Outlook: Women's Lax Expects To Challenge Nationally WIth Mix of Youth, Experience

A mix of veteran talent and energetic newcomers give the Big Red options and depth to contend for a spot at the Ivy League Tournament, a conference title and an NCAA appearance. Head coach Jenny Graap’s 23rd team at her alma mater – an experienced group with freshmen highlights - is ready to make noise nationally.

It’s got the personnel to do just that and the schedule to prove it to anyone who doesn’t believe … yet.

Six Big Red players were named to the All-Ivy team a year ago and each returns in 2020. Only Penn brings back more all-conference players in the league with seven. That All-Ivy talent is spread through all three levels of the field, as well as at goalkeeper.

If you’re building a championship roster, that's a good start.

A talented class of newcomers - a group Jenny Graap collectively calls one of the best in her quarter-century coaching career – that includes 10 freshmen and a sophomore transfer that had an All-America freshman season at the Division III level also join the Big Red. 

That group of first-year players will learn under tri-captains Caroline Allen and Mary Kate Bonanni, both two-year leaders for the Big Red, as well as junior Ellie Walsh. All three are not only all-conference athletes, but also exemplify leadership in the locker room and in the classroom. 

Allen and Bonanni headline a group of seven seniors singularly focused on bookending their careers with an Ivy League crown and returning to the NCAA Tournament.

Attack

Senior Caroline Allen, a first-team All-Ivy League selection a year ago, returns as one of the premier players in the Ancient Eight. She was the team's leader in points (57), goals (37), assists (20) and draw controls (59) as a junior after garnering second-team all-conference accolades the previous year. She is a physical dodger who can score with both hands and packs a powerful shot. She also has a tremendous IQ on the offensive end with the ability to find an open player out of a double-team or to act as a decoy thanks to her ability to cut hard to goal.

Junior Olivia Jensen emerged in 2019 as a scoring threat, posting 18 goals and 27 points - good for fourth on the team. She scored on an impressive 47 percent of her shots while starting 14 contests as a line attacker. At 5-11, she has the size to create havoc on the crease to go along with the hands and mentality to be a playmaker.

Senior Isabel Zachara is one of the most experienced returning players on the offensive end, starting games as a sophomore in 2018. She has scored six goals, including a game-winner vs. Rutgers as a sophomore, while playing in 26 career contests. 

Junior Ally Tetreault, sophomore Olivia Tuma and freshmen Sophie Alois and Mya DeJoseph are all prime candidates to see action on attack and have impressed in the preseason. At the conclusion of women’s ice hockey season, the Frechette sisters (junior Finley and sophomore Gillis) will join the attack. The duo has been instrumental in the Big Red reaching No. 2 in the country in the national polls through early February.

“We have a lot of threats on offense besides Caroline, and that should open up the field,” Graap said. “The young players will also have to step up and figure out their role to take us to the next level.”

Midfield

With the evolution of the game, the number of true two-way midfielders has given way to specialists. That said, junior All-Ivy selection Ellie Walsh had a breakout season a year ago and will see action in both ends. She finished last year leading all midfielders on the team in assists (11), points (27), groundballs (14) and draw controls (37). Walsh possesses great quickness and will remain a key player on offense, defense and on the draw.

Sophomore Shannon Brazier will step into a greater role in her second season after a solid freshman season that saw her pile up 12 points, 31 draws, nine ground balls and six caused turnovers - primarily as a reserve. She is a superior athlete with All-Ivy ability.

Sophomore Genevieve DeWinter, like Brazier, had a tremendous freshman season and now will play a great role, particularly in the offense. She piled up 16 points and six assists to go along with winning 18 draws and 14 ground balls and causing 11 turnovers. 

Among offensive midfielders, junior Grace Paletta captured honorable mention All-Ivy accolades in 2019 after pacing the team's midfielders with 19 goals and added six assists. She has elite quickness, allowing her to be a weapon on the draw and in transition. 

Sophomores Jen Rogers and Karina Schulze and freshmen Katie Castiello, Annie Thomas and Sophie Ward will battle for time in the offensive midfield. Junior Ava Anderson and second-years Ciara Frawley and Natalie Hughes, as well as rookies Bridget Babcock, Hilary Hoover, Alexis Reinhardt and Olivia Wall, are challenging at the defensive midfield spots. Thomas is a leading contender to take draws and Schulze, a transfer from the University of Chicago, was a Division III first-team all-region selection as a freshman and earned league Player of the Year honors in 2019.

“We're a little bit of a hybrid right now,” Graap said. “We’ve experimented with two two-ways (Walsh and Brazier) and then a combination of defensive and attack middies that run on and off the field. We’ll see where that goes this spring.”

Defense

First-team All-Ivy selection Mary Kate Bonanni is the heart of the defense, keeping the blood pumping by calling out defensive assignments and making sure the unit recognizes its assignments and slide packages. 

She started all 15 games at defense last year for the Big Red (44 starts for her career), pacing the team in caused turnovers with 16 and ranking second in ground balls (26). Consistently tasked with top crease mark-ups, she anchored the Big Red defense that held six opponents to single-digit scoring.

Bonanni is the senior captain and leader of the defense, but she's not the only notable player in a unit that is likely the surest thing entering the season.

Fellow senior All-Ivy pick Taylor Lis is also back for her final season and her second year as a primary defender. After transitioning from the midfield, Lis played every minute against Ivy League opponents. The coaching staff has great confidence to put her on some of the league's top offensive threats. 

The third senior expected to see action in the back is Lucy Pedlow. At 5-11, Pedlow has settled in on defense after playing multiple roles early in her career, including on the draw. She is a very good athlete with the ability to keep offensive players out of the crease area.

Junior Reilly Fletcher is a steady player who communicates well and always finds herself in good defending position. She started 14 games as a sophomore, earning 11 ground balls and causing 10 turnovers. 

While all four of those players are expected to see significant time, a number of other players are likely to crack the lineup. Juniors Linnea Begley and Alicia O'Neil headline that group.

Begley moved into the lineup late in her sophomore season and was a solid contributor, winning nine ground balls and causing six turnovers on the season while playing in 13 contests. O'Neil, meanwhile, started eight contests in the midfield a year ago and will play more in the back this season. She won 15 ground balls and caused seven turnovers in 2019.

Senior Colby Gallagher, juniors Jessica Gay and Hanna Tadie, sophomores Ciara Frawley, Ashleigh Gundy and Natalie Hughes and freshman Hilary Hoover each brings strengths to the defense and could also launch themselves into the rotation. Gallagher is a dual-sport athlete who is in the starting lineup for the nationally-ranked Big Red squash team, while Frawley, Hoover and Hughes will also run the midfield.

“There may be some juggling of the lineup, but there's some athleticism in the back that we haven't had in years. Some of our young players are really stepping up and are ready to make plays,” Graap said.

Goalkeepers

All-league shot-stopper Katie McGahan is a three-year starter in the cage and brings consistency and reliability to her role. She's always been strong in the net, but has improved outside the crease in helping Cornell clear the ball, making quick decisions to allow for more transition opportunities. With the introduction of the shot clock to the women's game, that has been critical to help both the defense and the offense.

With a veteran group in front of her in 2020, an increase in her save percentage for the third consecutive year will put the defense in position to rank at the top of the league leaders. McGahan already ranks in the top 10 in school history in career goalkeeper wins (14) and saves (245). 

"I think she's just gotten better and better each year," Graap said. "Katie is such a special kid with a personality that allows the defense to follow her. She's not a captain, but she's unquestionably one of the leaders of the defense."

Junior Hailey Andress and freshman Sloane Loveless will back up McGahan. 

Andress has some starting experience and has played in five total contests during her first two seasons, but injury has kept her out of action for nearly a year. She is hopeful to return for 2020. Andress possesses great size and athleticism for the position.

Loveless, a three-time all-state selection in Connecticut, is smaller in stature, but is an excellent athlete for the position. She is in a strong position to be tutored by McGahan and Andress, but already possesses a high lacrosse IQ. 

The Schedule

Six 2019 NCAA Tournament teams dot the 2020 Cornell women's lacrosse 15-game schedule beginning on Saturday with Villanova. The Big Red will play seven opponents that had at least 10 wins last spring and two that advanced to the NCAA quarterfinals - Syracuse and Princeton. In fact, its final three contests (two at home) and six of its final nine (four at home) will come against teams eyeing a return trip to the NCAA Tournament. Success late in the season would put the Big Red into great position to make its ninth Ivy League Tournament appearance in 11 years, but also to earn a spot in, and advance through, the national championship bracket.

Some highlights include games at Penn State (Feb. 23), consecutive home contests vs. James Madison (March 15) and Penn (March 21), a West Coast swing with matchups against California (March 29) and Stanford (March 31), a home game against NCAA Quarterfinalist Syracuse and closing the regular season against 2019 Ivy champs Dartmouth at home and Princeton of the road. A top four finish would give the Big Red an opportunity to play in the Ivy Tournament beginning on May 1.