GAME 16: #23 Yale (10-5, 6-1 Ivy) vs. Cornell (8-7, 4-3 Ivy)

Date & Time: Friday, May 6 - 4:00 p.m.
Venue: Class of 1952 Stadium - Princeton, N.J.
Twitter: @CUBigRedGameday | @CornellWLax
 

STORY LINES

• The Cornell women's lacrosse team will be in search of its third trip to the Ivy League Tournament finals when it meets No. 23 Yale on Friday, May 6 at 4 p.m. at Princeton's Class of 1952 Stadium.
• The contest will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
• It will be Cornell's ninth appearance in 11 tournaments all-time, with the Big Red posting a 3-8 record with a title in 2016 and a runner-up finish in 2017.
• Cornell enters the tournament as the No. 3 seed after going 4-3 in Ivy play, with one of its losses to Yale in a 15-9 contest on April 16, 2022 in Ithaca.
• It will be the first meeting between the two teams in the conference tournament.
• The Big Red is 2-6 against teams in the Ivy League Tournament after dropping the first meeting between the teams.
• Katie Castiello (28-13-41), Amanda Cramer (33-7-40) and Genevieve DeWinter (33-6-39) lead 10 players that have reached double figures in scoring this season for a balanced, but explosive, offense averaging 13.7 goals per game and reaching double digits in 12 contests.
• Senior goalkeeper Katie McGahan (8-7, 12.28 GAA, .447 save percentage) is averaging 8.7 saves per game.
• Hilary Hoover (13 caused turnovers, 33 draw controls, 21 ground balls),  Grace Faircloth (11 caused  turnovers, 21 ground balls) and Olivia Wall (10 caused turnovers, 16 ground balls) are among the team's defensive stalwarts.
 

SERIES HISTORY VS. YALE

Overall: Cornell leads 22-20, first meeting in 1980
In Princeton, N.J.: First Meeting
Current Streak: Yale, 1
Last Meeting: Yale, 15-9 (4/16/2022 in Ithaca, N.Y.)
Graap vs. Yale: 17-7 (0-0 at neutral sites)
Series Notes: Cornell holds a narrow 22-20 edge thanks in large part to the Big Red's 12-game win streak that was snapped earlier this season • the Big Red is 17-7 against the Bulldogs under head coach Jenny Graap • Cornell had won five straight against Yale by at least four goals. 
 

A WIN OVER YALE WOULD

• make Cornell 9-7 on the season.
• advance to the Ivy League Tournament finals for the third time in program history and first since 2017.
• avenge a loss to Yale earlier this season (15-9 on April 16 in Ithaca).
• advance the Big Red's lead in the all-time series to 23-20.
• be the 362nd in program history (361-309-4 in 50 seasons, .539).
 

LAST TIME OUT

• The Cornell women's lacrosse team clinched a spot in the Ivy League Tournament and honored its seniors with a 16-13 victory over Dartmouth at Schoellkopf Field. 
• Katie Castiello had two goals and four assists to lead a Big Red offense that had three players register hat tricks - Amanda Cramer scored four times and both Sophie Alois and Josie Vogel had three goals. 
• Alois also was credited with an assist and Cramer posted a team-best four draw wins. 
• Grace Faircloth caused two turnovers and won four ground balls to lead the defense, while Katie McGahan made four saves and won three ground balls between the pipes.
• Katina Christensen had three goals and two assists to lead Dartmouth, while Lucy Murray (three goals, one assist) and Jev Ward (three goals) each had hat tricks. 
• Isabella Godsick earned six draw control victories, with both Katia Christensen and Maggie O'Gorman winning five. 
• The Big Red scored first and never trailed, though it couldn't pull away from the feisty Big Green squad. 
• Cornell held advantages in shots (32-25) and ground balls (17-13), though Dartmouth was able to win more possessions with a 21-13 edge in draws.
• The home team was perfect on 13 clear attempts while forcing Dartmouth into turnovers six times on failed clears.
 

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

• Graduate student Katie McGahan enters the weekend with 420 saves, good for third all-time at Cornell.
• McGahan is also third in career wins (26).
• Cornell has posted three of the top 10 single-game totals for draw controls this season — 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 20 career games, Thomas has 113 draw controls — a mark that already ranks fifth in school history.
• Thomas has 73 draw controls in 15 games in 2022 to set the single-season school record, surpassing Sarah Hefner's 2014 record of 68.
• With 211 draw control wins this season, the Big Red needs 11 more to match the school record of 222 set in 2017. 
• Currently at 13.7 goals per game, the Big Red is challenging the 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.
 

NEXT UP

• With a win on Friday, Cornell would play for the Ivy League Tournament championship against the winner of the Princeton-Harvard game on Sunday, May 8 at 12 p.m.
• The Big Red won the 2016 Ivy title and also qualified for the finals in 2017.