GAME INFORMATION
GAME #7: Cornell at Columbia
GAME TIME: Saturday, Sept. 27 at 12:00 p.m.
GAME SITE: Columbia Field Hockey Venue (New York, N.Y.)
SERIES RECORD: Cornell leads, 15-3
LAST MEETING: Cornell won, 3-2, Sept. 28, 2013 (Ithaca, N.Y.)
2014 RECORDS: Cornell (5-1, 1-0 Ivy); Columbia (4-2, 1-0 Ivy)
LIVE STATS: www.GoColumbiaLions.com
LIVE VIDEO: None

GAME #8: Cornell at Monmouth
GAME TIME: Sunday, Sept. 28, at 1:00 p.m.
GAME SITE: So Sweet A Cat Field (West Long Branch, N.J.)
SERIES RECORD: First Meeting
LAST MEETING: First Meeting
2014 RECORDS: Cornell (5-1)*; Monmouth (3-4)*
LIVE STATS: www.MonmouthHawks.com
LIVE VIDEO: None

* records prior to Sept. 27

THE MATCH UP: The Big Red field hockey team will look to extend its current four-game winning-streak when it travels to Columbia and Monmouth this weekend. Off to its best start since the 2010 season (5-1, 1-0 Ivy) and sitting at No. 21 in the national RPI, Cornell will face the Lions on Saturday, Sept. 27 at noon, before taking on the Hawks on Sunday, Sept. 28 at 1 p.m.

THE SERIES WITH COLUMBIA:  The series with the Lions began in 1991, six seasons before Columbia officially joined the Ivy League in field hockey. Cornell is 15-3 all-time against Columbia after dropping two of the last three contests against the Lions. Despite the lopsided nature of the series, six of the last seven meetings have been decided by a single goal, including three overtime contests.

SCOUTING THE LIONS: Columbia, which enters the week with the highest RPI among Ivy League teams (12), had a three-game winning streak halted last weekend when it dropped an 8-0 decision to Providence to fall to 4-2 on the season. The Lions are led on offense by Zoe Blake's five goals and 12 points, while Christina Freibott has registered eight assists. In goal, Kimberly Pianucci started all six games and has posted a 2.41 goals-against average and a .727 save percentage.

LAST TIME VS. COLUMBIA: The Big Red overcame an early deficit and then made the most of its chances down the stretch to earn a hard-fought 3-2 victory over Columbia on Sept. 28, 2013 on Marsha Dodson Field. Columbia held the edge in shots (15-10) and had a significant advantage in penalty corners (9-2), holding the Big Red without a penalty corner in the first half of play (4-0). Cornell was kept in the contest by the solid play of goalie Elizabeth Schaeffler, who made nine save in her first-ever conference start. The Lions' Kimberly Pianucci made four saves, while Claire Kneizys added a defensive save. Columbia took an early 1-0 lead when Lauren Skudalski hit a reverse stick shot off a penalty corner that Zoe Blake tipped into the net from the near post. Just over five minutes later, Cornell got the equalizer when Ann DiPastina collected a ball on the sideline, fought off a defender and sent the ball upfield to Katy Weeks, who took the pass and drove to goal with a defender on her hip. Weeks turned to center and beat Pianucci to the far post. With time winding down in the half, and Cornell playing a man-down due to a yellow card, Taylor Standiford put the home team on top when she utilized a quick restart off a foul, drove to just inside the top of the circle and blasted a shot that Pianucci got a stick on, but couldn't stop, making it 2-1 at halftime. Just over 10 minutes into the second half, Hannah Balleza put Cornell up, 3-1, when she collected the ball near the restraining line, dribbled to the top of the circle and sent a reverse stick shot into the goal. The Lions turned up the pressure in the waning moments of the game and managed to pull within one-goal when Katie Ruesterholz snuck behind the Cornell defense and got a shot on goal. Schaeffler made the save but the ball wasn't cleared and another Columbia shot ricocheted off a Big Red defender back to Ruesterhoz's stick and she put the ball into a wide open net.

THE SERIES WITH MONMOUTH: This weekend's contest will be the first-ever between Cornell and Monmouth in field hockey.

SCOUTING THE HAWKS: After opening the season with a 3-0 victory over Missouri State, Monmouth dropped four of the next six games to fall to 3-4 on the season. The Hawks have four players that have registered at least two goals, led by Alyssa Ercolino's four goals and 10 points on the season. Monmouth has seen three different goalies earn a start, with freshman Christen Piersanti starting the first four games of the season and posting a 2.00 goals-against average and a .720 save percentage. Senior Amanda Westerweller (2.12 GAA; .722%) started the next two contests, before junior Tanja Kloock (0.87 GAA; .750%) got the nod in the Hawk's last outing.  

VS. THE MAAC: The Big Red is 10-1 all-time vs. the current members of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, thanks mostly to a 6-0 lead against Siena. The Big Red also holds a winning record against Bryant (1-0), Rider (2-1), and Sacred Heart (1-0), but has never faced Monmouth or Quinnipiac.

THE HEAD COACH: Cornell head coach Donna Hornibrook is in her 11th season at Cornell (92-78, .541) ... Hornibrook became the sixth coach in Cornell field hockey history in January 2004 ... She has a 263-125-10 (.673) record as a head coach, including a 111-39-4 mark at Houghton and a 60-8-6 record at New Brunswick.
 
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK: Kelly Johnson was named the Ivy League Rookie of the Week on Sept. 23 after helping Cornell to a pair of wins over Penn and Holy Cross to improve to 5-1, its best start since the 2010 season. She is the Big Red's first Rookie of the Week honoree since Georgia Lord earned the award on Sept. 17, 2013. Johnson earned her first collegiate shutout in Cornell's Ivy League opener vs. Penn on Sept. 20, before matching a career-high with five saves in a 2-1 victory over Holy Cross the following afternoon.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: For the second time in her career, junior Marisa Siergiej was named the Ivy League Player of the Week on Sept. 16 after helping the Big Red win a pair of games to improve to 3-1 on the season. Siergiej recorded back-to-back two-goal games in wins over Lehigh and Delaware. She was also the anchor of a defensive unit that allowed just three penalty corners (1.5 per game) and 11 shots (5.5 per game), while holding the Blue Hens' Esmée Peet, the 2013 CAA Player and Rookie of the Year and 2014 preseason Player of the Year, to just one shot.


SIERGIEJ'S SURGE: Marisa Siergiej led the Big Red with a career-high 10 goals last season. Through the first six games of this season, she has already amassed eight goals, tops in the Ivy League at 1.33 goals per game.
 
SOLID IN THE CIRCLE: Cornell's defense has been outstanding this season, giving up just 3.3 penalty corners per game, which is well below the school record of 5.3 during the 2009 season.


MORE SHOTS: Cornell has outshot all six of its opponents this season and has put more shots on goal than all but Albany, who tied the Big Red at 8-8.
 
IN THE RANKINGS: After its offensive outburst to start the season, Cornell finds itself ranked second in the nation in points per game (11.00), scoring average (3.83) and scoring margin (3.00), while ranking third in goals per game (3.83), and fourth in assists per game (3.33). On the defensive end of the field, Cornell ranks sixth in goals against average (0.83) and shutouts per game (0.50).
 
INDIVIDUAL EFFORT: Senior Ann DiPastina ranks fifth in the nation in assists per game (1.17), while Taylor Standiford ranks eighth overall (1.00). Junior Marisa Siergiej ranks third in the country in goals per game (1.33), while Elizabeth Horak (0.83) is 23rd overall. Siergiej is also eighth in the nation in points per game (2.67). Freshman goalie Kelly Johnson is eighth in the country in goals against average (0.89).
 
MOVING ON UP: With her goal vs. Penn last weekend, junior Marisa Siergiej moved into ninth place in Cornell history with 49 career points, tying Carissa Mirasol (2000-03) and Abbi Horn (2005-08). She needs 10 points to surpass Beth Paciello (1985-88) and move into eighth place overall ... Siergiej's 23 career goals is also good for ninth place all-time and she needs just three more to move into a tie for eighth place with Paciello … Taylor Standiford sits in fourth place in Cornell history with 21 career assists, tied with Hannah Balleza. She needs just one more to tie Catie DeStio in third place … Ann DiPastina sits in 18th placed overall with 11 career assists and needs just one more to move into a five-way tie for 14th place.
 
200 AMERICAN: With the Big Red's 6-0 victory over Lehigh on Sept. 12, Coach Hornibrook earned her 200th victory with an NCAA institution.  


FAST START: Over the first four games of the season, Cornell has outscored its opponents 20-4. The 20 goals are the most over a four-game stretch since the 2008 season, when the Big Red defeated Yale, Lehigh, Colgate and Bryant by a combined score of 19-5. Only once before has Cornell had as successful of a four-game stretch, scoring 21 goals in consecutive games vs. St. Lawrence, Rochester, Brockport and Ithaca College in 1974.
 
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.

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 13th overall for winning percentage (.633) and 19th for career wins (203), rankings that would be higher if the NCAA counted her 60-8-6 record at Canada's New Brunswick.
 
RANKED OPPONENTS: The Big Red's schedule features two teams that are ranked in the current 2014 NFHCA Division I Poll – No. 10 Syracuse, No. 12 Albany.  
 
FAST STARTS: In back-to-back games vs. Lehigh and Delaware, the Big Red took an early lead, scoring at the 1:00 mark vs. the Lehigh and at 1:05 vs. the Blue Hens.
 
CLOSE CALLS: Cornell's 2-1 victory over Holy Cross on Sept. 21, 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 76 games, with 38 coming in one-goal games, including 10 in overtime … Last season, nine of Cornell's 17 games were one-goal decisions.

BALANCED OFFENSE: Just six games into this season, the Big Red had 12 players register at least one goal. This season is the first time that at least 12 players have registered a point since having 13 in the 2008 season.

EARLY LEADS: 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 80-14 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 58th victory in a game in which it scores at least three goals when it defeated Delaware (4-2) on Sept. 14, 2014.

THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE (A NEW) HOME: The Big Red is 34-17 all-time on Marsha Dodson Field. Collectively, the team has outscored its opponents by a margin of 111-81 and has taken significantly more shots (895-529) than its opponents. The defense has been equally solid in the circle, allowing just 290 penalty corners (5.7 per game).

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.

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, andKatie Carlson. Additionally, freshman Isabel Josephs added one assist for her first collegiate point. 

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.

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.

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.

SISTER ACT: The 2014 campaign will mark the first time since the 2007 campaign that the Cornell roster will not feature 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 Big Red opens up a three-game home stand next weekend when it welcomes Yale and American to Marsha Dodson Field on Saturday, Oct. 4 and Sunday Oct. 5, respectively, before welcoming No. 10 Syracuse the following Sunday, Oct. 12.