GAME 11: Cornell (6-4, 2-1 Ivy) at #18 Penn State (9-3, 2-1 Big Ten)

Date & Time: Sunday, April 2 - 3:00 p.m.
Venue: Panzer Stadium - University Park, Pa.
Twitter: @CornellWLax
Cornell Game Notes
 

STORY LINES

• The Cornell women's lacrosse team will play its final non-conference contest of the season when it visits No. 18 Penn State on Sunday, April 2 at 3 p.m. at Panzer Stadium. 
• The contest will be broadcast on Big Ten Plus.
• The Big Red is coming off a 19-13 loss at No. 1 Syracuse on Tuesday night at the JMA Wireless Dome as the Orange remained unbeaten on the season.
• The 13 goals is the most it has allowed since surrendering 15 in the season opener against No. 4 Northwestern (16-15 win).
• Against the 18th-ranked Nittany Lions, the Big Red will be attempting to snap a 22-game skid against ranked opponents dating back to 2017. 
• The Big Red's explosive offense is averaging 13.5 goals per game and has four players with at least 25 points.
• In its six wins, Cornell has surrendered just 9.5 goals per game, a number that rises to 16.0 goals in its four losses.
• 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. PENN STATE

Overall: Penn State leads 10-3, first meeting in 1972
In University Park, Pa.: 2-4
Current Streak: Penn State, 5
Last Meeting: Penn State, 20-11 (2/26/2022 in Ithaca, N.Y.)
Graap vs. Penn State: 3-7 (2-3 on the road)
Series Notes: The Nittany Lions lead the all-time series 10-3 dating back to the first meeting in 1972 • Penn State has won five straight meetings overall and two consecutive on the road • the last Cornell win came during the 2016 season, a 10-7 win by the Big Red in University Park • the teams met three times in the 1970s (Penn State going 3-0), but didn't resume the series until more than a quarter-century later when Cornell stopped the Nittany Lions 11-9 on the road during a march to its first NCAA Tournament appearance in 2001.
 

A WIN OVER PENN STATE WOULD

• improve Cornell's record to 7-4 on the season.
• start the month of April off with a win.
• be the program's first win over a ranked opponent since topping #15 Notre Dame 12-7 on May 12, 2017.
• end a two-game skid overall.
• close the Big Red's non-league schedule at 5-3.
• snap Penn State's five-game win streak over the Big Red and cut its lead in the all-time series to 10-4.
• be the 369th in program history (368-314-4 in 51 seasons, .539).
 

LAST TIME OUT

• The Cornell women's lacrosse team threw a scare into No. 1 Syracuse, but a big first quarter by the Orange was too much to overcome in a 19-13 loss at the JMA Wireless Dome. 
• Shannon Brazier scored four goals, won four draws and a ground ball to lead the Big Red, with both Josie Vogel and Katie Castiello adding hat tricks. 
• Both Amanda Cramer and Kylie Gelabert notched a goal and two assists. 
• Mia DiChiara notched four draws, with both Castiello and Annie Thomas posting three apiece. 
• Grace Faircloth caused two turnovers, with Ellie Horner (five saves) and Mackenzie Clark (two saves) combining for seven stops in goal.
• The teams were nearly identical in shots (Syracuse 37-35), ground balls (Cornell 18-17) and draw controls (Syracuse 18-17), but 13 big saves by the Orange's Delaney Sweitzer over the first 45 minutes, including seven in the pivotal first quarter, tilted the game to the home team. 
• The Big Red cut an 11-goal deficit to four with a 7-0 run in the fourth quarter, answering a seven-goal SU surge in the third. 
• Meaghan Tyrell (five goals, three assists) had eight points and sister Emma had four goals in the win, which also featured a goal and four assists from Emma Ward. 
 

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

• The Big Red has scored at least 11 goals in all 10 contests this season and has allowed single-digit goals four times.
• Cornell has had two players named Ivy League Defensive Player of the Week this season  — goalkeeper Ellie Horner (Feb. 27) and midfielder Shannon Brazier (March 6). 
• 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 32 games, Thomas has 167 draw controls — a mark that already sits atop the school's career charts.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Cornell's 218 draw control wins in 2022 were 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 226 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 among women's lacrosse coaches in the Ivy League.
 

NEXT UP

• The Big Red will close out the regular season with four straight Ivy contests beginning with a home contest against Harvard on Saturday, April 8 at 1 p.m. at Schoellkopf Field.
• The Crimson lead the all-time series 24-19, though the Big Red has won three straight, seven of the past nine and nine of the last 12 meetings.