ITHACA, N.Y. — Sporting its first 4-0 start to a season since 2005, the Cornell women's soccer team hits the road to take on the reigning America East champion UAlbany on Sunday at Tom & Mary Casey Stadium in Albany. The game will be streamed through AmericaEast.tv.

Game Information

Cornell at UAlbany
SITE: Tom & Mary Casey Stadium — Albany, N.Y. (artificial surface)
RECORDS: Cornell 4-0, 0-0 Ivy League;
                    UAlbany 2-3-1, 0-0 America East
SERIES RECORD: Cornell leads, 3-1-1
STREAMING: AmericaEast.tv
STATS: UAlbanySports.com

•   Cornell game notes
 

About the Big Red:

•  Cornell is 4-0 for the first time in 14 years thanks to a season-opening 3-1 victory over Iona and three consecutive 1-0 decisions against Siena, Bucknell and St. Bonaventure. The Big Red has already quadrupled its win total from a season ago, when it was winless in its last 14 games to post a 1-13-1 record.
•  In Cornell's most recent action, senior defender Kaili Gregory came forward on freshman Emily St. John's corner-kick service in the 74th minute to score on a header and led the Big Red to a 1-0 win over St. Bonaventure on Sunday. It was the fourth goal of Gregory's collegiate career.
•  Sophomore forward Jadyn Matthews is tied for the team lead in scoring with four points on two goals. She took a feed from sophomore midfielder Evanthia Spyredes to notch the only goal of a 1-0 win at Bucknell last Friday.
•  Freshman midfielder Ashley Durik also has four points on two goals, both coming in the second half of her collegiate debut on Aug. 30 against Iona. Matthews scored the first goal, and the Big Red went on to win, 3-1.
•  Junior defender Naomi Jaffe has the Big Red's other goal this season, which came on a looping shot from the right flank that banked in off the far post against Siena.
•  Senior forward Kennedy Yearby remains Cornell's active scoring leader with four goals and four assists for 12 points.
•  Just four games into the season, all three of Cornell's goalkeepers have already started games. Freshman Nicole Shulman has played the most, boasting a 3-0 record with a 0.45 goals against average, .857 save percentage and one shutout.
•  Senior central defender Abby Adams is the squad's lone returning All-Ivy League winner from 2018. Adams was voted onto the All-Ivy second team by opposing coaches, who frequently saw Adams matched up against their most potent attackers.

Head Coach Dwight Hornibrook:

•  Dwight Hornibrook is in his third season as the program's sixth head coach after serving as an assistant coach for five years.
•  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 37 games over the last eight years and now has an overall record as a head coach of 189-137-34. 
•  Rob Ferguson and Kelsey Ferguson join the Big Red as assistant coaches after successful stints building WNY Flash Academy, and Vanessa Romero has come on board as a volunteer assistant coach after a decorated playing career at SUNY Cortland.

National Duty:

•  Sophomore Jadyn Matthews has international experience, having helped the Jamaica women's national soccer team qualify for the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup. She appeared twice as a reserve in CONCACAF Women's Caribbean Zone final round games in 2018, though was not ultimately included on the World Cup roster.
•  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.
•  Freshman goalkeeper Nicole Shulman also has experience competing with the U17 and U19 Israeli national teams. She is expected to miss five games later this season while competing with Israel at the UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship.

A Call To Armbands:

•  Seniors Karli Berry and Chrissy Mayer, and junior Naomi Jaffe will serve as the Big Red's tri-captains this season. It is the first time any of the trio has donned an armband in their collegiate careers. 
•  Jaffe is the first non-senior to serve as a captain for Cornell since Claire MacManus '15 during the 2013 season.
•  Cornell, which has six seniors, has more underclassmen on its roster than upperclassmen for a third straight year.

National Appeal:

•  The Big Red has 14 different states and the District of Columbia represented on the team roster of 28. 
•  For a third straight year, the most represented state on the Big Red is California – which is called home by five players. The other states with multiple representatives are New Jersey (four), Florida (four), New York (two), Connecticut (two) and Virginia (two), plus there is one each from Illinois, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Mexico, Nevada, Pennsylvania, 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 UAlbany:

•  The Great Danes improved to 2-3-1 after a 3-0 victory over Division I neophyte St. Francis Brooklyn. Sophomore midfielder Jada Colbert scored after a long run in the first half, then set up twin sister Jasmine Colbert's goal-mouth tap-in early in the second half. Senior midfielder Gina Bracamonte's PK finished the scoring, as Albany enjoyed a 23-2 advantage in attempted shots.
•  The Colbert twins lead the team in scoring with points apiece, followed by four points on a goal and two assists from redshirt junior midfielder Meghan Cavanaugh. Sophomore forward Christina Cemuto leads the squad with four assists.
•  Juniors Sophia Chen (2-0, 0.93 goals against average, .727, SO) and Andrea Leitner (0-2, 1.67, .643) have each appeared in three games in goal.
•  The Great Danes won the America East tournament last year for the third time over the last four seasons..

The Series vs. Albany:

•  The Big Red holds a 3-1-1 lead in the all-time series with the Great Danes, which includes an eventful 2-2 draw last year in Ithaca. All four goals came in the second half, with Shelby Wray opening the scoring. UAlbany scored twice to take a lead, but senior forward Kennedy Yearby equalized with 1:15 left in regulation.
•  Cornell's most recent trip to Albany resulted in its only setback, a 5-2 affair on Sept. 9, 2012.
•  The Big Red's other victories against Albany came in 2005 (2-1 in OT), 2006 (5-0) and 2013 (5-4).

Up Next:

•  The Big Red hits the home stretch of its pre-Ivy League schedule, returning home to take on Binghamton at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 18 before heading back on the road to play St. John's at 3 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 21.