UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.— After getting back in the win column this weekend, Cornell women's lacrosse begins a challenging week with a trip to No. 10/12 Penn State. The game is Cornell's second of five matchups against nationally ranked opponents in the month of April.
 
GAME 11: No. 20 Cornell Big Red at No. 10/12 Penn State Nittany Lions
WHEN: April 13, 2016 — 4 p.m.
WHERE: Penn State Lacrosse Field
2016 RECORDS: Cornell 9-1 (3-0 Ivy), Penn State 9-3 (1-1 Big Ten)
LIVE STATS: GoPSUsports.com

GAME NOTES
Cornell
 
ABOUT THE BIG RED
Cornell earned its best Ivy League start in program history Saturday with a 12-5 win over Dartmouth to improve to 4-0 in conference play. Eight members of the Big Red found the back of the net in the win, including leading scorer Olivia Mattyasovszky and points leader Emily Tripodi. The Cornell defense, which has been stellar all season, held its opponent to fewer than six goals for the fifth time this year, backstopped by junior goaltender Renee Poullott, who has a 6.57 goals-against average. Junior defender Catie Smith caused three turnovers for the fifth straight game and leads the team with 27.
 
A WIN WOULD...

• Give Cornell it's second win over a ranked opponent this season
• Give Cornell a 5-1 record on the road
• Narrow Penn State's lead in the all-time series to 8-3
• Exceed Cornell's win total from last season

ABOUT NO. 10/12 PENN STATE
The Nittany Lions are unbeaten at home so far this season, a mark that includes a 14-10 win over No. 11 Princeton. After falling to No. 18 Ohio State, 16-13, on Saturday, Penn State is coming off just its third loss of the season, with all three coming at the hands of ranked opponents (Virginia, Stanford, Ohio State). Unranked James Madison put a scare into the Lions, forcing overtime, but Penn State came out on top, 18-17. The Lions also posted key wins over Johns Hopkins and Loyola Maryland. Five players have more than 25 points for Penn State, led by Madison Cyr with 37 goals and 11 assists. Steph Lazo leads the team in helpers with 22.  Emi Smith has shouldered most of the work in net, allowing 10.29 goals per game and posting a .429 save percentage.

THE SERIES VS. PENN STATE
The Nittany Lions hold a 8-2 advantage in the all-time series, and have won the last two meetings. Cornell's last win came on March 13, 2013, a 13-12 double-overtime decision on Schoellkopf Field when Penn State was ranked No. 7. Last season, the Nittany Lions took a 13-9 win in Ithaca.

CORNELL CONNECTIONS
Assistant coach Suzie Friedrich and head coach Jenny Graap both have connections to Penn State. Friedrich graduated from Penn State in 1985 after playing lacrosse for the Nittany Lions, and Graap served as an assistant coach for Penn State's women's lacrosse team from 1990-93 while she was getting her masters in exercise and sport science.

EIGHT IS GREAT
With eight seniors leading the way, Cornell posted its best start in program history, beating Binghamton to begin the season 8-0, surpassing the 1987 squad's 7-0 mark.
 
100 CLUB
After setting a new school record for assists in the 9-8 win over Colgate, senior co-captain Emily Tripodi reached another milestone, posting her 100th career helper in a 10-2 win over Brown on March 26.
 
SILVER LININGS
Despite suffering its first loss of the season, Cornell had a number of positive accomplishments at No. 1 Maryland. The Big Red scored the first goal, marking the first time all season the Terps had surrendered the game's first tally. Cornell's nine goals also tied for the most Maryland has given up in 2016. On the other side of the ball, the Terps recorded a season-high 17 turnovers, 12 of which were directly caused by the Big Red.


KEEP OUT
As of April 11, through the Big Red's first 10 games, Cornell ranked fifth nationally in scoring defense, allowing just 6.50 goals per game. Junior goalkeeper Renee Poullott also ranked fifth nationally in goals-against average at 6.57.
 
BALANCED OFFENSE
Seventeen different players have contributed on the scoresheet for the Big Red through the first 10 games, with 12 players posting multiple points. Each of Cornell's 10 games have seen at least five different players score for the Big Red, with the team getting goals from at least eight different scorers on six of those occasions.
 
ELITE COMPANY
With an 8-0 record to begin the season, Cornell was one of three remaining undefeated teams in Division I before its loss to No.1  Maryland. The Terps and No. 6/5 Southern California remain as the only unblemished teams. The Big Red joins No. 2 Florida, No. 15/8 Ohio State and No. 19/14 Massachusetts in teams with just one loss.
 
HOT STREAKS

• Senior Emily Tripodi has a point in nine straight games (6-16–22).
• Junior Catherine Ellis is on an eight-game point streak (11-8–19).
• Junior Kristy Gilbert has at least one goal in each of her last eight games (9-3–11).
• Senior Olivia Mattyasovszky has scored in each of her last seven games (16-0–16).
• Junior Joey Coffy has scored at least one goal in five straight games (7-2–9).
• Senior Catie Smith has at least three caused turnovers in five consecutive games.

IVY WEEKLY HONORS

• Junior goaltender Renee Poullott was named Ivy League Defensive Player of the Week on Feb. 29 after holding then-No. 19 Albany to just five goals in a 9-5 victory. 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.
• Smith earned the honor a second time on April 4 after setting a new career high with six caused turnovers at Binghamton before adding four ground balls and three caused turnovers at No. 1 Maryland.

MATTYASOVSZKY MAKING HER MARK
Senior attacker Olivia Mattyasovszky has proven to be a force so far this season, scoring 19 goals in 10 games, including a five-goal outing in a win over Columbia. She has posted multiple goals five times this season. She set new career highs in goals and points 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 (29) and caused turnovers (27). She posted a career-high six ground balls in the win over Yale and set a new career mark of six caused turnovers in the victory at Binghamton. Through nine games, her 2.67 caused turnovers per game is good for fifth nationally and first all-time in program history.
 
REED ALL ABOUT IT
Sophomore Taylor Reed has been a powerhouse on both sides of the ball so far this season. Her 17 points are a career-high, she's already nearly tripled her assist total from last season and her nine goals tie her career mark. In addition to her offensive prowess, she's picked up a 17 draw controls, caused six turnovers and scooped up 19 ground balls, all career highs.
 
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.
 
FORMIDABLE FOES
This season, the Big Red will face off against five opponents currently ranked in the national polls: No. 1 Maryland, No. 4 Syracuse, No. 10/12 Penn State and Ivy rivals No. 11 Princeton and No. 17/15 Penn. The Big Red visited 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.
 
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. She now has 105.
• Junior Amie Dickson is just two assists away from cracking the all-time top 10. Dickson currently sits tied for 11th with 38 assists.
• Tripodi is now in sole possession of10th all-time with 147 career points.
• Dickson needs three draw controls to tie for seventh all-time, while senior Maddie Kiep needs just two to take over 14th.
• Junior Catie Smith is tied for 11th all-time in caused turnovers with 49. Three more will tie her for 9th.
• With the win over Dartmouth, junior goaltender Renee Poullott moved into a tie for second all-time in career wins with 23.
• Poullott also currently ranks tied-for-eighth for career saves with 218. She needs 36 to tie for seventh.

UP NEXT
The Big Red faces another ranked opponent in Ivy League foe No. 11 Princeton in New Jersey on Saturday before hosting No. 4 Syracuse next Tuesday.