past 10 seasons. In addition to the individual accolades, the squad also earned the NFHCA Collegiate National Academic Team Award for the sixth time during head coach Hornibrook's tenure.

100 POINTS: Last season's team was outstanding offensively, going over 100 points in a season for just the sixth time in program history and third time under Coach Hornibrook. The 111 total team points ranked third in school history for single-season performance, giving Coach Hornibrook's teams the top three spots (126 in 2008; 123 in 2005). 

SCORE!!: Cornell's 39 goals last season was good for third overall in program history for single-season goals, giving Coach Hornibrook's teams the top four finishes (45 in 2008; 44 in 2005; 39 in 2010) in program history. 

250 WINS: The Big Red's 3-1 victory over Georgetown on Sept. 15, 2013 was the 250th win of head coach Donna Hornibrook's career.

REACHING 10 WINS: The Big Red posted 10 wins last season, giving coach Hornibrook double-digit wins for the sixth time during her 10-year Cornell tenure. It was the first 10-win season for the Big Red since the 2010 team went 11-5.

FRESHMAN POINTS: Last year, Katy Weeks had one of the best freshman seasons in Cornell history with 20 points on seven goals and six assists. Her 20 points ranked fourth overall in Big Red history for points by a rookie. Weeks' seven goals ranked sixth overall among Cornell freshman and her six assists ranked second overall in Cornell history for rookie assists.

CLOSE CALLS: Cornell's 2-1 loss to Albany on Sept. 7, 2014 continued the Big Red's trend of playing in one-goal games. Since the start of the 2006 season, the Big Red has lost 56 games, with 34 of those coming by a single goal, including 16 in overtime. During that same span, Cornell has won 72 games, with 36 coming in one-goal games, including 10 in overtime … Last season, nine of Cornell's 17 games were one-goal decisions.

BALANCED OFFENSE: Already this season, the Big Red has had seven players register at least one goal. Head Coach Donna Hornibrook has had at least nine players register one goal in all but two seasons with the Big Red (2004, 2012).

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 76-14 record in games in which they have scored first. Conversely, the team has won only 11 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 Oct. 8, 2013 as Cornell overcame an early 1-0 deficit to defeat Colgate, 3-2, in Ithaca, N.Y.

KNOCK THREE TIMES: When the Big Red fell to Penn, 4-3, on Sept. 21, 2013 it marked only the fourth time in Coach Hornibrook's career with Cornell that the team scored three goals and lost the contest. Under Coach Hornibrook, the Big Red earned its 56th victory in a game in which it scores at least three goals when it defeated Colgate (0-0) on Sept. 5, 2014.

THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE (A NEW) HOME: The Big Red is 32-17 all-time on Marsha Dodson Field. Collectively, the team has outscored its opponents by a margin of 108-80 and has taken significantly more shots (865-517) than its opponents. The defense has been equally solid in the circle, allowing just 284 penalty corners (5.8 per game).

SISTER ACT: The 2014 campaign will mark the first time since the 2007 campaign that the Cornell roster will not featured at least one set of sisters.

ON THE BLOCK: Ann DiPastina is a member of Cornell's Block and Bridle Club and has trained beef heifers by halter breaking them.

UP NEXT: The Ivy League season opens next weekend when Cornell plays host to Penn on Saturday, Sept. 20, before facing Holy Cross on Sunday, Sept. 21. The Big Red is looking to avenge last season's 4-3 loss to the Quakers and improve Hornibrook to 7-4 all-time in the series. Cornell defeated the Crusaders a year ago to run its winning streak to three straight and knot the series at 5-5.