ITHACA, N.Y. — The Cornell women's soccer team returns to Ithaca to start Ivy League play at noon Saturday, when it hosts Columbia at Berman Field. The game will be streamed on ESPN+ and is one of 13 games on the Big Red's 15-game schedule to be broadcast on the ESPN family of networks.
Game Information:
Columbia at Cornell
SITE: Berman Field — Ithaca, N.Y. (natural surface)
RECORDS: Cornell 4-2-1, 0-0 Ivy League;
Columbia 5-2-1, 0-0 Ivy League
SERIES RECORD: Cornell leads, 19-14
STREAMING:
ESPN+
STATS:
CornellBigRed.com
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Cornell game notes
Red Redux:
• Cornell is winless in its last three after suffering a 2-0 loss Saturday at St. John's. The Red Storm held a territorial advantage throughout, though the injury-riddled Big Red was close to entering the intermission even before a 44th-minute goal by the hosts. Senior
Chrissy Mayer made five of her six saves in the first half.
• The Big Red remained unbeaten at home this year after a 1-1 draw with Binghamton on Wednesday, Sept. 18. Sophomore forward
Evanthia Spyredes scored the Big Red's goal in the third minute as Cornell moved to 3-0-1 this year at Berman Field.
• The game against the Bearcats was the Big Red's second straight against an America East opponent, coming on the heels of a 1-0 loss at UAlbany on Sept. 15. The Great Danes' goal broke a shutout streak of 414 minutes, 51 seconds for the Big Red — which covered consecutive 1-0 clean sheets against St. Bonaventure, Bucknell and Siena. It was the program's longest shutout streak since the record mark of 1,054:19 set at the start of the 2015 campaign.
About the Big Red
• Cornell has already quadrupled its win total from last year, entering the game against Columbia at 4-2-1. The Big Red was 1-13-1 in 2018.
• Sophomore forward
Jadyn Matthews and freshman
Ashley Durik share the team scoring lead with four points on two goals apiece. Both of Durik's goals came in her collegiate debut on Aug. 30 against Iona. Matthews tallied the other goal against Iona before later netting the winner in a 1-0 triumph at Bucknell.
• Senior forward
Kennedy Yearby remains Cornell's active scoring leader with four goals and four assists for 12 points.
• Just seven games into the season, all three of Cornell's goalkeepers have already started games. Freshman
Nicole Shulman has played the most, boasting a 3-1 record with a 0.62 goals against average, .833 save percentage and one shutout.
• With a win against Columbia, Cornell would be undefeated in its first five home games for just the second time since 1991. The last time it happened was in 2015, when the Big Red's fifth home game was also against Columbia.
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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 189-139-35.
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 became 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. Shulman is currently away from Cornell to compete with Israel at the UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship.
A Call To Armbands
• Seniors
Karli Berry and
Chrissy Mayer, and junior
Naomi Jaffe are serving 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.
About Columbia
• The Lions have won five of their last six games after resounding victories against NJIT (2-0 on Friday) and Drexel (4-0 on Sunday). Columbia's other victories this year have been against Fordham, Rider and Saint Joseph's.
• Sophomore midfielder Jessica Schildkraut had five points in last weekend's games with a goal and three assists. That gives her two goals and four assists on the season and moved her into a tie for the team scoring lead at eight points with junior midfielder Cayla Davis (three goals, two assists).
• Senior midfielder Maddie Temares is tied with Schildkraut for the team lead in assists with four, and her six points are tied for third on the team with junior forward Jordyn Geller (two goals, two assists).
• Freshman Liz Matei has started every game in goal, posting a 5-2-1 record, 1.00 goals against average and .795 save percentage.
• Tracey Bartholomew is in her sixth season as the head coach at Columbia. The Lions were 4-3 in the league last year, but were in contention at 5-1-1 in 2017.
The Series vs. Columbia
• The Big Red holds a 19-14 advantage in the all-time series between the Ivy League rivals, who have met in every season since the Lions added the sport in 1986.
• Columbia has enjoyed decidedly more success at home in the all-time series, winning the last seven meetings in New York. But games at Berman have been tinted red, with Cornell boasting an 11-5 mark at home.
• The Lions have won the last three meetings between the squads, including a 2-1 victory in double overtime last year in New York.
Kaili Gregory scored on Cornell's only shot of the game, and the visitors came within three minutes of riding out a victory before Columbia equalized in the 87th minute. Maddie Temares scored the winner in the 101st minute on the Lions' 38th shot of the game.
Up Next
• Cornell hits the road for its next league test, taking on defending champion Penn at 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 5. The Big Red then returns home for a visit from Harvard at 1 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 12 and its non-league finale against Colgate at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 15.
