ITHACA, N.Y. — In the program's biggest game in at least a decade, the undefeated women's soccer team will clash with defending Ivy League champion Harvard at 1 p.m. Saturday at Berman Field. The Big Red then closes out the non-league portion of its schedule at 7 p.m. Monday against Colgate. Both games will be broadcast on the Ivy League Digital Network.

GAME INFORMATION
GAME #12: Harvard at Cornell
DATE: Saturday, Oct. 10, 2015
TIME: 1 p.m.
SITE: Charles F. Berman Field – Ithaca, N.Y. (natural surface)
2015 RECORDS: Cornell 8-0-3, 1-0-1 Ivy League; Harvard 5-6-1, 2-0 Ivy League
WEBCAST: Ivy League Digital Network
LIVE STATS: CornellBigRed.com
ALL-TIME SERIES: Harvard leads, 22-3-8
 
GAME #13: Colgate at Cornell
DATE: Monday, Oct. 12, 2015
TIME: 7 p.m.
SITE: Charles F. Berman Field – Ithaca, N.Y. (natural surface)
2015 RECORDS (not including Saturday's games): Cornell 8-0-3, Colgate 3-7-1
WEBCAST: Ivy League Digital Network
LIVE STATS: CornellBigRed.com
ALL-TIME SERIES: Colgate leads, 18-15-3
 
ABOUT CORNELL
Listed as one of five teams under consideration just outside Top Drawer Soccer's national Top 25 rankings, the Big Red (8-0-3, 1-0-1 Ivy) played to a scoreless draw last Friday at Penn in its last game action. The tie ended a five-game winning streak for Cornell, which included a 2-1 win on Sept. 27 at Wagner on the strength of goals from sophomore forward Paige DeLoach and junior forward Meera Marhoefer. When the Seahawks scored on a penalty kick in the 81st minute, it marked the first goal scored against Cornell this season — making the Big Red the last team in Division I to concede its first goal. … In its Ivy League opener on Sept. 25, Cornell defeated Columbia, 1-0, on a goal from senior midfielder Brenna Mockler. She converted a rebound of her penalty kick, which was stopped by the Lions' goalkeeper in the 62nd minute. … Junior midfielder Elizabeth Crowell is tied with DeLoach for the team lead with three goals, though Crowell earned her first assist of the season on Sept. 27 to take the team scoring lead with seven points. DeLoach is second with six points, followed 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. … Already guaranteed its first winnning season since 2002, the Big Red would can also assure itself of its best Ivy League record since 1995 with a win Saturday against Harvard.
 
RARIFIED AIR
There are 333 women's soccer programs in the NCAA Division I ranks, and Cornell joins nationally-ranked North Carolina (11-0-1) as the only two remaining teams in the country that enter this weekend undefeated. 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 is also 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
Not surprisingly, junior goalkeeper Kelsey Tierney, who has played every minute of the season to date, and leads the nation with a 0.09 goals against average and .969 save percentage, has been raking in both regional and national accolades for the team's defensive prowess. 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 16 clean sheets ranking tied for third in program history with Sherrie Chocola (1984-86). Tierney also ranks sixth in career goals against average (1.07) and victories (18).
 
NONE SHALL PASS
While junior goalkeeper Kelsey Tierney hasn't surrendered a goal during the run of play yet this season, she's also had a minimal workload in most of the Big Red's 10 games. Excluding Tierney's six-save efforts Sept. 11 at Syracuse and last Friday at Penn, she's only been called upon to make 19 stops in the Big Red's other nine games. 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 and sophomore Kaylee Fitzgerald have seen time as reserves, and — after graduating three-time All-Ivy selection Claire MacManus '15 — the Big Red has received terrific play in the defensive midfield from seniors Shanay Fischer and Brenna Mockler, junior Aimee Tavzel and Fitzgerald.
 
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 281-140-43. 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 HARVARD
The defending Ivy League champion Crimson struggled out of the gate through a difficult non-league schedule, winning just two of its first nine games. But Harvard responded with a pair of resounding victories to start the Ivy League schedule, a 2-0 decision against Penn on Sept. 26 and a 4-0 whitewashing of Yale on Oct. 3. The Crimson then won its third straight game on Tuesday, rallying for a 2-1 victory at defending Patriot League champion Boston University. Junior forward Margaret Purce — the Ivy League Player and Rookie of the Year in 2013 and a member of the U.S. Under-20 National Team in 2014 — scored her team-leading sixth goal against BU. Junior forward Joan Fleischman has two goals and one assist for five points, which is tied for second in team scoring with junior defender Bailey Gary, who has a goal and three assists. Senior midfielder Haley Washburn also has three assists. … Junior Lizzie Durack (4-4-1, 0.86 goals against average, .789 save percentage, four shutouts) has started 10 of the team's 11 games in goal.
 
THE SERIES WITH HARVARD
Harvard holds a commanding 22-3-8 lead in the all-time series with Cornell, including a 7-2 victory in its last visit to Berman Field in 2013. In 2012, Patrick Farmer's first season as head coach, the Big Red earned a 1-1 draw at Harvard. Cornell's last victory against the Crimson came in 1993.
 
ABOUT COLGATE
A Patriot League finalist in 2014, the Raiders enter their game against Holy Cross on Saturday with a 3-7-1 this season. Colgate suffered a 2-1 loss last Friday at Bucknell, and a 2-0 setback against Boston University on Sept. 30. The Raiders' victories this season are against Albany, Providence and American. … Junior forward Sarah Coy and sophomore forward Emily Crichlow are tied for the team lead with three goals and six points apiece. Senior forward Catherine Williams ranks third with four points on one goal and two assists. Senior forward Corey Persson, sophomore midfielder Eliza Doll, senior forward Jenna Raepple and senior midfielder Jenna Panepinto have the team's other goals this season. … Senior goalkeeper Erin Cummings (3-7-1, 1.60 goals against average, .750 save percentage, two shutouts) has played every minute in goal for the Raiders.
 
THE SERIES WITH COLGATE
The Raiders are on a four-match winning streak against the Big Red to take an 18-15-3 lead in the all-time series between the regional rivals. Cornell's last victories came in 2010 and 2011, both by final scores of 2-0. The Big Red went toe-to-toe with the Raiders last season in a 2-1 loss in Hamilton. Junior midfielder Elizabeth Crowell scored her sixth goal of the season in the loss, with sophomore defender Whitney Farber drawing the assist directly off a throw-in.

UP NEXT
Cornell hits the home stretch of its season with four Ivy League games remaining. The first is Saturday, Oct. 17 at Yale before the Big Red returns to Berman Field for a 1:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 24 contest against Brown. That game will be Cornell's Senior Day, featuring a ceremony to honor the final regular-season home game for seniors Shanay Fischer, Amanda Gaggioli, Brenna Mockler and Charlotte Tate.