GAME INFORMATION
GAME #7: Cornell vs. Penn
GAME TIME: Saturday, Sept. 24 at 12:00 p.m.
GAME SITE: Marsha Dodson Field (Ithaca, N.Y.)
SERIES RECORD: Penn leads, 24-14-2
LAST MEETING: Penn won, 3-2 (OT), Sept. 25, 2015 (Philadelphia, Pa.)
2016 RECORDS: Cornell (4-2, 0-0 Ivy); Penn (4-1, 0-0 Ivy)
LIVE STATS: http://www.sidearmstats.com/cornell/fhockey/
LIVE VIDEO: http://www.ivyleaguedigitalnetwork.com/cornell
 
GAME #8: Cornell vs. Vermont
GAME TIME: Sunday, Sept. 25 at 1:00 p.m.
GAME SITE: Marsha Dodson Field (Ithaca, N.Y.)
SERIES RECORD: Vermont leads, 3-1
LAST MEETING: Cornell won, 2-0, Sept. 19, 2015 (Burlington, Vt.)
* 2016 RECORDS: Cornell (4-2, 0-0 Ivy); Vermont (5-3, 0-0 America East)
LIVE STATS: http://www.sidearmstats.com/cornell/fhockey/
LIVE VIDEO: http://www.ivyleaguedigitalnetwork.com/cornell
 
*Records prior to Saturday
 
THE MATCHUP: The Big Red field hockey team will open Ivy League play against Penn on Saturday, Sept. 24, before facing Vermont on Sunday, Sept. 25 at Marsha Dodson Field. Coming off an impressive 4-0 win against Lock Haven last weekend, Cornell enters the weekend with a 4-2 record overall, while the Quakers are 4-1 overall and the Catamounts go into a Friday evening game at Siena with a record of 5-3. Live stats will be available for the contest at http://www.sidearmstats.com/cornell/fhockey/ and both games will be streamed live on the Ivy League Digital Network.
 
WELCOME HOME: The weekend's games will be part of Cornell's Homecoming celebration. Fans are advised to visit http://www.cornell.edu/cuinfo/specialconditions/#2631 to be aware of any road and parking lot closures.
 
IVY OPENERS: Cornell opens its 38th season of Ivy League play this weekend against Penn. The Big Red is 16-18-3 all-time in conference season openers, thanks mostly to a 13-6 record since 1997. Cornell has played only four of the seven Ivy League teams in its season openers through the years. Its best records in Ivy openers are against Yale (1-0) and Columbia (6-1). The Big Red has played Penn and Princeton more than any other team in conference openers. Cornell has met Penn 15 times in its conference opener, posting a 6-8-1 record against the Quakers. The Big Red has posted a 3-9-2 record in Ivy openers against the Tigers, but the two teams have not met in the season opener since 1999.
 
THE SERIES WITH PENN: The Big Red and the Quakers have squared off 40 times since first meeting in 1976 and Penn holds a 24-14-2 advantage in the all-time series. The Quakers dominated the series early on, posting a 17-2-2 record from 1978-1998, but Cornell has won seven of the last 11. The series has been incredibly close in recent years, with 17 of the last 24 meetings between the two squads being decided by one goal, with nine overtime contests … Coach Hornibrook is 7-5 all-time vs. the Quakers.
 
SCOUTNG THE QUAKERS: Penn brings a 4-1 record to East Hill, with its only loss coming to No. 1 North Carolina in its second game of the season. Each of the team's last two games have been overtime victories, with the Quakers downing Saint Joseph's and Fairfield on the road. Alexa Hoover leads Penn with nine points (3 goals, 3 assists), while Sofia Palacios has a team-high four goals. Rachel Huang and Elise Tilton have three goals apiece, with Huang adding two assists. Junior goalie Liz Mata has seen action in all five games, posting a 2.50 goals-against average and a .522 save percentage. She is backed-up by freshman Ava Rosati, who has seen action in two games, including the final 37:13 against Saint Joseph's last wekeend, making five saves and not allowing a goal as the Quakers came back to win in overtime, 5-4.
 
LAST TIME VS. PENN: Alexa Hoover scored on a penalty stroke just 17 seconds into overtime to hand Penn a 3-2 victory over Cornell on Sept. 25, 2015 in Philadelphia. The game was a wild one, with three goals scored in the final six minutes of regulation before Hoover's strike moved the Quakers to 6-1 on the season and 1-0 in the Ivy League. Penn held the slight edge in shots (15-13) and shots on goal (8-7), while the Big Red had the advantage in penalty corners (8-6). Krysten Mayers and Marisa Siergiej scored for Cornell, with Katy Weeks, Isabel Siergiej and Taylor Standiford all earning assists. Hoover tallied a pair of goals, while Gina Guccione scored the final goal of regulation with 1:45 to play, erasing the Big Red's comeback bid. In goal, both Cornell's Kelly Johnson and Penn's Liz Mata stopped four shots apiece, and each team received a defensive save from a field player.
 
THE SERIES WITH VERMONT: The Catamounts own a 3-1 record in the all-time series against the Big Red, beating Cornell with identical 2-0 decisions in back-to-back seasons in 2005 and 2006. Vermont ran its streak to 3-0 with a win in 2011, before the Big Red earned its first win, 2-0, a year ago ... Coach Hornibrook is 1-3 vs. Vermont.
 
SCOUTING THE CATAMOUNTS: After winning its first two games, Vermont has split its last six outings to sit at 5-3 on the season entering a Friday night contest at Siena. Landon Warren leads the team with six goals and 12 points, while Lauren Tucker has a team-high four assists. Three other Catamounts – Carla Godsman, Tess O'Brien and Rachel Picchi – have three goals apiece, with Godsman and O'Brien adding one assist. In goal, Lena Benwood has played nearly every minute and has posted a 2.95 goals-against average while saving .676 percent of the shots she's faced.
 
LAST TIME VS. VERMONT:  The Big Red dominated Vermont in a 2-0 victory on Sept. 19, 2015 in the first round of the Catamount Invitational. Freshman Isabel Siergiej registered the first goals of her collegiate career with a pair of tallies, and the Cornell defense didn't allow Vermont to put a shot on goal. Cornell (3-2) held the significant advantage in shots, 21-2, and put 10 shots on goal. The Big Red also out-cornered the Catamounts, 8-3. Vemont goalie Lena Brenwood finished with eight saves for the Catamounts.
 
VS. THE AMERICA EAST: Cornell is 8-14 all-time against the current members of the America East, with three victories coming against Albany (3-6), two against Maine (2-3) and one each against Cal (1-1), Stanford (1-2), and Vermont (1-3). The Big Red is winless against Fairfield (0-1), but has never faced UC Davis, UMass-Lowell, New Hampshire or the University of the Pacific in field hockey … Coach Hornibrook is 3-12 all-time against the America East.
 
LACE UP 4 PEDIATRIC CANCER: The Big Red will hold a Lace Up 4 Pediatric Cancer fundraiser when it plays host the Catamounts. The team will wear gold shoelaces to show their support for the cause and will collect donations for Go 4 The Goal to help in the program's mission to improve the lives of children battling cancer by providing financial support, developing and implementing unique hospital programs, funding innovative research, and granting personal wishes. In addition to collecting donations at: https://donate.go4thegoal.org/fundraise?fcid=732404, the team will sponsor a silent acution during the game with the Catamounts. 
 
THE HEAD COACH: Cornell head coach Donna Hornibrook is in her 13th season at Cornell (113-90, .556) ... She is the second winningest coach in Big Red field hockey history, behind only Shelby (Pontz) Bowman, who registered 115 wins over 19 year … Hornibrook became the sixth coach in Cornell field hockey history in January 2004 ... She has a 281-136-10 (.670) record as a head coach, including a 111-39-4 mark at Houghton and a 60-8-6 record at New Brunswick.
 
CAREER RECORD WATCH:
Kelly Johnson
* Has set the Cornell record for wins (20), surpassing Alex Botte '12, Kaitlin Tierney '04 and Yanaka Bernal '91, who all previously held the record with 19 career wins.
* Ranks fourth in shutouts (7) … Needs one more to move into a second place tie with Carolyn Horner '14 and Karen Kuhm '78.
Luisa Schulte-Bockum
*Ranks second in defensive saves (9) … Needs just three more to break the school record, held by Amy Galebach (1997-2000).
Krysten Mayers
* Ranks eighth in goals (27) … Needs one more to move into a tie with Joanne Powell (1976-79) in seventh place.
* Ranks eighth in points (62) … Needs six more to pass Joanne Powell (1976-79) in seventh place.
* Ranks eighth in game-winning goals (7) … Needs one more to move into a four-way tie for fifth place. 
Katy Weeks
* Ranks 11th in goals (17) … Needs nine more to break into the top 10.
* Ranks 12th in assists (14) … Needs one more to move into a five-way tie for eighth place.
* Ranks 13th in points (48) … Needs two more to surpass Abbi Horn (2005-08) and Carissa Mirasol (2000-03) in 11th place.
 
RANKED OPPONENTS: The Big Red's schedule features three teams that are ranked in the latest NFHCA Division I Poll – No. 1 Syracuse, No. 13 Princeton and No. 18 Stanford … Cornell's last victory over a ranked opponent came when it defeated No. 20 Maine on Oct. 26, 2014, giving the Big Red its first win over a ranked opponent since defeating No. 19 Syracuse, 3-2, on Oct. 25, 2007.
 
THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE (A NEW) HOME: The Big Red is 42-23 all-time on Marsha Dodson Field. Collectively, the team has outscored its opponents by a margin of 150-101 and has taken significantly more shots (1,131-672) than its opponents. The defense has been equally solid in the circle, allowing just 351 penalty corners (5.4 per game).
 
TEAM NCAA RANKINGS: The Big Red entered the week ranked in the nation's top 25 in …
* Shutouts per game – second (0.50)
* Goals Against Average – fifth (1.00)
* Save Percentage – eighth (.778)
* Scoring Margin – 18th (1.83)
 
INDIVIDUAL NCAA RANKINGS:
* Kelly Johnson ranks eighth in goals-against average (1.07).
* Kelly Johnson ranks 11th in save percentage (0.778).
* Krysten Mayers ranks 28th in assists per game (0.67).
* Katie Carlson ranks 41st in goals per game (0.83).
* Katie Carlson ranks 53rd in points per game (1.83).
 
ONE OF THE BEST: Head coach Donna Hornibrook ranks among the best when it comes to winning. Among active Division I head coaches, she ranks 17th overall for winning percentage (.633) and 17th for career wins (224), rankings that would be higher if the NCAA counted her 60-8-6 record at Canada's New Brunswick.
 
KNOCK THREE TIMES: When the Big Red fell to Penn, 4-3, on Sept. 21, 2013 it marked only the fourth time in Coach Hornibrook's career with Cornell that the team scored three goals and lost the contest. Under Coach Hornibrook, the Big Red has won 73-of-77 games in which it scores at least three goals, a mark that was raised when it defeated Lock Haven (4-0) on Sept. 18.
 
EARLY LEADS: Scoring first has been a big part of the Big Red's success in recent years. Since Coach Hornibrook has taken over the program, Cornell has posted an impressive 98-14 record in games in which they have scored first. Conversely, the team has won only 15 games in which they have had to come back from an early deficit to win. The first was Coach Hornibrook's very first victory with the team, a 6-3 win over Lehigh in 2004, with the latest coming on Nov. 7, 2015 as Cornell overcame an early 1-0 deficit to defeat Dartmouth, 5-4, in overtime.
 
CLOSE CALLS: Cornell's 1-0 loss to No. 19 Stanford on Sept. 13 continued the Big Red's trend of playing in one-goal games. Since the start of the 2006 season, the Big Red has lost 67 games, with 41 of those coming by a single goal, including 18 in overtime. During that same span, Cornell has won 92 games, with 44 coming in one-goal games, including 12 in overtime.
 
OH CAPTAIN, MY CAPTAIN: Senior Katy Weeks and junior Sam McILwrick have been selected as team captains for the 2016 season.
 
RETURNING REGIONAL ALL-AMERICANS: Cornell returns a pair of Mideast Region All-American second-team selections to the roster in senior Katy Weeks and junior Krysten Mayers.
 
BIG RED INTERNATIONAL: Juniors Sam McILwrick and Krysten Mayers were selected to represent Canada and Barbados, respectively, as members of those nation's Under-21 teams that participated at the 2016 Pan American Junior Championship.
 
10 WINS: Cornell has won at least 10 games in eight of Coach Hornibrooks' 12 seasons. She is the only field hockey coach in Big Red history to lead the team to a single 10-win season.
 
RECAPPING 2015: For the first time in program history, the Big Red closed a campaign with a top 20 RPI and a top 20 strength of schedule (SOS), finishing at 19th overall in both categories. Cornell finished the 2015 season with a record of 11-6 overall and a mark of 5-2 in the Ivy League, good for second place in the conference standings. Of its six losses, four came to nationally ranked teams that made the NCAA tournament field, including three that finished in the top 10 of the RPI. Additionally, the Big Red's 11 wins tied the school record for victories in a season, previously set three times (2008, 2010, 2014), and the team set new school standards for points (147), goals (50) and assists (57).
 
UP NEXT: Cornell is back in action next weekend when it travels to Columbia for a contest on Friday, Sept. 30 at 6:30 p.m., before taking on Monmouth on Sunday, Oct. 2 at noon.