ITHACA, N.Y. – The goal is clear: More goals. How to achieve that goal is also fairly clear for the women's soccer team, and the success of the 2018 season will be how efficiently the program can shift away from one methodology to another for increased offensive production.
 
Of course, there's more to the game of soccer than goals. But for a Cornell program that has slipped from a historic 9-4-4 season in 2015 (featuring a program-record nine shutouts to start the year) to a 2-9-3 mark in 2017, a dearth of offense has been a common denominator. Just five goals materialized last season, and target forward Paige DeLoach '18 has now departed via graduation. Her 11 career goals match the amount of goals scored by all incumbent players for the Big Red this season (senior midfielder Jessica Ritchie and junior Kennedy Yearby have three apiece; five others have one).
 
The good news is that without a true target forward in the fold anymore, the Big Red will have a different look offensively – and the hope is that some added tactical versatility will pay dividends.
 
"We don't want to be predictable," said Dwight Hornibrook, back for his second year as the head coach and seventh overall season with the program. "Last year, we were so predictable. 'Just mark Paige and Cornell can't do anything.' That was true. This year, that won't be the case."
 
And with an established goalkeeper behind a battle-tested back line, even just a little boost in offense could go a long ways in final measures. The Big Red remains very young with just three seniors among a scaled-down roster of 23, but virtually all that do return have accrued plenty of seasoning in previous campaigns. And since 61 percent of the team comprised of underclasswomen, there will be significant contributions from the younger group as well. The relative youth has already had a positive impact.
 
"Every year is a new butterfly coming out of the cocoon," Hornibrook said. "This group has the right mentality so far. It's just a good feeling in the locker room. There's an atmosphere of optimism on the field and there's really good team chemistry. … You have to be patient. Because if you get impatient, I think that's where things can start to turn in a bad direction. We can make them run before they've walked."
 
Here is a breakdown of the team by position:
 

FORWARDS

Yearby gives Cornell a speedy option up top that can also provide a power game, and senior Carolyn Ruoff figures to see a lot of time at forward after spending a good chunk of her first three years on East Hill in the midfield. She led the team with 13 shots last year, despite appearing as a reserve in every game.
 
"She has confidence in running at people. If we can build a good midfield without her – and I think we can – I would love to see Ruoff play almost as a hybrid," Hornibrook said. "She has great feet, she passes well and she shoots well. We need to have someone to go to who can be creative in there, and she and Kennedy have already shown a bit of understanding with that."
 
With an emphasis on getting the team's best shooters near the goal more often, sophomore Shelby Wray – who scored a highlight-reel goal on a header last year at Buffalo – could factor into the forward equation. Sophomore Nicole Long scored a goal in a recent scrimmage against William Smith on a feed from freshman Katerina Johnson, and freshman Victoria Bubrick has been lauded for her confidence in attacking defenders from the wing.
 

MIDFIELDERS

Ritchie, who will serve as a co-captain alongside senior goalkeeper Meghan Kennedy, and Juliana Comer remain constants in the midfield. Freshman Julia Aidan Reineman has shown promise through the preseason of being an instant contributor, though whether she'll see more time as an attacking midfielder or as a forward is yet to be determined.
 
There are several good options for a holding midfield role. Wray logged a lot of minutes there last year, but she could move all over the field this year – even in central defense. Sophomore Maddie Hoitink also fits that bill, as does freshman Jaydn Matthews – once she returns from competing with Jamaica's national team at the CONCACAF Women's Championship in early September.
 
"It could be a game-to-game thing with Shelby, Maddie and Jaydn, because they're the physically strong attackers and ball-winners and win a lot of aerial battles," Hornibrook said.
 
Sophomore Naomi Jaffe figures to continue a role of combining time at defense and in the midfield, and freshman Evanthia Spyredes has also seen a lot of time in the midfield during preseason scrimmages. Junior Karli Berry is inching closer to full recovery from an injury suffered during the 2017 season.
 

BACKS

Junior Abby Adams returns after leading the team with 1,292 minutes played last year, when she had the tall task of being matched up against the opposition's most dangerous players. Stalwart junior Kaili Gregory also returns, giving the Big Red a strong left-footed option, quality long service and aerial prowess. The aforementioned Hoitink and Matthews also figure to see time here, as does Jaffe when the formation calls for a fourth back.
 
"Julianna Shrekgast is another sophomore who had a great spring last year," Hornibrook said, noting an attack she launched in a recent scrimmage. "She's dangerous. She's not afraid to take people on and she can cut inside, cut outside."
 
Bubrick and freshman Mofoluke Obiri are newcomers that could join the mix on the left side. Sophomore Emily Addis will look for an increased role this season, and sophomore Carly Swetz is expected to spend the season in rehabilitation due to injury.
 
GOALKEEPERS
If there's one area of the field with apparent certainties, it's in goal. Kennedy returns as the team's primary starting goalkeeping for a third straight year, having earned All-Ivy League honorable mention in 2016 and led the circuit in saves with 82 in 2017. She ranks in the program's top 10 all-time in both goals against average (1.29, seventh) and save percentage (.832, eighth).
 
Junior Chrissy Mayer is also poised to see some playing time after solid showings in an increased reserve role a season ago. She had two starts among four appearances, including a 13-save shutout of Fairleigh Dickinson. Freshman Miranda Iannone has joined the squad and will begin getting acclimated to the college game.
 

SCHEDULE

The Big Red will have seven non-conference games to tune up for the challenge of seven Ivy League matches, now less than a month away. Hornibrook has assembled games against opponents that won anywhere from two to 11 games last season. It all starts on Friday at St. Bonaventure, marking the earliest start to a Cornell season in program history. The Big Red then returns home to take on Buffalo on Aug. 31 before a Labor Day game at Siena. Le Moyne's visit on Sept. 5 is Cornell's first against a Division II opponent since the turn of the century.
 
Demanding road games follow on the next two Sundays – Binghamton on Sept. 9 and St. Joseph's on Sept. 16. The Big Red's last non-conference game before Ivy League play comes Sept. 18 against Albany, a team that started the season with an impressive road victory at nationally-ranked Arizona.
 
"Those are all going to be games that will test us. But that's what you want," Hornibrook said. "I think there are games we can win there. But I also don't want to just pad the record, because that doesn't do anyone any good when we have to play Columbia on Sept. 22."
 
After taking on a Lions squad that finished second in the Ivy League despite surrendering just one goal in conference games last year, the Big Red turns its attention to a home game against Penn on Sept. 29. A trip to Harvard on Oct. 6 is followed by the non-conference finale on Oct. 9 at Colgate.
 
Cornell then plays three of its final four games at home, starting with an Oct. 13 clash with a Yale squad that it played to a scoreless draw in 2017. The last road game is Oct. 21 at Brown before the regular season wraps up at home against defending league champion Princeton on Oct. 27 and Dartmouth on Nov. 3.
 
"It's a team that has the potential to play attractive soccer and at the Ivy League level, we've just got to make sure we get matchups right – make sure that we get people that we need to match up against the best players on the other team without disrupting our flow," Hornibrook said. "I think we're in a better position to do that this year."