PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Playing just its third road game of the season, the Big Red will travel to Brown on Saturday with hopes of keeping its win streak intact and staying atop the Ivy League standings. The Bears are in search of their first Ancient Eight win of the season and are looking to beat the Big Red for the first time since 1999.
 
GAME 7: Cornell Big Red at Brown Bears
WHEN: March 26, 2016 — 1 p.m.
WHERE: Stevenson-Pincince Field — Providence, R.I.
2016 RECORDS: Cornell 6-0 (2-0 Ivy), Brown 4-3 (0-2 Ivy)
LIVE STATS: BrownBears.com
LIVE VIDEO: Ivy League Digital Network
 
GAME NOTES
Cornell | Brown

ABOUT THE BIG RED
Cornell is off to its best start since 2013, winning its first six games of the season. Fifteen players have recorded points for the Big Red thus far, led by sophomore Taylor Reed with 14 on eight goals and six assists. Senior Maddie Kiep has taken over the role of draw specialist and leads the team with 18 draw controls. On defense, junior Catie Smith has caused 12 turnovers and scooped up 19 ground balls, while in net, junior Renee Poullott has posted a stingy 6.00 goals-against average and a .500 save percentage.
 
A WIN WOULD...

• Tie for the best start in program history (7-0, 1987)
• Mark the Big Red's best start under Jenny Graap
• Keep Cornell undefeated in Ivy League play
• Give Cornell a 3-0 record on the road this season
• Give Cornell 16 straight wins against Brown 

 
ABOUT BROWN
Despite being 0-2 in Ivy League play, the Bears have a winning record coming into Saturday's game and boast the eighth-best scoring defense in Division I, holding three of their opponents to five goals or fewer. In conference play, Brown dropped an 8-3 decision to nationally ranked Penn and fell by a narrow 6-5 margin to Yale last Saturday. Senior Lauren Toy leads with an impressive 23 points in seven games on 16 goals and seven assists, while junior Kerianne Hunt leads in draw controls with 16 while adding seven goals and four assists. Senior Victoria Holland has been the Bears' primary goaltender, putting up a 6.83 goals-against average and a .481 save percentage.

THE SERIES VS. BROWN
The Big Red holds a 21-14 advantage in the all-time series, propelled by 15 consecutive wins against the Bears dating back to the 2000 season. The last time Cornell took the trip to Providence, in 2014, Brown nearly got its first win in the series since 1999, jumping out to a 6-2 lead in the first half before the Big Red came back and took an 11-10 overtime victory. Last season, Cornell dominated the Bears in a 14-6 home win, with Emily Tripodi posting four points on two goals and two assists and Catherine Ellis adding a pair of goals and a helper of a her own.
 
TRIPODI MAKES HISTORY
With her first assist of the game on March 9 at Colgate, senior Emily Tripodi set a new program record for career assists, bettering the record of 91 set by Courtney Farrell in 2008.


PRESEASON ALL-AMERICAN
Junior attacker/midfielder Amie Dickson has been named an honorable mention Preseason All-American by Inside Lacrosse. Dickson was named First-Team All-Ivy at the conclusion of the 2015 season after leading the Ivy League with 59 points and 31 assists.
 
KEEP OUT
As of March 24, through the Big Red's first six games, Cornell ranked third nationally in scoring defense, allowing just 6.00 goals per game. Junior goalkeeper Renee Poullott also ranked third nationally in goals-against average at 6.02.
 
BALANCED OFFENSE
Fifteen different players have contributed on the scoresheet for the Big Red through the team's first five games, with 11 players posting multiple points. Each of Cornell's first six games have seen at least five different players score for the Big Red, with the team getting goals from eight different scorers on four occasions.
 
ELITE COMPANY
With a 6-0 record to begin the season, Cornell is is one of just three remaining unbeaten Division I teams and is the only undefeated team that is also unranked. No. 1/1 Maryland and No. 8/9 Southern California are the nation's only other teams without a loss.
 
HOT STREAKS
*Senior Emily Tripodi has a point in five straight games (3-9–12).
*Sophomore Taylor Reed has registered multiple points, including at least one goal, in each of her last five games (8-6–12).
*Junior Catherine Ellis is on a four-game point streak (6-3–9).
*Junior Kristy Gilbert has a goal in each of her last four games (4-0–4).
*Senior Olivia Mattyasovszky has scored in each of her last three games (8-0–8).
 
MATTYASOVSZKY MAKING HER MARK
Senior attacker Olivia Mattyasovszky has proven to be an offensive force so far this season, scoring 11 goals in the first six games of the year, including a five-goal outing in a win over Columbia. Her 11 goals and 12 points are already new career highs just six games in, topping her 10 goals and 11 points last season.
 
SMITH GETS STINGY
Junior defender Catie Smith has been an integral cog in the Big Red's defensive success thus far this season, with team highs in ground balls (19) and caused turnovers (12). She posted a career-high six ground balls in the win over Yale and set a new career mark of five caused turnovers in the narrow victory over Colgate.
 
REED ALL ABOUT IT
Sophomore Taylor Reed has been a powerhouse on both sides of the ball so far this season. Her team-leading 14 points are a career-high, as she's already doubled her assist total from last season. In addition to her offensive prowess, she's picked up a career-high 10 draw controls, caused three turnovers and scooped up 11 ground balls.
 
IVY WEEKLY HONORS
*Junior goaltender Renee Poullott was named Ivy League Defensive Player of the Week on Feb. 29 after helping Cornell hold then-No. 19 Albany to just five goals in a 9-5 victory on Feb. 27. Poullott made eight saves and posted a .615 save percentage in the win, while also tying a career-high with five ground balls and causing a turnover.
*Junior defender Catie Smith was recognized as Ivy League Defensive Player of the Week on March 14. Smith caused a career-high five turnovers in a 9-8 win at Colgate and picked up five ground balls. She added four more ground balls and another caused turnover in the 14-7 win over Columbia.
 
FRESH FACES
Cornell has added eight newcomers to the roster for the 2016 season. Tomasina Leska and Sarah Phillips join the Big Red attack, while Hannah O'Reilly, Shannon Bertscha and Christie Raymond will add to the team's depth at midfield. Natalie Paletta and Sarah Nicholson join the team's defense, and Samantha Nielsen will be an option in goal. The Class of 2019 features three high school All-Americans (Leska, Nielsen, Raymond) and two who were invited to try out for the U.S. Women's U19 National Team (Leska, Raymond).
 
FORMIDABLE FOES
This season, the Big Red will face off against five opponents currently ranked in the national polls: No. 1/1 Maryland, No. 5/3 Syracuse, No. 10/8 Penn State and Ivy rivals No. 11/7 Princeton and No. 16/17 Penn. The Big Red visits reigning National Champion Maryland on April 2, travels to Penn State on April 13, plays at Princeton on April 16, hosts Syracuse on April 19 and closes the regular season with a home matchup against Penn on April 30.
 
FAMILY TIES
Freshmen Natalie Paletta and Sarah Phillips both have ties to the Cornell Athletics Department. Natalie's father, Steve Paletta, was a men's lacrosse Second-Team All-American, captained the Big Red to a national runner-up finish in 1987 and was named First-Team All-Ivy. Natalie's mother, Christine, was a member of the Cornell gymnastics team from 1986-88. Sarah's father, Andy Phillips, and uncle, J.D. Phillips, were teammates of Steve Paletta's. Sarah's grandfather, John Phillips, also played lacrosse at Cornell.
 
MEET THE CAPTAINS
Seniors Emily Tripodi and Brittany Marriott have been chosen to be co-captains for the 2016 season. Marriott will be serving as a captain for the second consecutive season after she was chosen to lead the team as a junior with Lindsay Toppe.
 
EMPIRE STATE OF MIND
A team-high 11 players from the Big Red hail from right here in New York State. Cornell has commonly brought in most of its players from the Northeast with a particular focus on New York, which is both the home of Cornell and one of the country's biggest hotbeds of lacrosse.
 
RECORDS WATCH
*Senior co-captain Emily Tripodi is the new program record holder for career assists, recording two in a 9-8 win over Colgate on March 9 to better Courtney Farrell's record of 91 set in 2008.
*Junior Amie Dickson is just three assists away from cracking the all-time top 10. Dickson currently sits in 12th with 37 assists, one assist away from tying for 11th.
*Tripodi is now in sole possession of10th all-time with 137 career points.
*With the win over California, junior goaltender Renee Poullott moved into sole possession of third all-time with 19 career wins. Three more victories will tied her for second.
*Poullott also currently ranks 12th for career saves with 202. She needs eight to tie for 11th and nine to move into the top 10.
 
UP NEXT
The Big Red will play its second game of a three-game road stint when it heads to nearby Binghamton for a weekday matchup at 3 p.m. on Tuesday. Cornell will then travel to defending National Champion and current No. 1 Maryland on April 2.