Box Score (PDF)
 
PHILADELPHIA – Cornell women's lacrosse wrapped up the regular-season on Sunday afternoon at Franklin Field with #14/12 Penn narrowly edging the Big Red 10-9. Cornell closes the regular-season with a 9-6 overall record and 4-3 mark in Ivy League play.
 
The matchup between the two squads was little more than a formality, as both programs had already punched their tickets to the Ivy League Tournament, which is set to begin next Friday in Princeton, N.J. By virtue of the Quakers (12-3, 5-1 Ivy League) victory on Sunday, they will represent the #2 Seed at the Tournament, while the Big Red will be the #3 Seed. The two programs will clash again in the opening round of tournament play.
 
If Sunday's matchup served as the appetizer round, we should be in for quite an exciting show next week. Cornell battled the Penn back-and-forth all afternoon, as the teams combined for three ties, with no team possessing more than a three-goal lead at any point. The Big Red looked to tie the game with under two-minutes remaining in the contest; however, Catherine Ellis' apparent goal was called off for a violation. Penn would hold on in the final 100 seconds for the victory.
 
Sophomore Amie Dickson continued her sensational conclusion to the season with her second straight six point performance. She finished with four goals and two assists, while adding a game-high four draw controls. At one point she scored four straight Cornell goals, with the fourth pulling the Big Red within one of tying the game with 13:07 remaining.
 
Classmate Kristy Gilbert also posted a strong offensive day for the second game in a row. She equaled a season high with three goals, while also causing two turnovers and securing one ground ball and one draw control. Seniors Lindsay Toppe and Sarah Hefner each added a goal apiece for the Big Red, while junior Emily Tripodi added an assist to move within four of the top spot on the program's all-time list.
 
Sophomore Renee Poullott had a solid game, registering nine saves.
 
The Big Red got off to another hot start that has been so common throughout this season. Cornell scored its fastest opening goal of the season just nine seconds after the opening whistle. Dickson secured the opening draw and immediately sprinted into the offensive zone, before feeding Gilbert, who deposited it into the twine.
 
Toppe would double the lead 3:53 later when she whipped home a free position shot. After Penn halved the deficit just 42 seconds later when sophomore Emily Rogers-Healion broke the ice for the Quakers, Gilbert re-established the multi-goal lead with her second of the contest to make it 3-1.
 
Penn would find traction after Gilbert's tally. The home side scored five straight, with Catherine Dickson capping the run with a woman-up goal, as Cornell's junior co-captain Brittany Marriott was sent off with a yellow card.
 
Cornell would answer with the final two in the half. Gilbert would stymie the Penn run with third of the afternoon to secure her second hat trick of the year. Dickson would add her first of the contest with 4:05 remaining in the opening 30 minutes to close out the first half scoring. The Quakers would take a 6-5 lead to the break; the second consecutive game Cornell trailed at the break, after trailing at halftime just twice in the previous 13 games to begin the year.
 
The offense would come slower in the second half, as the two strong defensive units dug in. Dickson would finally break through with 20:37 remaining in the game, tying the contest at 6-6 with her second of the game. She would go on to score the next two for the Big Red, while Hefner would tally her goal off an excellent feed from Dickson to knot the score at 9-9 with 6:10 remaining.
 
The Quakers turned to their top goal scorer Tory Bensen in crunch time. She would pump home her 46^th of the season with 2:46 remaining, which would go down as the eventual game-winner.
 
The two teams will meet again on Friday, May 1. Opening draw time will be learned shortly.