Box Score (PDF)

ITHACA, N.Y. --- Junior Catherine Ellis led Cornell with three goals and an assist as the Big Red kept it's unblemished record intact with a dominant 12-4 win over California on Wednesday evening at Schoellkopf Field. Cornell is now 6-0 on the season, tying the best start under head coach Jenny Graap.
 
The Big Red offense bombarded the Golden Bears in the first half, scoring the game's first seven goals. Cal pulled three back before the end of the half, but Cornell netted one more with 13 seconds to go in the half to take a 8-3 lead into halftime. The Big Red allowed just one more goal in the second half, while putting up four more of its own.
 
Sophomore Joey Coffy got the scoring started early, putting away a shot into the top left corner after evading a defender 2:45 into the game.
 
With 24:55 to go in the first half, the Big Red was issued a yellow card and forced to play shorthanded. The penalty didn't seem to faze Cornell though, as the Big Red maintained possession throughout. As the card expired, sophomore Taylor Reed sent the ball in from the sideline to freshman Tomasina Leska, who netted her sixth goal of the season to double Cornell's lead.
 
With 16:29 left in the half, junior defender Catie Smith got the ball near the restraining line and sent a pass to classmate Kristy Gilbert, who streaked into the zone and buried her fifth of the year. The assist was Smith's first career point.
 
Ellis then got on the board twice in 37 seconds, first on a free-position attempt with 15:38 to go and then on a quick feed from senior Emily Tripodi on the left side.
 
Leska notched her second of the night with 12:36 left in the frame, scooting out from behind the net, deking around a defender to score into the short side of the net.
 
Tripodi and Ellis then teamed up again to give Cornell a 7-0 lead, but this time it was Ellis who hit Tripodi with a quick pass, and Tripodi sent her shot into the top left corner with 11:30 to go in the half.
 
The Golden Bears then went on a 3-0 scoring run to cut the deficit to 7-3, but Olivia Mattyasovszky's team-leading 11^th goal with 13 seconds left in the stanza to put the exclamation point on a dominant Cornell half.
 
Coffy was once again the first goal-scorer in the second half, getting on the board 2:20 into the frame with a shot from the right side. Ellis netted her third of the night just over 10 minutes later, receiving a feed from Reed and tucking her shot in from the right post. Reed then added one of her own, before senior Shelby McNeilly put away her second of the season to give Cornell a 12-3 advantage.
 
Leska nearly made it 13 with about eight minutes to go, sending in a threatening high shot, but Cal goaltender Jenny Wilkens corralled it. Melissa Rubin added one more for the Golden Bears on a free-position shot with 3:06 to go.
 
With the win, junior goaltender Renee Poullott moves into sole possession of third all-time for career wins with 20. Freshman goaltender Samantha Nielsen came in for the last 11:07 of the game, making the first two saves of her Big Red career.

Midfielders Gilbert and Reed had stellar nights defensively. Reed put up a career mark with four ground balls, while Gilbert set a new career-high with four caused turnovers, including an impressive steal in the second half that she ran away with, getting a shot off at the other end.
 
Cornell jumps back into conference play this weekend, travelling to Brown for a 1 p.m. matchup Saturday.