ITHACA, N.Y. — Cornell will take the short trip to local rival Colgate for a weeknight matchup on Wednesday. The Big Red is looking to preserve its unblemished record while the Raiders will be searching for their second win of the season.
 
GAME 4: Cornell Big Red at Colgate Raiders
WHEN: March 9, 2016 — 5 p.m.
WHERE: Beyer-Small '76 Field — Hamilton, N.Y.
2016 RECORDS: Cornell 3-0, Colgate 1-3
LIVE STATS: GoColgateRaiders.com
LIVE VIDEO: Patriot League Network

GAME NOTES:
Cornell
 
ABOUT THE BIG RED
Cornell opened Ivy League play with a 10-6 win over Yale, improving to 3-0 on the season, marking its best start since 2013. Sophomore Taylor Reed led the Big Red with a career-high three goals in the win over Yale, which has earned Reed the team scoring lead (5-1–6). Junior Amie Dickson is close behind with four goals and an assist and also leads the team in draw controls with 12. Defensively, Cornell has yet to allow more than six goals, with Renee Poullott putting up a .514 save percentage. Junior Catie Smith leads the team with nine ground balls and also has caused three turnovers.
 
A WIN WOULD...

• Give Cornell its first 4-0 start since 2013
• Give Cornell a 3-0 non-conference record
• Give Cornell a 30-14-1 advantage in the all-time series
• Give Cornell a 3-0 record on the road this season

ABOUT COLGATE
The Raiders' lone win so far this season came in dramatic fashion, an 11-10 overtime victory over Niagara on Feb. 23. Two of Colgate's losses, however, have been by narrow margins, with Vermont taking the season opener 14-12 on Feb. 20 and Siena beating the Raiders 13-12 this past weekend. Colgate's 11-7 loss to Drexel marked the only game so far this season that the Raiders haven't scored in the double-digits. Junior Isabel Kreitler leads the way for Colgate with 16 points on 10 goals and six assists, while senior Emily Peebles has put up nine goals of her own. Midfielder Haley O'Hanlon has proven dangerous on both sides of the ball, pairing five goals, four assists and nine draw controls with seven ground balls and four casued turnovers. Freshman Asil Asfour has seen all of the action between the pipes for the Raiders, posting a .385 save percentage and 11.80 goals-against average.
 
THE SERIES VS. COLGATE
The Big Red holds a 29-14-1 advantage in the all-time series, including winning the past 16 meetings. Colgate's last win over Cornell came on April 8, 1998, a 10-6 decision at Schoellkopf Field. Last season, the Big Red took an 11-5 win in Ithaca, with Amie Dickson netting a hat trick and Emily Tripodi, Kristy Gilbert and Catherine Ellis all scoring twice.
 
MAKING HISTORY
With two assists in the Big Red's win over Albany on Feb. 27, senior co-captain Emily Tripodi has tied the program record for career assists with 91. Adding one more assist would make Tripodi the lone record-holder, overtaking Courtney Farrell '08.
 
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.
 
YOUNG GUNS
Exactly half of the Big Red's point production so far this season has come from underclassmen, with sophomores Taylor Reed, Joey Coffy and Anna Baumeister and freshmen Tomasina Leska and Christie Raymond teaming up for 16 points through Cornell's first three games.
 
HOT START
With a 3-0 record to begin the season, Cornell is off to its best start since 2013, when the team won its first six games and ultimately went 10-6 on the season.
 
KEEP OUT
As of March 7, through the Big Red's first three games, Cornell ranked fifth nationally in scoring defense, allowing just 5.67 goals per game. Junior goalkeeper Renee Poullott ranked seventh nationally in goals-against average at 5.67 and 15th in save percentage at .514.
 
BACK ON THE ATTACK
The Big Red returns the bulk of its attack from the 2015 season, despite the graduation of Lindsay Toppe. Senior co-captain Emily Tripodi will likely continue to serve the role of feeder after finishing the 2015 season with 30 assists.  Senior Catherine Ellis will once again have her eye on the net. Ellis finished second on the team last season with 38 goals, starting all 16 contests. Senior Olivia Mattyasovszky will use her imposing 6-foot frame to challenge defenders, while Jessica Schwab and Meredith Baker will also serve as returning options on the front line.
 
UP THE MIDDLE
In the midfield, where Cornell boasts the most depth, a returning corps of speedy sophomores will be the storyline. The likes of Joey Coffy and Taylor Reed will bring athleticism to the midfield and be a differentiator for the Big Red. Coffy and Reed will be joined by upperclassmen leaders, junior Kristy Gilbert and senior Shelby McNeilly. Gilbert will add firepower to the midfield, while McNeilly plays a more defensive style. Juniors Kailey O'Hagan and Christie Powell will bolster the midfield's versatility, while sophomores Anna Baumeister and Paige Craig are likely to operate as swing players.
 
GETTING DEFENSIVE
Cornell lost just one defender to graduation in 2015, meaning the Big Red returns an incredibly experienced defensive corps. Senior co-captain Brittany Marriott will once again bring her leadership and direction to the defensive unit. She will be joined by classmate Maddie Kiep, who will add athleticism and physicality, and junior Catie Smith, who excels at applying pressure. Seniors Abby Hanson and Catherine Moubayed will bring an aggressiveness and knack for earning ground balls and interceptions while sophomores Hilary Lemonick and Cait Callahan will be impactful in marking schemes for the Big Red backline.
 
BETWEEN THE PIPES
The Big Red returns an experienced and capable goaltender in junior Renee Poullott, who finished the 2015 season with an 8.77 goals-against average and .437 save percentage. Freshman Samantha Nielsen will serve as the backup to Poullott. 
 
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. 3/3 Syracuse, No. 9/10 Penn State and Ivy rivals No. 6/6 Princeton and No. 16/19 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 tied for the all-time program record in career assists with 91 after recording two assists at Albany on Feb. 27. One more assist will make Tripodi the lone record-holder.
*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 also seven points away from breaking into the top 10 program list for career points. Tripodi currently has 127 career points, good for tied-for-15th. One more point will tie her for 14th, and two more will tie her for 12th.
*With the win over Yale, junior goaltender Renee Poullott has taken over sole possession of fifth all-time with 17 career wins. With two more wins, Poullott will tie for third.
*Poullott also currently ranks 14th for career saves with 185. She needs  just four to tie for 13th and 12 to tie for 12th.
 
UP NEXT
The Big Red returns home to Schoellkopf Field for an Ivy League matchup when Columbia comes to Ithaca at 3 p.m. on March 12 as the second part of a doubleheader with Cornell men's lacrosse.