ITHACA, N.Y. — After a six-day hiatus, the women's soccer team returns to action at 1 p.m. Sunday with a visit to Saint Joseph's for a non-league game at Sean Sweeney Field in Philadelphia, Pa. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+.
 

GAME INFORMATION

Cornell at Saint Joseph's
DATE: Sunday, Sept. 16, 2018
TIME: 1 p.m.
SITE: Sean Sweeney Field – Philadelphia, Pa. (artificial surface)
RECORDS: Cornell 1-4, Saint Joseph's 2-3-2
VIDEO: ESPN+
LIVE STATS: SJUHawks.com
 

ABOUT THE BIG RED

• Cornell enters the match against Saint Joseph's on the heels of four straight losses, including a 2-0 setback on Sunday at Binghamton. The Big Red had a decided territorial edge in the opening 15 minutes and hit the crossbar, but the Bearcats got a fortunate bounce to take the lead on an own goal in the 18th minute before adding the insurance tally late in the game.
• Meghan Kennedy tied a career high with 11 saves in Sunday's game at Binghamton. She has a 1-3 record, 1.71 goals against average and .767 save percentage.
• The Big Red has just three goals in its first five games, and one in its last four. The latest strike came from Aidan Julia Reineman in a 2-1 loss to Siena on Sept. 3. A fellow freshman, Evanthia Spyredes, earned the assist on the play for her first collegiate point.
• Cornell started up its 37th varsity season in dramatic fashion, with junior center back Kaili Gregory's golden goal on a free kick from 22 yards in the 100th minute against St. Bonaventure on Aug. 24.
• Gregory also set up the Big Red's first goal of the season, making a long pass that led to sophomore midfielder Naomi Jaffe's goal from a near impossible angle in the 65th minute to tie the game.
 

HEAD COACH DWIGHT HORNIBROOK

• After serving as an assistant coach for five seasons, Dwight Hornibrook was named the program's sixth head coach in advance of the 2017 season.
• Hornibrook had 17 years of head coaching experience with the men's soccer programs at Houghton and SUNY Cortland before joining the Cornell women's soccer team. He has helped the Big Red win 33 games over the last six-plus years and now has an overall record as a head coach of 185-128-33.
• Two-time Cornell captain goalkeeper Tori Christ '14 returns for her second season as an assistant coach, and Eva Francavilla has joined the staff as an assistant coach.
 

BY THE NUMBERS

• Senior midfielder Jessica Ritchie is Cornell's active scoring leader with three goals and three assists for nine points. Junior forward Kennedy Yearby also has three career goals, adding an assist for seven career points. Junior defender Kaili Gregory also has two career goals, both on restarts – the first a penalty kick, and the second on a free kick just outside the box.
• Senior Meghan Kennedy returns as the squad's primary goalkeeper for a third season after leading the Ivy League with 82 saves last year. She enters the game against Saint Joseph's with a 1.35 career goals against average that ranks seventh on the program's all-time list and a .822 career save percentage that ranks 10th.
 

THE REGGAE GIRL

• Freshman Jadyn Matthews recently returned from a tour of duty with the Jamaica women's nationall soccer team, which is nicknamed the 'Reggae Girlz'.
• Matthews appeared twice as a reserve in CONCACAF Women's Caribbean Zone final round games against Antigua and Barbuda on Aug. 25 and Cuba on Sept. 2. The final round starts Oct. 5.
• Matthews has become the second Cornell women's soccer to play for her senior national team, joining Rachel Nichols '14 after her tenure with The Philippines.
 

A CALL TO ARMBANDS

• Seniors Meghan Kennedy and Jessica Ritchie are serving as the Big Red's co-captains this season. Both players figure to be among the team's leading contributors this season, with both wearing the armband for the first time in their collegiate careers. Cornell carries just three seniors and has 14 underclasswomen on its roster of 23.
 

NATIONAL APPEAL

• The Big Red has 12 different states and the District of Columbia represented on the team roster of 23.
• The most represented state on the Big Red is California, which is called home by six players. Four hail from New Jersey, three from Florida, and one each from Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland, Nevada, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Wisconsin and the District of Columbia.
• Though there are no Canadians among the players, head coach Dwight Hornibrook is native to the New Brunswick capital of Fredericton.
 

ABOUT SAINT JOSEPH'S

• The Hawks enter the game with a 4-2-2 record after Thursday's 1-0 home loss to Villanova. Dakota Mills had a team-high three shots, including one that was cleared off the line by a defender in the 59th minute.
• Hannah Racis leads the team in scoring with eight points on three goals and two assists. Paige Bergman has five points on a goal and team-high three assists, and Aleksa Peev, Morgan Bower and Mackenzie Ehresman have two goals apiece.
• Grace Bendon has been the team's exclusive goalkeeper with a 4-2-2 record, 0.95 goals against average and .775 save percentage. She was named to the Atlantic 10 All-Championship Team last year.
• Jess Mannella is in her 18th season, having led the Hawks to eight postseason appearances and the 2016 A-10 regular season title.
 

THE SERIES WITH SAINT JOSEPH'S

• Despite being just four hours apart and co-existing for more than 20 years, this will mark the first meeting between Cornell and Saint Joseph's.
• Cornell has one other Atlantic 10 Conference team on its schedule this season, having opened the year with a 2-1 victory Aug. 24 at St. Bonaventure.
• With the win over the Bonnies last month, the Big Red is now 14-17-1 all-time against active Atlantic 10 programs.
 

UP NEXT

• Cornell returns home for its final tuneup before Ivy League play, taking on Albany at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Berman Field in Ithaca.
• The Big Red then hits the road again to open the league slate with a 6 p.m. Saturday visit to 2017 runner-up Columbia.