The Cornell women's soccer team will play its final tune-up games before the start of Ivy League season this weekend, clashing with Buffalo at 4 p.m. Friday and Binghamton at 1 p.m. Sunday. Coming into the games this weekend, the Big Red has 199 victories in program history.
 
GAME INFORMATION
GAME #5: Buffalo at Cornell
DATE: Friday, Sept. 19, 2014
TIME: 4 p.m.
SITE: Berman Field – Ithaca, N.Y. (natural surface)
2014 RECORDS: Cornell 3-1, Buffalo 4-1-1
AUDIO: Ivy League Digital Network
LIVE STATS: CornellBigRed.com
 
GAME #6: Cornell at Binghamton
DATE: Sunday, Sept. 21, 2014
TIME: 1 p.m.
SITE: Bearcats Sports Complex – Vestal, N.Y. (grass surface)
2014 RECORDS (not including Friday's games): Cornell 3-1, Binghamton 4-4
VIDEO: None
LIVE STATS: www.bubearcats.com

ABOUT THE BIG RED
In search of its first winning season in 12 years, Cornell is off to a strong start with three victories and one tough loss to undefeated Temple in the final game last weekend's inaugural Big Red Shootout at Berman Field. The Owls scored with 2:02 left in the second overtime to secure a 2-1 victory, with senior forward Kerry Schubert scoring the Big Red's lone goal about midway through the first half. The two Temple goals were the first conceded this season by sophomore goalkeeper Kelsey Tierney and a Big Red back four consisting of primarily senior Sydney Cetrullo, junior Charlotte Tate, sophomore Aimee Tavzel and freshman Whitney Farber. The team's third clean sheet of the season came in Friday's 5-0 dismantling of Virginia Military Institute — though Tierney wasn't even called upon to make a single save. Sophomore midfielder Elizabeth Crowell broke the doors open with a pair of goals about five minutes apart in the second half, and junior forward Caroline Growney added a goal and two assists. … Growney has the early team lead in scoring with seven points on two goals and three assists. She led the Big Red in scoring last season with 15 points. Crowell has two goals and two assists for six points to rank second on the team in scoring, then there are five players tied for third with two points apiece. … The Big Red is in position to continue building off a strong 2013 campaign. Cornell was 7-8-1 last season, which featured more than double the program's win totals from the 2011 and 2012 seasons combined. Cornell's 3-0 start this season was its first since 2005. … Continuity is strong with 17 of 23 letterwinners returning from last season, plus a group of newcomers expected to produce at least a few new starters. Despite the strong group of incumbents, the team still has a younger slant. There are just four seniors on the roster — including co-captains Sydney Cetrullo and Claire MacManus. … The top three scorers and 10 of the 12 players who had points last season are back with the Big Red in 2014.
 
ABOUT BUFFALO
The Bulls started the season with five straight shutouts before suffering a 5-0 loss to third-ranked Virginia Tech last Friday. Buffalo is a perfect 3-0 at home with victories against St. Bonaventure, Canisius and Drexel, and it also has a road win against Niagara and road draw at Duquesne under its belt. The Bulls do not have any home games in September. … Sophomore forward Celina Carrero leads the team in scoring with five points on two goals and an assist. Senior forward/midfielder Katie Roberts has a goal and an assist for three points, and freshman midfielder Julia Benati, senior midfielder/forward Megan Abman and junior defender Jackie Hall have the other goals. … Standing 6 feet tall, freshman Laura Dougall has started five games and has a 4-0-1 record having not yet conceded a goal on 20 shots. … Shawn Burke in his first year as head coach of Buffalo after serving as an assistant for five seasons.
 
THE SERIES WITH BUFFALO
The Bulls lead the all-time series, 3-1-2, though the teams played to a scoreless draw last season at UB Stadium. Cornell's lone victory against Buffalo came on Sept. 11, 2005, when midfielders Caitlin Oliver and Mariye Wick scored goals and freshman goalkeeper Taylor Hendren made seven saves in her first collegiate start to spearhead a 2-1 victory at Berman Field.
 
ABOUT BINGHAMTON
The Bearcats have rebounded from a tough 0-3 start to the season by winning four of five heading into this weekend's games (Binghamton plays Friday night at St. Bonaventure). Binghamton has scored at least two goals in each of its victories, including a 2-0 blanking of Canisius on Sunday afternoon. The team's other three victories came in succession, starting with a 5-0 rout of Iona on Aug. 31 and continuing with a 2-1 victories against Siena and Lafayette — the latter in overtime. … The Bearcats have five players with two goals apiece. Junior midfielder Katherine Corcoran, sophomore midfielder Katie O'Neill and junior forward Stephani Church are tied for the team lead in scoring with two goals and one assist for five points. Freshman forwards Jacque Rice and Jocelyn Acor have two goals apiece for four points. … The Bearcats have been using a platoon in goal this season. Senior Gaby Gold has played in the first halves with a 1-2 record, 1.03 goals-against average and .778 save percentage. Freshman Katie Hatziyianis has come on in relief in all right games and actually has slightly more time on the field with a 3-2 record, 1.42 GAA and .667 save percentage.
 
THE SERIES WITH BINGHAMTON
The Big Red is 3-2-2 all-time against the Bearcats, taking the series lead after a 2-0 victory on Sept. 18, 2013 at Berman Field. Caroline Growney scored both goals for the Big Red, and Kelsey Tierney made three saves for the shutout. The other Cornell victories came in 2010 and 2011.
 
HEAD COACH PATRICK FARMER
Now in his 22nd season as a head coach in the NCAA, Patrick Farmer is entering his third season as the Cornell women's soccer program's fifth head coach. Farmer came 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. Farmer has amassed a 272-120-42 record at Cornell, 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 fourth season as an assistant coach, and Dwight Hornibrook is in his third season as an assistant coach after serving as the head coach of SUNY Cortland men's soccer for eight years.
 
CROWELL ON A ROLL
Sophomore midfielder Elizabeth Crowell had her first career multi-goal game Friday, banking a pair of shots off the wordwork and into the net during the Big Red's 5-0 rout of Virginia Military Institute. The goals opened up a one-goal affair and helped Cornell to its third consecutive win to start the season. Crowell's first strike was neatly tucked onto the inside of the right post in the 73rd minute on a shot from 15 yards. The second goal came 5:01 later on a blast from 25 yards that rattled the crossbar before bouncing just over the goal line. On Sunday, Crowell assisted on the Big Red's lone goal in a double-overtime loss to Temple. She was not only named to the Big Red Shootout All-Tournament Team, but she was tied for most votes received. She led the tournament in scoring with five points.
 
TOPS IN THE TOURNEY
After finishing in second place in the Big Red Shootout last weekend, the Big Red had three players voted to the event's all-tournament team — junior forward Caroline Growney, sophomore midfielder Elizabeth Crowell and junior defender Charlotte Tate.
 
MILESTONE WATCH
In the same year Cornell University is celebrated its sesquicentennial, the women's soccer team is looking to celebrate a slightly bigger number. The Big Red's next victory will be the 200th in the program's history of 32-plus years. Opponents for some other milestones include Hamilton in 1982 (first), Yale in 1988 (50th), Colgate in 1994 (100th) and Wagner in 2002 (150th).
 
QUICK STARTERS
Cornell has enjoyed great success in the 33 season openers in the program's history, picking up a 19-10-4 mark in the first game of the season. That trend continued this season with a dramatic 1-0 victory last Friday at Massachusetts on the strength of junior forward Caroline Growney's 110th-minute goal. Sophomore midfielder Elizabeth Crowell assisted on the strike, and sophomore goalkeeper Kelsey Tierney made six saves for her third career shutout.
 
A CALL TO ARMBANDS
Senior midfielder Claire MacManus and senior defender Sydney Cetrullo are the Big Red's co-captains this season. It's just the second time in the last eight years that the Big Red has had fewer than three captains, with 2011 (Abigail Apistolas and Sidra Bonner) and 2009 (Katie Hayes and Lena Russomagno) being the other occurrences in that span.
 
ALOHA!
Last season, forward Dempsey Banks and midfielder Elizabeth Crowell gave the Big Red two freshmen with at least 10 points in a season for just the second time in program history and the first time since 1988. Banks' total of 12 points ranked ninth all-time in freshman scoring. She joined the Big Red by way of Honolulu, Hawaii, coming from the same strong Punahou School and Leahi SC programs that produced Jayann Gabrio '13, a key central defender for the Big Red over her collegiate career. Crowell joined the Big Red immediately after her sister, Megan Crowell '13, concluded her playing career at Cornell as a four-time letterwinner.
 
SHE'S HONORED
Senior midfielder Claire MacManus has been recognized for being one of the top defensive midfielders in the Ivy League, being tabbed as an All-Ivy Second Team selection in each of the last two seasons. One of the team's best aerial threats, MacManus has now scored one goal in each of her three seasons on East Hill. Her latest strike was the game-winner against Delaware State on Oct. 6, 2013. MacManus is also a midfielder on the women's lacrosse team, being named to the All-Ivy League Second Team in that sport as well.
 
YOUTH IS SERVED
The Big Red is carrying a roster of 28 players this season, but only four are seniors. All four of the fourth-year players — Kelly Abrams, Sydney Cetrullo, Claire MacManus, Kerry Schubert — have started at some point in their careers. There are also seven juniors, eight sophomores and nine freshmen on the roster. Of Cornell's 66 points last season, 49 were produced by underclassmen and 54 were produced by returning players to the squad this season.

NATIONAL APPEAL
The Big Red has 13 different states and the District of Columbia represented on the team roster, with its home state of New York claiming eight players. Cornell has three players that hail from Pennsylvania and California, two each from New Jersey, Ohio and Illinois, and single representatives from Connecticut, Hawaii, Maryland, New Mexico, Oregon, Texas, Virginia and the District of Columbia.

UP NEXT
Cornell will kick off Ivy League play at 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 26 at Columbia before returning to Ithaca for a non-league contest against Wagner at 1 p.m. Sunday.