ITHACA, N.Y. — The Cornell women's soccer team will look to go unbeaten through its season-opening three-game home stand when it takes on Niagara at 5 p.m. Thursday at Berman Field.

Game Information:

Niagara at Cornell
SITE: Berman Field — Ithaca, N.Y. (natural surface)
RECORDS: Cornell 1-0-1, 0-0 Ivy League;
                    Niagara 1-1, 0-0 MAAC
SERIES RECORD: Cornell leads, 3-2
BROADCAST: ESPN+
STATS: CornellBigRed.com
•  Cornell game notes

The Ivy League on ESPN:

•   The game against the Purple Eagles is one 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. A similar international platform at the same price point is available for fans outside of the U.S., featuring both live and archived games.

Quick Starters:

•  Cornell has continued its trend of fast starts to seasons after a 2-0 victory over Canisius on Friday and a 2-2 draw with UAlbany on Sunday. It marked the first Cornell has tallied multiple goals in each of its season's first two games since 2005.
•  By topping the Golden Griffins, the Big Red improved to 6-1-1 in its last eight season openers and 23-11-5 in the first game of its season over the program's 40-year history at the varsity level. 

About The Big Red:

•  Friday's victory against Canisius marked Cornell Athletics' first on-campus intercollegiate competition since March 8, 2020. 
•  Both goals against the Golden Griffins came in the second half, coming from the feet of freshman Peyton Nichols and fifth year Naomi Jaffe. Erica Fox made a pair of saves to become the first freshman to record a shutout in a Cornell season debut since Katie Thomas '05 did it on Sept. 9, 2001.
•  Less than 48 hours later, it took fewer than 30 minutes for Cornell to score twice more against UAlbany. Nichols struck again to negate a Great Danes goal in the ninth minute, then sophomore Ava Laden gave the Big Red the lead before UAlbany ultimately found an equalizer in the 71st minute.

Jump Right In:

•  For the first time since 2005, Cornell has scored multiple goals in each of its first two games, and it's largely been newcomers providing the new infusion of offense. Nine of the team's 12 points to date have come from underclassmen with no previous intercollegiate experience, since the Big Red's 2020 season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
•  Perhaps more notably, Cornell's new-look defense has hit the ground running with even less experience among its headliners. Four different players have started among the team's three central defenders over the first two games, and between them they had zero starts in intercollegiate competition entering the season.

Head Coach Rob Ferguson:

•  Rob Ferguson is off to a strong start after being hired as the Big Red's head coach in February 2020. Entering Thursday's game at 1-0-1 at the helm, Ferguson served 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 is flanked by assistant coaches also 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 at 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.

National Appeal:

•  The Big Red has 14 different states represented on the team roster of 30 women. 
•  For a fourth straight season, the most represented state on the Big Red's roster is California – which is called home by six players.
•  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.

Big Red Rewind:

•  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.
•  The Big Red's four victories in 2019 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 — both of whom have yet to play in 2021.

About Niagara:

•  Goals abounded in the Purple Eagles' first two games this season, leading to a 1-1 mark heading into Thursday's clash with the Big Red. Niagara started its season with a 6-2 loss at Buffalo before rebound with a 4-2 victory at Syracuse last Thursday. 
•  Niagara's home opener was originally schedule for Sunday vs. Saint Francis (Pa.), but it was canceled due to inclement weather.
•  Junior midfielder Florence Vallancourt is off to a hot start with four goals in just two games, including a hat trick against Syracuse. She had made just four starts for the Purple Eagles in her first two seasons with the program.
•  Senior forward Emma Davies has three assists to date, and freshman midfielder Maia MacLean and junior forward Djeynaba Thiam have Niagara's other goals.
•  The Purple Eagles were 2-3 in their abbreviated 2020-21 campaign, including a MAAC Championship quarterfinal loss to Monmouth. In its last full season, Niagara was 9-8-2 in 2019.

The Series vs. Niagara:

•  Thursday's game marks the first meeting between Cornell and Niagara in nine years.
•  The Purple Eagles won the last contest between the teams, 2-1, on Sept. 23, 2012, to take a 2-3 lead in the all-time series. 
•  Boosted by last Friday's win over Canisius, the Big Red has an all-time record of 17-8-2 against teams currently competing in the MAAC. 

Up Next:

•  The Big Red hits the road for the first time when it travels to Philadelphia for a 1 p.m. Sunday clash with Villanova.