GAME 12: #4 Syracuse (10-3, 5-1 ACC) at Cornell (7-4, 3-1 Ivy)

Date & Time: Tuesday, April 12 - 7:00 p.m.
Venue: Schoellkopf Field - Ithaca, N.Y.
Twitter: @CUBigRedGameday | @CornellWLax
 

STORY LINES

• The Cornell women's lacrosse team will be in search of a signature win when it welcomes No. 4 Syracuse to Schoellkopf Field on Tuesday, April 12 at 7 p.m.
• The contest will be broadcast live on ESPN+ with Andy Malnoske on the call.
• The Big Red remain a game back of Ivy leader Yale (4-0) after Saturday's 13-9 triumph over perennial conference power Penn at Schoellkopf Field. Princeton is also unbeaten at 2-0 in league play.
• Amanda Cramer (26-7-33), Genevieve DeWinter (21-5-26), Katie Castiello (16-9-25), Sophie Ward (20-2-22), and Shannon Brazier (12-6-18) lead 10 players that have reached double figures in scoring this season for a balanced, but explosive, offense averaging 14.6 goals per game and reaching double digits in 10 of 11 contests.
• Senior goalkeeper Katie McGahan (7-4, 11.14 GAA, .490 save percentage) is averaging 9.3 saves per game.
• Cornell's defense has been the difference in its success, surrendering 15.8 goals in four defeats vs. just 8.6 in its seven wins.
• In three games against unranked opponents, Cornell has outscored foes 63-19.
• The Big Red hasn't toppled a ranked opponent since knocking off No. 12 Notre Dame in the first round of the 2017 NCAA Tournament, and last beat a top five team when it defeated No. 4 USC 11-10 earlier that same year.
 

SERIES HISTORY VS. SYRACUSE

Overall: Syracuse leads 18-5, first meeting in 1998
In Ithaca, N.Y.: Syracuse leads 7-5
Current Streak: Syracuse, 13
Last Meeting: Syracuse, 16-13 (4/16/2019 in Syracuse, N.Y.)
Graap vs. Syracuse: 18-5 (5-7 at home)
Series Notes: Syracuse has won 13 in a row after the teams split the first 10 meetings • the Big Red won the first-ever meeting between the teams, 8-7 in Ithaca • the teams met twice in 2002, with the Big Red winning the regular season matchup and a meeting in the first round of the NCAA Tournament en route to an appearance in the Final Four • Cornell is 20-33 all-time against current members of the ACC, having met Boston College (8-4), Notre Dame (5-7), North Carolina (0-3), Virginia (0-1) and Virginia Tech (2-0) in addition to the Orange • the Big Red has never faced Duke, Louisville or Pitt.
 

A WIN OVER SYRACUSE WOULD

• make Cornell 8-4 on the season.
• snap a 13-game skid against the Orange and narrow their lead in the all-time series to 18-6.
• make Cornell 6-2 in its past eight contests.
• be Cornell's first win over a ranked team since 2017 (12-7 over No. 15 Notre Dame.
• be the 362nd in program history (361-306-4 in 50 seasons, .541).
 

LAST TIME OUT

• Amanda Cramer and Genevieve DeWinter each recorded a hat trick and seven different players tallied a goal as the Big Red topped Penn 13-9 at Schoellkopf Field. 
• Sophie Alois and Josie Vogel each had three goals for the Big Red, with Cramer assisting on a score to complete a four-point effort. 
• DeWinter and Annie Thomas had four draw controls each, with the senior adding a pair of caused turnovers. 
• Hilary Hoover and Olivia Wall each had two caused turnovers in the win. 
• Katie McGahan had 10 saves, including six in the second half and four in the fourth quarter to stifle any Penn rally. 
• Anna Brandt led the Quakers with three goals and seven draw controls, while Kennon Moon added seven draw wins as well. 
• Penn held a 16-10 edge on the draw, including 11-4 in the second half despite being outscored 8-5
 

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

• Graduate student Katie McGahan enters the weekend with 391 saves, good for fourth all-time at Cornell.
• McGahan in also third in career wins (25).
• In its past eight games, Cornell has posted three of the top 10 single-game totals for draw controls — the 22 at UConn ranks No. 1 all-time, while the 21 at Princeton is No. 2 and 19 vs. Columbia sits ninth.
• Junior Annie Thomas has a cousin, Caroline Ramsey, who is an All-Ivy field hockey player for the Big Red and a member of the U.S. junior national team.
• In just 17 career games, Thomas has 104 draw controls — a mark that already ranks seventh in school history.
• Thomas has 64 draw controls in just 10 games in 2022 to rank No. 2 all-time in a single season, just four shy of Sarah Hefner's 2014 record of 68.
• Currently at 14.6 goals per game, the Big Red is outpacing its current school record (14.2 in 2012).
• Senior Gillis Frechette is also member of the Big Red women's hockey team and joined the squad at the conclusion of the winter season.
• Senior Ashleigh Gundy was named the inaugural recipient of the IWCLA's Tina Sloan Green Award that recognizes teams or individuals working to promote equity and inclusion. Following the murder of George Floyd, Gundy created a documentary titled "Where Do We Go From Here?" featuring athletes from Cornell, Brown, Yale, Michigan, George Washington, and Colgate who candidly discussed their experiences as black student-athletes, the intersection of race and sport, and the systematic flaws embedded in the criminal justice system. The film also features Khalil Muhammad, a Harvard Professor of History, Race, and Public Policy, who helped viewers explore the intersection of race and criminal justice in modern US history.
• The Big Red has qualified for the Ivy League Tournament eight times in the 10 years it has been held.
 

NEXT UP

• The Big Red will host Yale in a key Ivy League matchup on Saturday, April 16 at 12 p.m. at Schoellkopf Field.
• The Big Red has won 12 straight contests in the series and seven in a row at home.
• Cornell won the last meeting between the teams, topping the Bulldogs 18-12 on April 6, 2019 in New Haven, Conn.