ITHACA, N.Y. — The women's soccer team will honor its four seniors Saturday, when it plays its final home game of the 2015 season against Brown at 1:30 p.m. at Berman Field. Shanay Fischer, Amanda Gaggioli, Brenna Mockler and Charlotte Tate will all be playing in their final home game with the Big Red.

GAME INFORMATION
GAME #15: Brown at Cornell
DATE: Saturday, Oct. 24, 2015
TIME: 1:30 p.m.
SITE: Berman Field – Ithaca, N.Y. (natural surface)
2015 RECORDS: Cornell 9-1-4, 2-1-1 Ivy League; Brown 4-7-2, 0-3-1 Ivy League
WEBCAST: Ivy League Digital Network
LIVE STATS: CornellBigRed.com
 
ABOUT CORNELL
The Big Red (9-1-4, 2-1-1 Ivy) reached seven points in the Ivy League for the first time since 1995 with a 1-0 victory last Saturday at Yale. Junior midfielder Elizabeth Crowell scored the game's lone goal in the 27th on a rebound of her own penalty kick, which was stopped by the diving Bulldogs goalkeeper. The goal was Crowell's team-leading fourth of the season. She also has an assist for a team-high nine points. Sophomore forward Paige DeLoach has three goals for six points, followed on the scoring list by a pair of freshmen — Jessica Ritchie has five points on two goals and an assist, and Carolyn Ruoff has four points on one goal and a team-high two assists. Sophomore forward Tess Pullano and senior midfielder Amanda Gaggioli have the Big Red's other goals this season. … The Big Red was the last team in Division I to suffer a loss this season, and it was also the final team in the country to surrender a goal (Sept. 27 vs. Wagner on a penalty kick).
 
IVY WATCH
Cornell is one of three teams still in the hunt for the Ivy League title, though it will have to make up a five-point gap on Harvard and Princeton. The co-leaders clash Saturday, meaning that a victory by either squad would mean Cornell would have to win its last three remaining games to stay in contention. If the Harvard-Princeton game ends in a draw, Cornell could stay alive with a draw or loss Saturday against Brown — though a loss would mean the Big Red would need two wins plus two losses from both Princeton and Harvard to result in a three-way tie for the title.
 
RARIFIED AIR
Dating back to last season, which ended with a 1-0 victory over Ivy League contender Dartmouth, Cornell had 10 consecutive shutouts and a program-record run of 1,059 minutes, 19 seconds without retrieving the ball out of its own net. That broke the previous shutout streak mark of 939:24 from Oct. 7, 1987 to Sept. 17, 1988. … Cornell has 12 shutouts in 14 games this season, which ties the program record originally set in 1987 for most clean sheets in a single season. … Cornell also got off to its best start in program history, having suffered no losses through 11 games. The previous record was eight, when the Big Red started the 1991 campaign 7-0-1.
 
TIERNEY'S TALE
Junior goalkeeper Kelsey Tierney, who has played every minute of the season to date, has been raking in both regional and national accolades for the team's defensive prowess. She leads the nation with a 0.20 goals against average and ranks second with a .929 save percentage. Tierney was consecutively named the Ivy League Player of the Week on Sept. 7 and Sept. 14, the ECAC Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 9, and she was named the lone goalkeeper on the Top Drawer Soccer Team of the Week for Sept. 6. The Ivy honors mark the first time Cornell has taken league player of the week accolades in consecutive weeks since 1988. … Tierney has more than doubled her career shutout total this season, with her current total of 18 clean sheets ranking third in program history behind Melissa Gambrell (22) and Sue DeLong (20). Tierney also ranks tied for fifth in career victories (19) and sixth in career goals against average (1.03).
 
NONE SHALL PASS
While junior goalkeeper Kelsey Tierney leads the nation in goals against average, she's also had a minimal workload in most of the Big Red's games. Of her 12 shutouts this season, Tierney was required to make more than two saves in just six of them. That's a credit to Cornell's back line, which has primarily featured junior Kailey Joyce and freshman Zoe McCormick as central defenders and senior Charlotte Tate and sophomore Whitney Farber on the flanks. Junior Taylor Wright, sophomore Kaylee Fitzgerald and junior Aimee Tavzel have also played roles, and — after graduating three-time All-Ivy selection Claire MacManus '15 — the Big Red has received terrific play in the defensive midfield from primarily seniors Shanay Fischer and Brenna Mockler.
 
TOPS IN THE TOURNEY
The Big Red won the Alumni Classic, which was hosted by St. Bonaventure from Sept. 4-6, with victories over Cleveland State (3-0) and Akron (2-0). As a result, Cornell placed four players on the all-tournament team — freshman forward Carolyn Ruoff scored her first collegiate goal, junior Elizabeth Crowell scored goals in both games, junior goalkeeper Kelsey Tierney made five saves and senior defender Charlotte Tate was a key part of both shutout victories.
 
LOOKING BACK
What a difference one win makes. With Brenna Mockler looping a shoot from 20 yards into the net for a 1-0 victory over Dartmouth in the 2014 season finale, the Big Red won its eighth game in a season and its second game within Ivy League play for the first time since 2002. The program is now three-plus years into its transformation under head coach Patrick Farmer, who has amassed 287 victories over his career. The team started strong in 2014 with wins in five of its first six games. Among the victories in that stretch was a 3-2 come-from-behind win against Buffalo, which then went on a 14-game unbeaten streak and MAC championship. … Junior Elizabeth Crowell led the team with six goals and 14 points, the latter of which was one better than senior Caroline Growney. Both earned All-Ivy Honorable Mention, as did senior defender Charlotte Tate. … Though there are seven games left on the schedule, Cornell has already assured itself of its first winning season in 13 years.
 
HEAD COACH PATRICK FARMER
Now in his 22nd season as a head coach in the NCAA, Patrick Farmer is in his fourth 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. Prior to his stint at Wisconsin, Farmer served as a head coach at Ithaca College, Penn State, Tennessee Tech and Syracuse, and his career record as NCAA head coach now stands at 282-141-44. 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. Dwight Hornibrook is in his fourth season as an assistant coach after serving as the head coach of SUNY Cortland men's soccer for eight years, and 2012 D3Soccer.com Goalkeeper of the Year Becca Salant has joined the staff as an assistant coach for the 2015 campaign.
 
A CALL TO ARMBANDS
Senior defender Charlotte Tate and senior midfielder Shanay Fischer are the Big Red's co-captains this season. Fischer is in her third season with the Big Red after starting her collegiate career at Saint Peter's, and Tate is a four-year starter who earned All-Ivy League honorable mention in 2014.
 
YOUTH IS SERVED
The Big Red is carrying a roster of 28 players this season, but only four are seniors. There are also eight juniors, nine sophomores and seven freshmen on the roster. Of Cornell's 127 points over the 2013 and 2014 seasons, 99 were produced by players who are still on the team, and 81 were produced by underclassmen.

NATIONAL APPEAL
The Big Red has 11 different states and the District of Columbia represented on the team roster, with its home state of New York claiming seven players. Cornell has five players that hail from California, three each from Illinois and Ohio, two each from Maryland and Oregon, and single representatives from Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Texas.
 
ABOUT BROWN
While winless in the league this season, the Bears hung with league co-leader Harvard in a 1-0 loss last Saturday. Brown was heavily outshot, but got five saves from goalkeeper Christine Etzel and only conceded the one goal in the 73rd minute.
 
THE SERIES WITH BROWN
The Bears hold a 22-7-4 advantage in the all-time series, riding a six-game unbeaten streak into this year's clash. Last year's game ended in a 2-0 victory for host Brown, and the Bears' last visit to Berman Field resulted in a 3-2 victory in overtime on Oct. 27, 2013. Cornell's last victory against Brown came on the road on Oct. 21, 2008, by a score of 2-0. The Big Red's first victory against Brown came in 1987, when it won a share of the Ivy League title.

UP NEXT
Cornell faces a stern test to close its season in the form of two road games at co-Ivy League leader Princeton (Oct. 31) and Dartmouth (Nov. 7).