PRINCETON, N.J.— First place in the Ivy League will be on the line Saturday when No. 20 Cornell and No. 11 Princeton, both undefeated in conference play, face off in New Jersey. Both teams played Wednesday, with the Big Red earning a big win at No. 10/12 Penn State and Princeton falling to top-ranked Maryland.
 
GAME 12: No. 20 Cornell Big Red at No. 11 Princeton Tigers
WHEN: April 16, 2016 — Noon
WHERE: Class of 1952 Stadium
2016 RECORDS: Cornell 10-1 (4-0 Ivy), Princeton 8-3 (3-0 Ivy)
LIVE STATS: GoPrincetonTigers.com
LIVE VIDEO: Ivy League Digital Network/ESPN3

GAME NOTES
Cornell
 
ABOUT THE BIG RED
Cornell has continued to roll, picking up its 10th win of the season Wednesday against nationally ranked Penn State. The Big Red has thrived on a balanced offense—boasting seven players with 15 or more points—and shut-down defense, led by junior Catie Smith who sits atop the Ivy League with 29 caused turnovers. The Big Red has remained in the top 10 nationally for scoring defense, allowing an average of just 6.55 goals per game and holding its opponents to six goals or fewer on seven occasions.
 
A WIN WOULD...

• Give Cornell it's third win over a ranked opponent this season
• Leave Cornell as the only remaining team undefeated in Ivy League play
• Narrow Princeton's lead in the all-time series to 34-5

 
ABOUT NO. 11 PRINCETON
The only other remaining unbeaten team in Ivy League play, the Tigers are having another strong season. Princeton opened the season 4-0, including a big seven-goal win over then-fourth-ranked Virginia. Nationally ranked squads Notre Dame and Penn State served the Tigers their first two losses of the season before Princeton picked up a series of one-goal wins over Harvard, Loyola Maryland and Delaware. Princeton hosted No. 1 Maryland on Wednesday, falling 15-6 to the Terps.  Junior Olivia Hompe leads the Tigers with 33 goals and 42 points. In net, junior Ellie DeGarmo has been a force to be reckoned with, leading the Ivy League with 113 saves and a .546 save percentage.

THE SERIES VS. PRINCETON
The Tigers have a 34-4 advantage in the all-time series with the Big Red, including a 20-year win streak from 1989-2009 and wins in the past three meetings. Cornell's past two wins, however, have come on Princeton's home soil. The Big Red last beat the Tigers on March 31, 2012, a 13-12 overtime victory. Last season, Cornell came close, going ahead 8-5 early in the second half before Princeton went on a five-goal run to take a lead it wouldn't again give up.

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.
 
BEST IVY START
With a 12-5 win over Dartmouth on April 9, Cornell moved to 4-0 in Ivy League play, its best conference start in program history.
 
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 11 games, with 12 players posting multiple points. Each of Cornell's 11 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

• Junior Catherine Ellis is on a nine-game point streak (12-9–21).
• Junior Kristy Gilbert has at least one goal in each of her last nine games (10-4–14).
• Senior Olivia Mattyasovszky has scored in each of her last eight games (17-0–17).
• Junior Joey Coffy has scored at least one goal in six straight games (11-2–9).

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 20 goals in 11 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 and has already doubled her goal production from 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 (32) and caused turnovers (29). 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 11 games, her 2.64 caused turnovers per game this season is good for seventh 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 19 points are a career-high, she's already nearly tripled her assist total from last season and her 11 goals surpass her career mark. In addition to her offensive prowess, she's picked up a 19 draw controls, caused eight turnovers and scooped up 21 ground balls, all career highs.
 
COFFY IN THE CLUTCH
Sophomore midfielder Joey Coffy has helped provide an offensive spark this season, scoring Cornell's first goal of the game on four occasions. She also has a game-winner and posted a four-goal performance at Penn State.
 
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.
• 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 11th all-time in caused turnovers with 51. One more will tie her for 9th.
• With the win over Penn State, junior goaltender Renee Poullott moved into sole possession of second all-time in career wins with 24.
• Poullott also currently ranks eighth for career saves with 231. She needs 28 to tie for seventh.

 
UP NEXT
The Big Red will face another challenge when it hosts local rival No. 4 Syracuse on Tuesday night at Schoellkopf Field. Opening draw is set for 7 p.m.