ITHACA, N.Y. — Playing its third match in a week, the Cornell women's soccer team returns to Berman Field on Sunday afternoon to square off against its Central New York rival Syracuse.

MATCH INFORMATION
Syracuse at Cornell
SITE: Berman Field – Ithaca, N.Y. (natural surface)
RECORDS: Syracuse (2-3-0, 0-0-0 ACC), Cornell (1-0-1, 0-0-0 Ivy League)
SERIES RECORD: Syracuse leads, 10-0-3
BROADCAST: ESPN+
Stats: CornellBigRed.com

LAST TIME OUT
Senior forward Ava Laden and senior midfielder Sophie Weeter scored goals, aiding sophomore goalkeeper Natalie Medugno to her second clean sheet, in a 2-0 victory over Marist on Wednesday night at Tenney Stadium.

Laden's goal was her first since the 2021 regular-season finale against Dartmouth, while Weeter's goal was the first of her collegiate career. It was also Weeter's first point since assisting a Peyton Nichols tally against Canisius on Aug. 27, 2021.

Cornell's defense was stout throughout the 90-minute fixture, allowing just four Marist shot attempts with only one on target. The Big Red held a 13-4 advantage in shot attempts, including a 10-1 margin in the second half.

HOME, SWEET, HOME
After losing to Marist, 2-1, in its home opener last year, the Big Red is unbeaten over its last seven home matches, posting a 3-0-4 mark (.714 win percentage).

The seven-match unbeaten streak is Cornell's longest span without losing a contest at home since recording seven consecutive victories spanning the final six fixtures of the 1996 season and the 1997 season opener.

With a non-losing result to Syracuse on Sunday, Cornell would extend its unbeaten streak to eight games, marking just the third time in program history in which it went at least eight straight home matches without recording a loss. The last time that occurred was when the team went 6-0-2 over eight home matches in 1995.

STARTING STRONG
Through matches completed on Thursday, the Ivy League has excelled on the pitch, posting a combined 14-4-4 record and a Division I-leading .727 win percentage.

The Ivy League's win percentage is slightly ahead of the SEC (38-10-4 — .726), who is one point behind the Ancient Eight for the top win percentage of any Division I conference that sponsors women's soccer.

Along with leading the nation, the Ivy League is one of three conferences with at least a .700 win percentage, joined by the SEC and Big Ten (38-11-18 — .701). The Pac-12 is on the cusp of cracking .700 with its combined 33-13-6 mark (.692).

NO 'L' IN UNBEATEN
Dating back to last season, Cornell is unbeaten over its last four matches, posting a 3-0-1 mark during the span.

No Cornell team has recorded five non-losing results together since a 12-match streak over the final match of the 2014 season and the first 11 matches of the 2015 campaign, in which the program went 9-0-3. The 12-match unbeaten streak ranks second in program history, only behind a 13-match stretch that spanned the 1985 and 1986 seasons.

With a win or tie on Sunday afternoon against Syracuse, it would be the 12th time in Cornell program history in which it has posted an unbeaten streak of at least five matches.

DOUBLE THE FUN!
Cornell has scored multiple goals in its first two matches to open the 2023 season, marking the third time in the last four seasons of competition in which the Big Red has found the back of the net at least twice in the first two fixtures.

With a multi-goal performance on Sunday, it would be the sixth time in program history, and the first since 2021, in which Cornell opened a season with multiple goals in its first three matches.

SECURED THE DUB
Wednesday's 2-0 road victory at Marist marked the first time Cornell had won a match by at least two goals since Aug. 27, 2021, when it defeated Canisius, 2-0, at Berman Field in that year's season opener.

It was the first time Cornell won by multiple goals away from its home pitch since Sept. 6, 2015, when it also won by a 2-0 score against Akron at the St. Bonaventure Alumni Classic. The last time Cornell won a true road match by at least two goals was on Oct. 3, 2010, when it defeated Colgate by a 2-0 decision.

IVY LEAGUE PRESEASON POLL
Cornell was picked to finish sixth in the 2023 Ivy League women's soccer preseason poll, the conference office announced on Aug. 24.

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.

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 SYRACUSE
Syracuse enters Sunday afternoon's match with a 2-3-0 overall record, having alternated losses and wins in each contest so far this year.

The Orange are amid a five-match road trip that began on Thursday when it lost to UMass, 2-0. Following Sunday's match, the Orange will face another Ivy League opponent in Harvard on Thursday. Syracuse will face Fairfield on Sept. 10 before opening ACC play against Miami on Sept. 15 to conclude its road swing.

Hannah Pilley (two goals) and Erin Flurey (one goal, two assists) are tied for the team lead in points with four apiece. Grace Gillard is tied with Flurey for the most assists with two.

Sophomore goalkeeper Shea Vanderbosch, who played for the WNY Flash under Cornell head coach Rob Ferguson, has played all 450 minutes between the pipes for the Orange this season. Vanderbosch has a 2-3-0 record with a 1.20 goals-against average and an .800 save percentage.

SYRACUSE'S LAST TIME OUT
UMass held Syracuse scoreless on Thursday, posting a 2-0 victory in its home opener. The Minutewomen scored both of its goals in the first 13 minutes. Bella Mendoza stopped all five Syracuse shots on goal to earn the clean sheet for UMass.

Vanderbosch made three saves in the setback for the Orange. Grace Franklin had two shots on goal, the lone Syracuse player to record multiple shots on target.

After netting the game-winning goal in the 63rd minute against Binghamton on Aug. 27, Syracuse has been held scoreless over the last 117:56 entering Sunday's match.

25 YEARS, 43 MILES, 13 MEETINGS
Syracuse has dominated the series against its Central New York, posting a 10-0-3 record against the Big Red.

The Orange claimed victory last season at SU Soccer Stadium, 3-0, powered by a pair of first-half goals scored by Erin Flurey and Gianna Savella. Flurey's goal was the game-winner, which came on a penalty kick in the 19th minute.

Sunday will be the fifth time Cornell is hosting Syracuse and the first instance of the Orange traveling south on Interstate 81 in nearly seven years (Sept. 4, 2016). In that last meeting, Stephanie Skilton scored the game-winning goal five minutes into overtime to guide Syracuse to a 2-1 victory.

UP NEXT
Following Sunday's contest, the Big Red will return to action next Sunday when it travels to Western New York to take on Buffalo at UB Stadium. First touch between the Big Red and Bulls is slated for 1 p.m. Game action will be streamed live on YouTube.