GAME 13: Yale (8-2, 4-0 Ivy) at Cornell (7-5, 3-1 Ivy)

Date & Time: Saturday, April 16 - 12:00 p.m.
Venue: Schoellkopf Field - Ithaca, N.Y.
Twitter: @CUBigRedGameday | @CornellWLax
 

STORY LINES

• The Cornell women's lacrosse team attempt to hand Ivy unbeaten its first loss and fully insert itself into the conference championship race when it welcomes Yale to Schoellkopf Field on Saturday, April 16 at 12 p.m.
• The contest will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
• The Big Red remain a game back of the Ivy leading Bulldogs (4-0) after this past Saturday's 13-9 triumph over perennial conference power Penn at Schoellkopf Field. Princeton is also unbeaten at 2-0 in league play.
• The Big Red has had a long stretch of sustained success against the Bulldogs, winning 12 straight meetings to take a 22-19 lead in the all-time series.
• Cornell dropped a Tuesday evening contest to No. 4 Syracuse, 20-9, despite leading 6-3 in the second quarter and going into the break tied 6-6.
• Amanda Cramer (28-7-35), Katie Castiello (20-9-29) and Genevieve DeWinter (23-5-28) lead 10 players that have reached double figures in scoring this season for a balanced, but explosive, offense averaging 14.2 goals per game and reaching double digits in 10 of 12 contests.
• Senior goalkeeper Katie McGahan (7-5, 11.80 GAA, .476 save percentage) is averaging 9.3 saves per game.
• Cornell's defense has been the difference in its success, surrendering 16.6 goals in five defeats vs. just 8.6 in its seven wins.
• Hilary Hoover and Olivia Wall have combined to cause 10 turnovers with 33 ground balls as defensive stalwarts.
 

SERIES HISTORY VS. YALE

Overall: Cornell leads 22-19, first meeting in 1980
In Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell leads 12-8
Current Streak: Cornell, 12
Last Meeting: Cornell, 18-12 (4/6/2019 in New Haven, Conn.)
Graap vs. Yale: 17-6 (10-1 at home)
Series Notes: Cornell holds a narrow 22-19 edge thanks in large part to the Big Red's current 12-game win streak • the Big Red is 10-1 against the Bulldogs at Schoellkopf Field under head coach Jenny Graap • Cornell has won five straight against Yale by at least four goals. 
 

A WIN OVER YALE WOULD

• make Cornell 8-5 on the season.
• improve the Big Red's Ivy record to 4-1.
• extend its win streak over the Bulldogs to 13 contests.
• move its lead in the all-time series to 23-19.
• be the 361st in program history (360-307-4 in 50 seasons, .540).
 

LAST TIME OUT

• The Cornell women's lacrosse team gave No. 4 Syracuse all it could handle in the first half, but the Orange controlled the final 30 minutes and cruised to a 20-9 victory at Schoellkopf Field. 
• The Big Red led 6-3 early in the second quarter and went into the break tied at 6-6 behind a stingy defense, a narrow 7-6 edge at the draw circle and a 16-15 edge in shots. 
• Six saves by captain Katie McGahan in goal also kept Cornell in it, as the Big Red exploded for a 5-0 run and held the powerful Orange attack scoreless for a span of 15:05 bridging the first and second quarters.
• Katie Castiello scored four goals to lead the Big Red, with both Genevieve DeWinter and Amanda Cramer scoring twice. 
• Sophie Alois was credited with two assists. 
• McGahan ended her evening with nine saves, including the 400th of her career, and Ellie Horner added one while playing the final 10:54 of the contest.
• Grace Faircloth caused a pair of Orange turnovers, Olivia Wall and Caitlin Slaminko both won three ground balls and DeWinter added four draw control victories to her stat line.
• Syracuse's Emily Hawryschuk was credited with seven goals and four assists for an 11-point evening, a mark that is tied for second in a single game in SU history. 
 

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

• Graduate student Katie McGahan enters the weekend with 400 saves, good for fourth all-time at Cornell.
• McGahan in also third in career wins (25).
• In its past nine 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 18 career games, Thomas has 106 draw controls — a mark that already ranks seventh in school history.
• Thomas has 66 draw controls in just 11 games in 2022 to rank No. 2 all-time in a single season, just two shy of Sarah Hefner's 2014 record of 68.
• Currently at 14.2 goals per game, the Big Red is on pace to challenge 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

• Cornell will visit Brown for an Ivy League matchup on Saturday, April 23 at 2 p.m. at Stevenson-Pincince Field.
• Cornell leads the all-time series 25-15 dating back to the 1980 season.
• The Big Red has won 19 of the last 20 meetings between the teams, including a 10-7 triumph in 2019 at Schoellkopf Field.