ITHACA, N.Y. — The long-awaited full return to competition for Cornell Athletics starts this weekend at Berman Field, where the Cornell women's soccer program hosts a pair of non-league games against Canisius and UAlbany to kick off the NCAA head-coaching career of
Rob Ferguson.
Game Information:
Canisius at Cornell
SITE: Berman Field — Ithaca, N.Y. (natural surface)
RECORDS: Cornell 0-0, 0-0 Ivy League;
Canisius 0-1-1, 0-0 MAAC
SERIES RECORD: Cornell leads, 4-1
BROADCAST:
ESPN+
STATS:
CornellBigRed.com
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Cornell game notes
UAlbany at Cornell
SITE: Berman Field — Ithaca, N.Y. (natural surface)
RECORDS: Cornell 0-0, 0-0 Ivy League;
UAlbany 0-1, 0-0 America East
SERIES RECORD: Cornell leads, 3-2-1
BROADCAST:
ESPN+
STATS:
CornellBigRed.com
•
Cornell game notes
The Ivy League on ESPN:
• This weekend's contests will be two of at least 12 games on the Big Red's 16-game schedule to be broadcast on ESPN+, including all Cornell home games and all
Ivy League road games.
• ESPN+ is available to fans in the U.S. for $4.99/event, $6.99/month or $69.99/year. (https://plus.espn.com/). A similar international platform at the same price point is available for fans outside of the U.S., featuring both live and archived games.
About The Big Red:
• Cornell was 4-10-1 in 2019 before the cancelation of the 2020 season, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It will be the first traditionally-scheduled varsity competition for Cornell Athletics since March 8, 2020 (with the one exception being a small race staged by heavyweight rowing without spectators last May).
• Junior midfielder
Ashley Durik is the team's lone returning All-Ivy League representative, having earned honorable mention as a freshman in 2019. She was tied for the team lead in goals with two — both coming in the season-opening 3-1 triumph over Iona.
• The Big Red's four victories came in succession to begin the season, marking the program's first 4-0 start since 2005. After defeating the Gaels, Cornell secured three consecutive 1-0 wins over Siena, Bucknell and St. Bonaventure.
• Senior
Evanthia Spyredes led the team in scoring in 2019 with six points on two goals and two assists. With two goals of her own, senior
Jadyn Matthews shared the goal-scoring lead with Durik and Spyredes.
• Junior
Nicole Shulman was the team's primary goalkeeper in 2019, making nine appearances as a freshman with a 1.39 goals against average and .706 save percentage. Senior
Miranda Iannone has also competed in four games over her collegiate career.
• The Big Red returns a lot of experience on the back line, led by fifth-years
Naomi Jaffe and
Maddie Hoitink, senior
Mofoluke Obiri and junior
Sydney Waiters.
Quick Starters:
• Cornell has had great success in the program's 38 season openers, picking up a 22-11-5 mark in the first game of the season.
•
Ashley Durik made quite a collegiate debut in the Big Red's first game of the 2019 season, scoring the final two goals of a 3-1 victory over visiting Iona. In 2018, it was fifth-year
Naomi Jaffe scoring in a 2-1 win at St. Bonaventure.
• Cornell is 5-1-1 in its last seven season openers.
• The game against Canisius will mark just the third time in the last 11 years that the Big Red will open its season at home.
•
Rob Ferguson was hired as the Big Red's head coach in February 2020 after serving as an assistant coach for the Big Red during the 2019 season.
• Ferguson played an integral role get the Big Red's impact then-freshman class acclimated to collegiate competition, leading to the group's strength as juniors this year.
• Ferguson will be flanked by assistant coaches making their respective debuts behind the Big Red bench.
Jackie Firenze is in her second year with the program after four years as an assistant with her alma mater, Binghamton, and
Dani Britt comes aboard for her first season at Cornell after most recently coaching at Hartford.
A Call To Armbands:
• Just as it had when it last competed, the Big Red will deploy tri-captains this season.
• Fifth-year
Naomi Jaffe dons the armband once again after serving as one of the program's leadership group in 2019. That marked the first time a non-senior was among the captains for Cornell since Claire MacManus '15 during the 2013 season.
• Fifth-year
Maddie Hoitink and senior
Miranda Iannone will be serving as Big Red captains for the first time.
• Cornell — which has two fifth-years, six seniors and eight juniors — enters the season with more upperclasswomen on its roster than underclasswomen for the first time since 2016.
National Appeal:
• The Big Red has 14 different states represented on the team roster of 31 women.
• For a fourth straight season, the most represented state on the Big Red's roster is California – which is called home by seven players. It marks the most Golden State imports to the program since the 2006 team had 10.
• The other states with multiple representatives are Florida (four), Connecticut (three), Illinois (three), Colorado (two), New Jersey (two), New York (two) and Virginia (two), plus there is one each from Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
• Though there are no British among the players, head coach
Rob Ferguson is native to Manchester, England.
About Canisius:
• The Golden Griffins dropped a 4-2 decision Sunday at Cleveland State after opening their season with a scoreless draw against visiting St. Bonaventure. Canisius was 1-6 during their 2020-21 season — which was held in the spring — and it was 7-8-2 in 2019.
• Sophomore forward Tiani Fonoti scored the first goal on a deflection from about 25 yards. Fonoti led the 2020 team in scoring as a freshman with three goals in seven games.
• Junior forward Jen Romero scored the Griffs' second goal from the penalty spot.
• Sophomore goalkeeper Jessica Jones (0-0-1, 1.29 goals against average, .667 save percentage) has started every game since her arrival at Canisius, but she was removed during the first half of the game at Cleveland State and replaced by freshman Jordan Spencer (0-1, 3.48, .500).
The Series vs. Canisius:
• Friday's game marks the first meeting between Cornell and Canisius in 15 years.
• Though the Golden Griffins won the last clash between the teams, 2-0, on Sept. 8, 2006, the Big Red owns a 4-1 advantage in the all-time series.
• The Big Red enters the season with an all-time record of 16-8-2 against teams currently competing in the MAAC, including victories over Iona and Siena to start the 2019 slate.
About UAlbany:
(Editor's note: Does not include Thursday's scheduled game at Central Connecticut State)
• After having their originally-scheduled season opener canceled Aug. 18, the Great Danes started off the campaign with a 2-0 loss Sunday against visiting Hofstra.
• Graduate student Sophia Chen is in her third season as the team's primary goalkeeper, having made six saves while conceded the two strikes against the Pride.
• UAlbany returns a pair of first-team all-America East selections in senior forward Jasmine Colbert and graduate student defender Hailey Summers.
• The Great Danes were picked to finish fifth out of 10 in the America East Preseason Coaches Poll. The team was 5-5 in its abbreviated 2020-21 season over the spring.
The Series vs. UAlbany:
• The Big Red holds a 3-2-1 lead in the all-time series with the Great Danes, which includes a 1-0 loss in 2019 in Albany.
Nicole Shulman made four saves in the game for Cornell, but Albany broke through with the winning goal in the 88th minute.
• Cornell and Albany played to an eventful 2-2 draw in the teams' last meeting at Berman Field.
Shelby Wray '20 opened the scoring for the Big Red before the Great Danes took a one-goal lead into the late stages. Kennedy Yearby '20 then netted the equalizer for the Big Red with 1:15 left in regulation time on Sept. 18, 2018.
• The Big Red is 20-13-4 all-time against teams currently competing in America East.
Up Next:
• The Big Red continues its home-heavy start to the season at 5 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 3, when it takes on Niagara at Berman Field.
