ITHACA, N.Y. — After securing an automatic bid by winning the Ivy League Tournament Championship, Cornell is making its first appearance in the NCAA Tournament since 2006 and hosting for the first time since 2002. The Big Red will face MAAC Champion Canisius in the first round at 7 p.m. Friday.
 
NCAA FIRST ROUND: No. 13 Cornell Big Red (No. 8 seed) vs. Canisius Golden Griffins
WHEN: May 13, 2016 —7 p.m.
WHERE: Schoellkopf Field — Ithaca, N.Y.
2016 RECORDS: Cornell 13-4, Canisius 13-6
LIVE STATS: NCAA Gametracker
LIVE VIDEO: Ivy League Digital Network (FREE)
 
TICKETS
Tickets that grant access to both of Friday's first-round games and tickets to Sunday's single session are available for $8 for adults, $6 for seniors and $4 for children and students with valid ID. Tickets can be purchased at the Bartels Hall box office or by phone at (607) 254-BEAR. The ticket office is open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

PARKING
For Friday's games, tailgating will be allowed in the upper Crescent lot only from 2:30-7 p.m. for $10 on a first-come, first-served basis. Due to campus parking restrictions, spectator parking before 5 p.m. is available on an hourly basis in the Bartels Hall metered lot. Spectators parked in permit-only lots before 5 p.m. will be ticketed. Parking after 5 p.m. is open in the Hoy Parking Garage or in the Kite Hill lot, both adjacent to Schoellkopf Field.

GAME NOTES
Cornell | Canisius
 
ABOUT THE BIG RED
Cornell earned its first two Ivy League Tournament wins last weekend, defeating Princeton, 10-9, in overtime in the semifinal before downing Penn, 11-10, to claim the championship. The Big Red's success in 2016 has been built on a solid defense—led by junior Catie Smith, who has set the single-season record for caused turnovers—and a balanced offense, which features seven players with more than 20 points and four with more than 30. Cornell moved up significantly in both polls this week, taking over the No. 13 spot in the IWLCA Coaches' Poll and the No. 10 spot in the Inside Lacrosse Media Poll.
 
A WIN WOULD...

• Advance Cornell to the second round of the NCAA Tournament
• Be the Big Red's first NCAA Tournament win since defeating Maryland, 14-4, in the second round in 2002
• Give Cornell a 3-3 record all-time in Tournament games

 
ABOUT CANISIUS
Canisius (13-6, 8-0 MAAC) earns the automatic bid for the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, after winning the regular season and conference tournament Sunday. The Griffs have a potent offense, having scored 10-plus goals in 12 straight games, and a stout defense, having held 10 of its last 12 opponents to seven goals or fewer. Canisius has won 11 of its last 12 outings, with the only loss coming to No. 4 Syracuse, and recently received four individual MAAC awards, highlighted by sophomore Erica Evans earning her second consecutive MAAC Midfielder of the Year honor. Evans leads the team and set a new school record last weekend for points in a season with 86. Evans also ranks second in the nation in goals and goals per game. The team also boasts the MAAC Defensive Player of the Year (Rebecca VanLaeken), the MAAC Rookie of the Year (Tessa Chad) and the MAAC Coach of the Year (Scott Teeter).
 
THE SERIES VS. CANISIUS
Cornell is 2-0 against the Golden Griffins all-time, taking a 21-7 win on Schoellkopf Field in 2012 and a 16-10 victory in Buffalo in 2013. In the 2013 win, the score was knotted at three just over 10 minutes into the game, but the Big Red broke away with six straight goals. The Griffs pulled back within two in the second half, but another string of four consecutive Cornell goals put the game away.

IVY TOURNAMENT CHAMPS
Cornell's championship win over Penn in the Ivy League Tournament marked just the second time in the tournament's seven-year history that a team other than Penn or Princeton claimed the crown. Sophomore Taylor Reed was named Most Outstanding Player and senior Olivia Mattyasovszky, sophomore Joey Coffy and juniors Amie Dickson, Renee Poullott and Catherine Ellis were named to the All-Tournament Team from Cornell. Heading into the weekend, the Big Red was 0-5 in Ivy Tournament games and had lost to Penn and Princeton in the regular season.

GRAAP AT 200
Cornell's win over Penn in the Ivy League Tournament Championship also marked head coach Jenny Graap's 200th career win.

EIGHT IS GREAT
Cornell posted its best start in program history, beating Binghamton on March 29 to post a season-opening record of 8-0, surpassing the 1987 squad's 7-0 mark.

100 (AND 150) CLUB
After setting a new school record for assists on March 9 at Colgate, senior co-captain Emily Tripodi reached another milestone, posting her 100th career helper in a 10-2 win over Brown on March 26. Then, with an assist against Syracuse on April 19, she became the 10th player in program history to reach 150 career points. 
 
KEEP OUT
As of May 10, Cornell was tied for 12th nationally in scoring defense, allowing just 7.12 goals per game. Junior goalkeeper Renee Poullott ranked ninth nationally in goals-against average at 7.16.
 
BALANCED OFFENSE
Seventeen different players have contributed on the scoresheet for the Big Red, with 13 players posting multiple points. Sixteen of Cornell's 17 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

• Sophomore Joey Coffy has scored at least one goal in 12 straight games (20-3–23).
• Junior Amie Dickson is on a 10-game goal streak (21-6–27).

MATTYASOVSZKY MAKING HER MARK
Senior attacker Olivia Mattyasovszky has proven to be a force this season, scoring 30 goals in 17 games, including a five-goal outing in a win over Columbia. She has posted multiple goals eight times this season. She set new career highs in goals and points just six games in and has tripled her goal production from last season.
 
SMITH GETS STINGY
With two caused turnovers against Penn on April 30, junior Catie Smith set the single-season program record with 37 caused turnovers. She leads the Ivy League in the statistic and ranks 10th nationally in caused turnovers per game. She's second on the team with 35 ground balls. 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.
 
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 12 games (21-6–27), including four-goal performances at No. 1 Maryland and at Harvard. She added two goals and two assists in the Ivy Tournament Championship win over Penn, including netting the game-winner.
 
REED ALL ABOUT IT
Sophomore Taylor Reed has been a powerhouse on both sides of the ball so far this season. Her 27 points are a career-high and she's tripled her assist total from last season. Her six points (5-1–6) in the Ivy Tournament earned her Most Outstanding Player.  She's also picked up 25 draw controls, caused 11 turnovers and scooped up 26 ground balls on the season, all career highs.
 
ELLIS EXCELLING
Junior Catherine Ellis has continued to be an offensive dynamo this season, posting multiple points on nine    occasions, including a season-high five points (2-3–5) against Dartmouth on April 9. She also recorded a hat trick and added an assist on March 23 against California and scored the game-winning overtime goal in the Ivy Semifinal. She recorded her 100th career point in the Ivy Tournament Championship.
 
COFFY IN THE CLUTCH
Midfielder Joey Coffy has had a breakout sophomore campaign, putting up 26 points (23-3) including a career four-goal performance in the win over nationally ranked Penn State. She also ranks second on the team with 37 draw controls.
 
KIEP QUICK ON THE DRAW
Senior defender Maddie Kiep has served as Cornell's primary draw specialist this season and leads the team with 44 draw controls, a career high. She had a career day in the Ivy Tournament Championship, recording nine draw controls, tied for the second-most in a single game in program history.
 
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.
 
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.
• Poullott earned the honor again on April 25 after posting 10-save performances against national powerhouse Syracuse and Ivy rival Harvard. She helped the team hold the Crimson to just three goals.

 
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 113.
• Junior Amie Dickson has cracked the all-time top 10 in assists and is now tied for ninth with 43.
• Tripodinow sits eighth all-time with 158 career points.
• Dickson has taken over sixth all-time with 102 draw controls, while senior Maddie Kiep's career day in the Ivy Championship has moved her into a tie for 10th with 90.
• Junior Catie Smith is ninth all-time in caused turnovers with 59.
• With the win over Penn State, junior goaltender Renee Poullott moved into sole possession of second all-time in career wins. She now has 27.
• Poullott also currently ranks sixth for career saves with 274. She needs just two to tie for fifth.

UP NEXT
The winner of Friday's matchup will advance to play the winner of the Princeton-Massachusetts First Round game. The Second Round game is set for noon Sunday at Schoellkopf Field.