GAME 2: Colgate (0-1, 0-0 Patriot) at Cornell (1-0, 0-0 Ivy)

Date & Time: Tuesday, February 21 - 5:00 p.m.
Venue: Schoellkopf Field - Ithaca, N.Y.
Twitter: @CornellWLax
Cornell Game Notes
 

STORY LINES

• The Cornell women's lacrosse team opens its home slate when it welcomes Central New York rival Colgate to Schoellkopf Field on Tuesday, Feb. 21 at 5 p.m.
• The contest will be broadcast on ESPN+ with Jeremy Goldstein on the call.
• The Big Red opened its season with a wild 18-15 shootout victory at UAlbany on Saturday, overcoming an early four-goal deficit for the program's third consecutive season-opening win.
• Six different Cornell players tallied multi-goal games, senior Annie Thomas had seven draw control wins and Ellie Horner had nine saves in her first start in goal. 
• The team's 21 draw controls against the Great Danes rank as the third-most in a single game in school history.
• After surrendering 10 first half goals, the Big Red defense settled in, surrendering just five in the second 30 minutes and outscoring the home team 5-1 in the decisive third quarter.
• Picked fourth in the Ivy League's preseason media poll, Cornell returns eight starters and 18 letter winners from last season's 8-8 squad. 
• Cornell went 4-3 in Ivy play last spring, making its ninth appearance in 11 all-time (including eight of the past nine) Ivy League Tournaments as the No. 3 seed. 
• Four senior All-Ivy selections return in 2023, with Katie Castiello and Amanda Cramer on attack, Annie Thomas in the midfield and Hilary Hoover on defense.
 

SERIES HISTORY VS. COLGATE

Overall: Cornell leads 34-15-1, first meeting in 1974
In Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell leads 19-7-1
Current Streak: Cornell, 1
Last Meeting: Cornell, 17-6 (3/9/2022 in Ithaca, N.Y.)
Graap vs. Colgate: 21-2 (11-1 at home)
Series Notes: Cornell had won 20 consecutive meetings between the programs before Colgate's 11-8 win during the 2020 season • five of those 20 wins came by a single goal • Cornell has scored double figure goals in 20 of the last 22 meetings between the squads • the two teams first met in 1974, a 7-4 Big Red victory in Ithaca • the Big Red is 29-5 all-time against current members of the Patriot League
 

A WIN OVER COLGATE WOULD

• give Cornell a 2-0 record this season, its third consecutive 2-0 start to a season.
• extend the Big Red's advantage in the all-time series to 35-15-1.
• make Cornell 56-27-2 all-time against current members of the Patriot League.
• be the 364th in program history (363-310-4 in 51 seasons, .539).
 

LAST TIME OUT

• After 30 minutes of feeling out a new season, the Cornell women's lacrosse team found its rhythm in the second half to pick up an 18-15 win over UAlbany at John Fallon Field. 
• Shannon Brazier and Maggie Pons each had four goals and Amanda Cramer recorded a hat trick and added an assist for four points to lead six goal scorers with at least two tallies. 
• Mia DiChiara added three goals and both Katie Castiello and Josie Vogel chipped in two goals and an assist as part of a balanced attack.
• Annie Thomas had seven of the team's 21 draw controls as the visitors controlled the circle, winning 21-of-37. 
• Cramer added five wins and both Brazier and Alexa Donahoe had three apiece. 
• Freshman defender Caitlin Tully had two caused turnovers and junior Grace Faircloth notched four ground ball wins and caused a Great Dane miscue. 
• Ellie Horner had nine saves in goal to pick up her first collegiate win, 
• Cornell trailed 5-1 less than six minutes into its season and spent the entire first half clawing back, tying the score at 9-9 with just over a minute to play in the first half. 
• UAlbany would score late, but the Big Red went into the locker room trailing just 10-9.
• The Big Red opened the second half on a 3-0 run, ultimately scoring six of the first seven after the break, to go up 15-11 early in the fourth. 
• The Great Danes scored three straight of their own to get within 15-14, but Cornell stiffened up late and added a pair of insurance goals in the final three minutes to make the final margin.
 

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

• Senior Annie Thomas' cousin, Caroline Ramsey, is an All-Ivy field hockey player for the Big Red and a member of the U.S. national team.
• In just 23 career games, Thomas has 120 draw controls — a mark that already ranks fourth in school history.
• Thomas had 73 draw controls in 16 games in 2022 to set the single-season school record, surpassing Sarah Hefner's 2014 record of 68.
• Sophomore defender Alessia Packard has a sister (Antonia, field hockey) and brother (Charles, men's lacrosse) who are also current varsity athletes for the Big Red.
• Senior captain Amanda Cramer, an honorable mention All-Ivy selection and the team's leading scorer in 2022, is a transfer from Northwestern who mother, Caroline, was a gymnast for the Big Red.
• Cornell's 218 draw control wins in 2022 was second all-time in a season, just shy of the 222 recorded in 2017. 
• The team's 13.3 goals per game in 2022 ranked second all-time at Cornell (14.2 in 2012).
• The Big Red has qualified for the Ivy League Tournament nine times in the 11 years it has been held.
• Seniors Bridget Babcock, Amanda Cramer and Hilary Hoover will serve as team tri-captains.
• Head coach Jenny Graap has 221 career wins for the Big Red, ranking her 13th all-time among Cornell head coaches in all sports and second among women coaches (behind Andrea Dutcher with 346 volleyball wins from 1974-87).
• In her 26th season, Graap is the longest tenured women's head coach in school history and currently in the Ivy League.
• The Big Red is 174-17 all-time under Graap when leading at halftime (.911).
 

NEXT UP

• The Big Red will head to the West Coast for a pair of games, beginning with a matchup against Cal on Saturday, Feb. 25 at 1 p.m. PT.
• Cornell has won each of the previous four meetings, outscoring the Bears 63-14, including the last meeting 12-4 on March 23, 2016 in Ithaca.