Box Score (PDF)
 
ITHACA, N.Y. – Cornell women's lacrosse raced out to an early first half lead and continued its scoring run in the second to down Brown 14-6 in the Big Red's Ivy League home opener at Schoellkopf Field on Saturday afternoon. The win moves the squad to a 6-2 record on the year, while it lifts Cornell to a 3-0 record in League play.
 
Senior co-captain Lindsay Toppe broke through with a big game, after being held in check over the last couple contests. She finished with a game-high six points, tallying four goals and adding two assists. The effort pushed her past Linda Miller (1981-84) for seventh on the program's all-time points list with 160 for career. She also moved within two goals of Katherine Simmons (2005-08) for fith on the team's all-time goals list. She currently sits at 126 for her career.
 
Junior Emily Tripodi continued her strong play of late with four points; tallying two goals and two assists. Sophomore Catherine Ellis added three points (2g-1a), while senior Sarah Hefner (2g) chipped in a pair of goals for the Big Red.
 
Sophomore goalkeeper Renee Poullott (W, 6-2) had a strong rebound effort from a tough performance at fifth-ranked Syracuse earlier in the week. She was rock solid with a calm demeanor in the crease for Cornell, finishing with eight saves, while allowing only six tallies.
 
The sophomore trio of Amie Dickson (1g-1a), Kristy Gilbert (1g) and Shelby McNeilly (1g) each added goals. Junior Olivia Mattyasovszky also found the back of the net for the Big Red.
 
Cornell got back to its early scoring ways in an excellent first half. The Big Red sent home two goals in the opening 3:09 of play and added another four-goal run to take control of the game in the game's first 13 minutes.
 
Gilbert opened the scoring with a free position goal, while Ellis tallied her first of two on the day with a silky-smooth spin move to elude the defender at the side of the net and send home a shot top shelf behind Brown net minder Kellie Roddy.
 
After Yuna Hur halved the deficit to 2-1, Cornell put together a four-goal run to take control. Dickson started the run with an excellent individual effort. She made a beautiful run down the right side of the arc. Her initial shot was saved, but she quickly scooped up the rebound and sent home the second chance opportunity.
 
Dickson hard play in the attacking zone also showed up defensively. She made a great play to dispossess Brown on a clear attempt; quickly sending a pass to Tripodi on the left flank for shot that tickled the twine inside the far post. After Toppe added her first of the game on a great individual run, Hefner capped the run with a shot from six-yards out off of a great feed from Tripodi.
 
Cornell finished the half on a two-goal spurt to take a 9-3 lead at the intermission. Both Toppe and Hefner added their second goals of the half. Toppe's came on a free position, while Toppe made a great play to spin out of traffic to find Hefner for the ninth goal of the half.
 
The Big Red led Brown 23-9 in shots in the half. The lead could have been much more if it wasn't for Roddy, who made 10 saves in the opening half.
 
Defensively, Cornell was locking down on the Bears. Senior Claire MacManus was a terror in the defensive third. She forced two caused turnovers and a ground ball in the opening 30 minutes. Toppe and reserve Meredith Baker each added a pair of caused turnovers in the contest, while the Big Red finished with a season-high 11 on the day.
 
Cornell pushed the game out of reach in the opening moments of the second session; scoring the first four goals in the second stanza to stretch the lead to double-digits. Toppe tallied her hat trick on a nice spin move inside the eight-yard arc to begin the run. Tripodi and Ellis added goals on the run, while Toppe capped the run with her fourth of the contest off a rebound from a Dickson shot.
 
Mattyasovszky capped the scoring for the Big Red with a nifty finesse play, after receiving a pass from Toppe just three-yards off the net front. She spun and tickled the twine top shelf.
 
Cornell will hit the West Coast for its next two contests over Spring Break. The Big Red will first take on California on March 29, while it will face nationally ranked Stanford on March 31.