ITHACA, N.Y. – Cornell women's lacrosse had its four-game winning streak snapped on Tuesday evening against fifth-ranked Syracuse. The Big Red now turns its attention to the squad's Ivy League home opener when it welcomes Brown on Saturday. Cornell will look to maintain its perfect record in Ivy League play in 2015.
 
Cornell Big Red (5-2, 2-0 Ivy League) vs. Brown Bears (4-2, 0-2 Ivy League)
Saturday, March 21, 2015 | 12:00 PM | Ithaca, N.Y. – Schoellkopf Field
Live Stats | Live Video (ILDN)
 
Game Notes (PDF)
Cornell
 
Big Red Headlines
Cornell hit a bump on the road for the first time on Tuesday evening when it fell to No. 5 Syracuse 14-8 at the Carrier Dome. The Big Red played the Orange hard over the final 38 minutes, outscoring their local rival 7-5 over the stretch. Unfortunately, the opening 22 minutes was enough to do the visiting Red in, as Syracuse raced out to a 9-1 lead thanks to a 7-0 scoring run. Catherine Ellis led the Big Red with two goals, moving into the team lead with 18 goals on the season. Amie Dickson also continued to fill up the stat sheet, finishing with a team-high five points, including a tying a season high with four assists. The effort was her fifth game with five or more points in seven tries this season. Renee Poullott responded well in net after a difficult start, finishing with a season-high 11 saves.
 
Bear Headlines
Brown won three straight games to open the 2015 campaign, but has experienced some struggles in recent contests. The Bears dropped its Ivy League home opener against nationally ranked Penn by a narrow 9-7 margin. The team rebounded to eek out an 11-10 home decision against Holy Cross; however, the squad dropped its second straight Ivy League home match against Yale by fairly wide 8-3 margin. After putting in the initial tally, Yale scored four straight to take a lead it would not relinquish. The Bulldogs would put together another four-goal run to seal Brown's second Ivy loss. The Bears are led offensively by junior Lauren Toy who has 15 points and 11 goals. Kellie Roddy has seen the lion's share of the opportunities in net, ranking second in the League in saves (46), save percentage (.505) and goals against average (7.65).
 
The Series Against Brown...
Cornell has posted a 21-14 all-time record against Brown. The Big Red has dominated the recent series, winning the last 15 games between the two programs. Cornell is 15-2 against the Bears under Head Coach Jenny Graap. Cornell is 10-6 all-time against Brown at Schoellkopf Field.
 
Last Season's Matchup...
Cornell downed Brown 11-10 in overtime last season in Providence. Lindsay Toppe was the hero, netting the sudden-victory game-winner with 17 seconds left in the first overtime period. Brown had tied the game with 25 seconds remaining in regulation to force overtime. Toppe led all scorers with a hat trick, while Catherine Ellis finished with two goals and one assist.
 
Toppe Marks
Lindsay Toppe has gotten off to a nice start this season, despite facing constant double teams from opposing defenses. She currently is tied for second on the team with 17 goals on the season, while she ranks fourth in team scoring with 21 points. Her presence has opened up the offensive zone for her teammates, as three other players have collected 20+ points already this season. Toppe continues to lead the Ivy League with 54 shots, while she is still tied for third in goals.
 
League Leaders
Cornell ranks among the Ivy League's best in sevaral categories this year. The squad leads the League in scoring, groundballs and draw controls. The team also ranks among the top 30 program's in NCAA Division I in scoring defense, although it trails three other League team's including Brown. The Big Red's possession dominance has been impressive early this season.
 
Offensive Player of the Week
Junior attacker Emily Tripodi became the second Cornell player in as many weeks to garner recognition from the league office. She was named Co-Offensive Player of the Week after leading all League players with 11 points in two contests last week. She netted a season-high six points - including a career-high four goals - against Binghamton. She followed that performance with a five point (1g-4a) outing in the victory over Columbia. She is the first Big Red player to earn the recognition since Catherine Ellis.
 
Fine Feeds
Junior attacker Emily Tripodi has established herself as one of the best creators in the history of the program. Her exceptional vision and lacrosse instincts allow her to quickly diagnose defensive systems and how to best exploit them. Her presence was felt in a big way this past week, as she led the team with six assists. She tied a season-high with four helpers against Columbia. The outing brought her tally to 70 assists for her career, bringing Tripodi into a tie with Allison Schindler (2003-06) for second on the program's all-time list. She passed Schindler with two helpers on Tuesday against Syracuse.
 
Electrifying Ellis
Sophomore Catherine Ellis has gotten off to a strong start to her 2015 campaign. She is well on her way to besting her mark of 23 goals set during her first year last season. She has tallied 14 goals and 18 points over her last five games - setting a season high with six points (4g-2a) against Binghamton.
 
Dynamic Dickson
Sophomore Amie Dickson has really flourished in the early part of the 2015 campaign. She has already eclipsed last season's total point output of 10, thanks to her career high six point performance against Colgate. She had another big game at No. 5 Syracuse, finishing with a team-high five points on one goal and four assists. Dickson now sits at 17 goals and 15 assists on the year, while she also has made significant contributions throughout the stat sheet. Dickson currently leads the Ivy League in points (32), while she is second in assists and tied for third in goals.
 
Rookie Contributions
The talented freshman class has wasted no time in making an impact for the squad this season. All seven members of the rookie class have seen significant playing time. Taylor Reed leads the group with nine points (6g-3a), while Ida Farinholt ranks second with six points (4g-2a). Joey Coffy tallied her first hat trick in the victory over Columbia and checks in with five goals. Paige Craig also joined the mix with her first collegiate goal against Binghamton last week.
 
Strong on the Draw
Cornell has been absolutely relentless on the draw this season. The squad currently ranks first in the Ivy League with 14.14 draw controls per game, the 15th best mark in NCAA Division I. While the Big Red expected to be good in this area due to the return of draw control specialist Sarah Hefner, Amie Dickson and Maddie Kiep have been pleasant surprises. Dickson leads the squad with 22 draws, while Kiep has added 21 on the year. Dickson is third in the League, while Kiep is tied for fourth among Ivy League players. Hefner is tied for ninth in the League with 13. Cornell is the only team with three players in the Top-10.
 
Up Next
Cornell will head to the West Coast for its spring break trip. The squad will face California on March 29, while it will take on Top-10 ranked Stanford on March 31.