ITHACA, N.Y. – The Big Red field hockey team scored five second half goals to blow open what had been a 1-1 game at the half to upend Brown, 6-1, this afternoon on Marsha Dodson Field. Cornell's six goals came from five different players, and Taylor Standiford finished with two assists to break Cari Hills' school record of 33 career assists. Standiford had previously tied the record on Tuesday evening at No. 10 Albany.
 
With the win, Cornell improves to 9-5 on the year and 4-1 in the Ivy League, remaining in second place in the conference standings behind Princeton (5-0). The Bears slip to 6-8 overall and 1-4 in the Ivy League.
 
Freshman Isabel Siergiej had a career-day, finishing with two goals and two assist, while Sam McILwrick finished with one goal and one assist. Standiford was the only other Big Red player to register multiple points. Katie Carlson, Krysten Mayers and Katy Weeks each tallied one goal, and Marisa Siergiej handed out one assist.
 
"Isabel was fantastic," said head coach Donna Hornibrook. "I hope this was a breakout game for her because this kid is really good. Today, she showed her ability along the baseline, she showed her stick skills, she showed her explosiveness, and she also showed what she can do off the corners. I think she was really good today."
 
Brown's lone goal was scored on one of its three penalty corner chances of the game, as Alexis Miller converted, with assists going to Anna Masini and Emily Arciero. The goal came in the 29th minute and tied the contest at 1-1 just before the half.
 
Cornell scored the first goal of the game off a penalty corner just 2:09 into the contest. The initial shot was saved by Brown goalie Katie Hammaker, but the Bears were unable to clear it and McILwrick collected the rebound and passed it to Isabel Siergiej on the near post, who one timed it into the goal for the early 1-0 advantage.
 
It took the Big Red just over five minutes into the second half to go up for good on the game-winner from Mayers at 40:18. The strike came just moments after Mayers had missed on an open goal, and the sophomore responded with an outstanding individual effort on a breakaway, slotting the ball under Hammaker, to make it a 2-1 game.
 
Just over four minutes later Cornell scored on a penalty corner as Marisa Siergiej received the push from Standiford and slotted a pass to her sister, Isabel Siergiej, on the near post. The younger Siergiej stopped the ball and then deftly lifted it in to the far corner of the net.
 
Standiford broke the school record on the next Big Red goal when she and McILwrick teamed up for a little give-and-go, with Standiford slotting the pass to McILwrick near the top of the circle. McILwrick carried just over the line and ripped a low shot into the corner of the goal.
 

 
Exactly 30 seconds later, Carlson made it a 5-1 game when she converted directly in front of the net off a pass from Isabel Siergiej, who had carried along the end line before slotting the ball in front of the mouth of the cage.
 
The Big Red capped the scoring with a penalty corner goal in the 61st minute from Weeks. Both Isabel Siergiej and Standiford earned the assists.
 
The second half was a stark contrast to the first half, which had been evenly played with Cornell holding the slim 6-2 advantage in shots, while the Bears had the 2-1 edge in penalty corners.  Over the final 35 minutes the home team turned up the offensive pressure and outshot Brown 12-2 and outcornered the visitors 6-1. For the game, Cornell held the edge in shots (18-4), shots on goal (10-1), and penalty corners (7-3).
 
"I felt that we controlled the game in the first half but Brown did an excellent job of staying compact defensively and we weren't able to get a clear look at the goal," said Hornibrook. "I was disappointed we weren't able to get some more corners, but our decision making wasn't all that good. We were throwing it across the mouth of the goal instead of looking for a foot if we didn't have a good angle. In the second half we played better in that regard. We also were able to create space and that opened the game up and that made a big difference for us."
 
Hammaker finished with three saves and received a defensive save from Katarina Angus, while Cornell's Kelly Johnson did not register a save.
 
The Big Red is back in action tomorrow as it plays its final home game of the season and honors its seniors – Katie Garrity, Marisa Siergiej, Taylor Standiford, and Elizabeth Schaeffler – when it welcomes  Lehigh to Marsha Dodson Field  at 1 p.m.  .