ITHACA, N.Y.— In its final nonconference matchup of the season, No. 20 Cornell women's lacrosse hosts No. 4 Syracuse on Tuesday night. Both teams are coming off one-goal conference losses over the weekend, with the Big Red falling 8-7 at No. 10 Princeton and Syracuse taking a 12-11 loss at the hands of ACC foe No. 3 North Carolina.
 
GAME 13: No. 20 Cornell Big Red vs. No. 4 Syracuse Orange
WHEN: April 19, 2016 — 7 p.m.
WHERE: Schoellkopf Field
2016 RECORDS: Cornell 10-2 (4-1 Ivy), Syracuse 12-4 (4-2 ACC)
LIVE STATS: CornellBigRed.com
LIVE VIDEO: Ivy League Digital Network

GAME NOTES
Cornell | Syracuse
 
ABOUT THE BIG RED
Cornell is ranked in both major national polls this week for the first time this season after topping then-No. 10 Penn State and falling by a single goal to then-11th-ranked Princeton. 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 31 caused turnovers. The Big Red has remained in the top 10 nationally for scoring defense, allowing an average of just 6.67 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
• Snap Syracuse's nine-game win streak in the series and narrow its series lead to 14-6
• Keep Cornell perfect at 6-0 at Schoellkopf Field this season

ABOUT NO. 4 SYRACUSE
The Orange have once again proven to be a powerhouse this season, led by Kayla Treanor, who is second in the country in draw controls per game and leads Syracuse with a whopping 139. She also tops the team in goals (37), assists (24) and points (61). With Treanor leading the way, the Orange has cruised to a 12-4 record, posting key wins over Northwestern, Virginia, Notre Dame and Duke. Three of Syracuse's four losses have come to the three teams ranked above it—Maryland, Florida and North Carolina—with the losses to the Gators and the Tar Heels each being decided by just one goal. Binghamton lost to the Orange by just three early in the season, and recently, Syracuse escaped with a narrow one-goal win over Albany.  Allie Murray has started 15 of the team's 16 contests in net, allowing an average of 8.81 goals per game with a .413 save percentage.

THE SERIES VS. SYRACUSE
The Orange and the Big Red have met every season since Syracuse introduced the program in 1998, and the Orange holds a 14-5 advantage in the series, including wins in the past nine meetings. Cornell's last win came in 2006, a decisive 9-4 victory on Schoellkopf Field when Syracuse was ranked No. 13. Last season in the Carrier Dome, the Orange stormed out to 9-1 lead to eventually take a 14-8 victory.

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 18, Cornell ranked seventh nationally in scoring defense, allowing just 6.67 goals per game. Junior goalkeeper Renee Poullott ranked sixth nationally in goals-against average at 6.73.

BALANCED OFFENSE
Seventeen different players have contributed on the scoresheet for the Big Red through 12 games, with 12 players posting multiple points. Each of Cornell's 12 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.  
 
HOT STREAKS

• Junior Catherine Ellis is on a 10-game point streak (13-9–23).
• Senior Olivia Mattyasovszky has scored in each of her last nine games (20-0–20).
• Sophomore Joey Coffy has scored at least one goal in seven straight games (12-2–14).
• Junior Amie Dickson is on a five-game goal streak (11-2–13).

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 23 goals in 12 games, including a five-goal outing in a win over Columbia. She has posted multiple goals six 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 (33) and caused turnovers (31). 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 12 games, she ranks first in program history for single-season caused turnovers per game with 2.58.
 
DAZZLING DICKSON
Since her return to the lineup, junior Amie Dickson has been, as predicted, a key contributor in the Big Red midfield. Dickson has points in each of her last five games (11-2–13), including a four-goal performance at No. 1 Maryland and a two-goal, two-assist day at Dartmouth. She's also added eight draw controls.
 
REED ALL ABOUT IT
Sophomore Taylor Reed has been a powerhouse on both sides of the ball so far this season. Her 20 points are a career-high, she's already nearly tripled her assist total from last season and her 12 goals have also surpassed her career mark. In addition to her offensive prowess, she's picked up a 19 draw controls, caused eight turnovers and scooped up 25 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. 14 Penn State and Ivy rivals No. 10 Princeton and No. 17 Penn. The Big Red visited reigning National Champion Maryland on April 2, Penn State on April 13 and Princeton on April 16, and 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 149 career points.
• Dickson has taken over seventh all-time with 98 draw controls, while senior Maddie Kiep sits in 14th with 73.
• Junior Catie Smith is 9th all-time in caused turnovers with 53.
• 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 236. She needs 22 to tie for seventh

UP NEXT
The Big Red will take its final road trip of the regular season, heading to Harvard in a key Ivy matchup at 3 p.m. Saturday.