ITHACA, N.Y. -- Cornell had scoring runs of seven and 11 consecutive goals and cruised to a 20-2 win over Columbia on Saturday afternoon, improving to 2-0 in Ivy League play in the process. The Big Red improved to 4-2 (2-0 Ivy), while the Lions slipped to 0-6 (0-2 Ivy).

The win was a big-time bounceback after its midweek, non-conference loss to Colgate on Tuesday. Cornell scored the first two goals and never trailed, and its young roster never let up after picking up the early lead. Ten different Big Red players were credited with a goal and the home team dominated in every way possible to remain unbeaten all-time against the Lions (24-0).

Olivia Jensen had a goal and four assists to lead eight multi-point scorers on the offense. Grace Paletta and Katie Castiello each scored four times, Shannon Brazier (two goals, one assist) and Sophie Alois (one goal, two assists) each had three points and Caroline Allen, Mya DeJoseph and Ellie Walsh each had two scores. Defensively, Reilly Fletecher caused three turnovers and Mary Kate Bonanni and Bridget Babcock were credited with three ground balls. Annie Thomas won 10 draws. In the cage, Katie McGahan picked up the win with four saves and two goals allowed, while Sloane Loveless made five saves without surrendering a goal in her collegiate debut.

Cornell's 20 goals are tied for the seventh-most in a game in school history, while its 18-goal margin was its largest ever against the Lions in a series dating back to 1997. The Big Red owned advantages in shots (29-14), ground balls (19-16), saves (9-5), draw controls (16-8) and caused turnovers (12-10).
 

FIRST HALF

• Cornell raced out to a 2-0 lead on the strength of goals by Greace Paletta and Shannon Brazier, but the Lions got one back 10 minutes into the half on a free position score by Fallon Quinn. 
• Cornell ripped off the next seven goals, scoring on nine of its 13 total shots in total over the first 19 minutes.
• The Lions stopped the bleeding with a free position goal by Alexandria Colabsey on a sidearm shot to cut the deficit to 9-2 with 10:07 left before halftime.
• Castiello completed the hat trick and Allen added her second of the day to make it 11-2, putting the Big Red on the verge of a running clock advantage.
• That 10-goal lead came with 2:31 when Paletta scored to make it 12-2.
• The Big Red held a 19-8 edge in shots over the first 30 minutes and held a 10-5 advantage in draw controls.
• At its best, the Big Red scored nine goals in the span of 7:23 and turned a one-goal lead into a nine-goal advantage.
 

SECOND HALF

• The second half was played with a running clock with two goals over the first 4:20 giving Cornell a cushion on the 10-goal advantage.
• Mya DeJoseph had her first two career goals less than two minutes apart to boost the advantage to 16-2.
• Sloane Loveless entered the game with 18:25 left on the clock and made five stops to close the game out without allowing the Lions a chance to get back on the scoreboard.
• Cornell made five second half saves to keep Columbia off the board - the Big Red's first shutout half since a second half goose-egg in a 10-4 win at Penn in 2017.
• The Big Red held Columbia without a goal for the final 40:07. 
 

UP NEXT

• The Big Red begins a stretch of six matchups with nationally-ranked teams among its final nine regular season games when it welcomes James Madison to Schoellkopf Field on Saturday, March 15 at 12 p.m.
• It will be the first-ever meeting between the two schools on the lacrosse field.
• The contest will be broadcast live on ESPN+.