ITHACA, N.Y. — The Cornell women's soccer team opens its 2023 campaign on Sunday evening, hosting Lehigh in the program's home opener at Berman Field.

Sunday's match will also serve as the Kickoff Event for Cornell Athletics, as it marks the first athletic event of the 2023-24 academic year.

"We are excited to get the year off to a rocking start for Cornell Athletics," said Cornell women's soccer head coach Rob Ferguson. "Adding to the positivity and momentum given to us by Dr. Nicki Moore, our program looks to build on the end of our 2022 season, which saw the best Ivy League record for Big Red women's soccer in 27 years."

Fans are encouraged to wear Carnelian Red to the match while bringing high energy to the stands to cap off the first week of classes on a high note.

Free ice cream sandwiches and snacks, courtesy of P&C Fresh, will be available until supplies last. Big Red spirit giveaways and appearances from Touchdown the Bear, the Big Red cheerleaders, and the Big Red Pep Band will add to the Big Red spirit.

Admission and parking for the match will be free of charge.

Match Information
Lehigh at Cornell
SITE: Berman Field – Ithaca, N.Y. (natural surface)
RECORDS: Lehigh (1-0-2, 0-0-0 Patriot League), Cornell (0-0-0, 0-0-0 Ivy League)
SERIES RECORD: Lehigh leads, 2-0-0
BROADCAST: ESPN+
Stats: CornellBigRed.com

Season Openers
Cornell is 23-12-5 all-time in season openers, which includes the Big Red going unbeaten in seven of its last nine season-opening matches (6-2-1).

Last year's 2-1 loss to Canisius was the Big Red's first setback to open a campaign since falling to Central New York rival Syracuse in 2017, 3-0.

Over its last 17 season openers, Cornell has found the back of the net on 14 occasions. The only campaigns in which the Big Red were held scoreless to begin a season were in 2009 (vs. Binghamton), 2015 (vs. Siena), and 2017 (at Syracuse).

Sunday's match is the first time Cornell is opening a season against a Patriot League opponent since defeating Lafayette, 3-2, in Easton, Pa., to begin the 2006 slate.

Home Openers
Sunday's match marks the 10th time Cornell will host its regular-season opener at Berman Field, also having done so for the 1997, 1998, 1999, 2003, 2009, 2010, 2015, 2019, and 2021 seasons.

When Cornell plays at home to open the season, the Big Red holds a 4-2-3 record (.611) and is unbeaten over its last three (2-0-1 — .833) and in six of its last seven home openers (3-1-3 — .643).

The Big Red is 7-12-6 (.400) all-time in home openers at Berman Field. Cornell is seeking its first victory in a home opener since posting a 2-0 clean sheet against Canisius in 2021.

Cornell is hosting a Patriot League opponent in its home opener for the fourth overall time and the first since dropping a 3-0 contest to Colgate in 2013. All three previous instances of Cornell hosting a Patriot League program in its home opener came against Colgate (1989, 2001, 2013).

Home, Sweet, Home
After losing to Marist, 2-1, in its home opener last year, the Big Red is unbeaten over its last six home matches, posting a 3-0-3 mark. It is Cornell's longest streak without a home loss since stringing six non-losing results together (5-0-1) spanning from the last match in 2014 and the first five contests in 2015.

With a win over Lehigh on Sunday evening, Cornell will have won its last three matches at Berman Field for the first time since coming out victorious in its first three home matches in the 2019 campaign.

A tie on Sunday would be Cornell's first time going unbeaten over a seven-match span on home turf since winning the final six home matches in 1996 and the first contest in 1997.

Pick Up Where She Left Off
Junior goalkeeper Erica Fox and sophomore keeper Natalie Medugno ride career-long shutout streaks as they enter the 2023 campaign.

Fox, who has not conceded a goal in over 170 minutes of action, is coming off a clean sheet against Dartmouth in her last match, capping the 2022 season on a high note. The last time Fox conceded a goal was a 10th-minute tally against Princeton on Oct. 29.

Medugno logged a four-save clean sheet in her lone collegiate appearance on Oct. 4 at Colgate.

The Game's On Her Foot
Senior midfielder Reagan Pauwels has scored the game-winning goals in each of Cornell's last two contests. With her game-winner against Dartmouth in the 2022 season finale, Pauwels became the first Big Red player to net game-winning goals in consecutive matches since Paige DeLoach in the first two games of the 2016 season.

Should Pauwels have the game-winning goal come off her boot on Sunday, she would be the first Cornell player on record — since game-winning goals were tracked in 1987 — to have a game-winning goal in three consecutive matches.

Ivy League Preseason Poll
Cornell was picked to finish sixth in the 2023 Ivy League women's soccer preseason poll, the conference office announced Thursday afternoon.

Brown received 12 of 16 possible first-place votes, finishing with an Ivy League-best 123 points. Harvard recorded three first-place votes, placing second with 113 points. Yale was the only other school to receive a first-place vote, garnering 88 points and the last first-place vote.

Princeton (78 points) and Columbia (74 points) were picked fourth and fifth, respectively, and Cornell (35 points) was picked sixth. Dartmouth (33 points) and Penn (32 points) rounded out the poll.

2023 Leadership Team
Cornell has six student-athletes on its leadership team for the 2023 campaign, rotating captains each game.

Two sophomore, junior, and senior members were named to this year's leadership team. Those named to the team were seniors Jackie Lasseter and Ava Laden, juniors Maddie Leroy and Sydney Malaga, and sophomores Abigail Bishara and Izzy Scott.

Against the Patriot League
Since its inception in 1986, Cornell has a 42-32-5 (.563) record against Patriot League members.

Cornell has won its last two matches against Patriot League opponents — both of which came against the Big Red's Central New York rival, Colgate.

With a victory over Lehigh on Sunday, Cornell will have won its last three matches against a Patriot League member. The last time the Big Red won at least three consecutive contests against Patriot League programs was an eight-match stretch from 2001-04 when it defeated Bucknell thrice, Colgate and Lafayette twice, and Army once.

Sunday will be the first of two matches against the Patriot League this season, as the Big Red will welcome Colgate to Berman Field for its annual contest on Sept. 26. This year is the first time Cornell is hosting multiple Patriot League programs in a single season since 2015 when it played Colgate and Loyola (Md.).

Across the Nation
Cornell has no geographical recruiting base, as the Big Red has 16 states on this year's roster.

California has the most representatives on this year's roster, as five student-athletes reside in the Golden State. New York has the second-highest total with four. Colorado and Texas are right behind with three apiece. Illinois, Maryland, and New Jersey each have two representatives.

Indiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Vermont, Virginia, and Washington are represented once on this year's roster.

Scouting Lehigh
Lehigh enters Sunday night's match with a 1-0-2 overall record after posting consecutive 1-1 ties against Villanova on Sunday and Saint Joseph's on Thursday.

The Mountain Hawks are unbeaten in 11 of its last 14 matches, going 7-3-4 under second-year head coach Lauren Calabrese.

Fifth-year Ryelle Shuey was named the Patriot League's Defensive Player of the Week on Monday after scoring the game-tying goal against Villanova last Sunday. Zoe Schutter was an honorable mention after netting the game-winning goal in the Mountain Hawks' 1-0 victory over Monmouth on Aug. 17.

Corrine Lyght, who was the 2022 Patriot League Offensive Player of the Year, was named the Patriot League's Preseason Offensive Player of the Year while also being one of 11 players named to the Preseason All-Patriot League team on Aug. 10. Joining Lyght on the list was Shuey, who earned Preseason Defensive Player of the Year honors.

Lehigh was picked to finish fourth in the 10-team Patriot League. The Mountain Hawks received one of the 20 first-place votes. Bucknell was tabbed the preseason favorite after it garnered seven first-place votes.

Lehigh's Last Time Out
Faith Dobosiewicz's 77th-minute goal paced Lehigh to its second consecutive 1-1 decision in its home opener at the Ulrich Sports Complex on Thursday afternoon. Ava Schaller assisted Dobosiewicz's game-tying marker, which was also her first collegiate goal after being held without a goal in 10 caps while attending Rutgers.

Maggie Ousouljoglou stopped five shots in the contest, but her 86th-minute save was the most crucial stop of the match. A shot by Saint Joseph's Nicole Angelini was pushed over the crossbar by Ousouljoglou to prevent the Hawks from retaking the lead.

14 Years, 178 Miles, 2 Meetings
Sunday will be the third all-time meeting between Cornell and Lehigh and the first since the Mountain Hawks posted a 4-1 victory over the Big Red at the Ulrich Sports Complex in Bethlehem, Pa.

Cornell is 0-2 all-time against Lehigh, dropping the first meeting, 1-0, at Berman Field on Sept. 14, 2008.