ITHACA, N.Y. — The Cornell field hockey team will kick off its Ivy League season on the road at Columbia on Friday as part of a split weekend set that concludes on Sunday when it hosts American. The Big Red will look for its fourth consecutive win against the Lions, while avoiding its fourth straight defeat at the hands of the Eagles. Cornell will be out to earn its first-ever win against an opponent for the second straight weekend at Dodson Field, having rallied past UConn last Friday, 2-1.

GAME INFORMATION
Cornell at Columbia
SITE: Columbia Field Hockey Stadium – New York, N.Y. (turf)
RECORDS: Columbia (2-2, 0-0 Ivy League), Cornell (1-2, 0-0 Ivy League)
SERIES RECORD: Cornell leads 20-6
BROADCAST: ESPN+
STATS: GoColumbiaLions.com
DIGITAL PROGRAM: CornellBigRed.com

GAME INFORMATION
American at Cornell
SITE: Marsha Dodson Field – Ithaca, N.Y. (turf)
RECORDS: UAlbany (3-3, 0-0 Patriot League), Cornell (1-2, 0-0 Ivy League)
SERIES RECORD: American leads 3-0
BROADCAST: ESPN+
STATS: CornellBigRed.com
DIGITAL PROGRAM: CornellBigRed.com

STORYLINES
• The Big Red will attempt to start its Ivy season with a bang when it meets Columbia on Friday with every game holding significant importance with the initial season of the Ivy League tournament on the horizon.
• Cornell is coming off a heartbreaking 3-2 loss to UAlbany in the Big Red's first-ever loss in a contest that went to a penalty shootout (2-1) since the rule was put in place in the NCAA in 2011.
• The Big Red twice rallied to tie against the preseason NFHCA top 20 foe, with senior Caroline Ramsey scoring her third goal of the season and her freshman sister Julia putting in her first with under four minutes to go in regulation to knot the score.
• Caroline Ramsey, the reigning Ivy League Offensive Player of the Week, has scored five goals in the team's first three games and is currently third nationally in goals per game (1.67).
• Julia Ramsey paces the nation in assists per game (1.67) with senior Claire Wolfe tied for fourth (1.00).

THE SERIES WITH COLUMBIA
Overall: Columbia leads 20-6, first meeting in 1996
In New York, N.Y.: Cornell leads 8-4
Current Streak: Cornell, 3
Last Meeting: Cornell, 3-1 (10/1/2022 in New York, N.Y.)
Smith vs. Columbia: 3-0 (1-0 on the road)
Series Notes: Cornell holds a commanding 20-6 edge in the all-time series, including a perfect 3-0 mark since Andy Smith took over as the Big Red's head coach in 2019 … the Big Red won the first eight meetings and 14 of the first 15 … the Lions' three-game win streak from 2016-18 was its longest in series history … Cornell has outscored Columbia 8-1 over the past two meetings.

THE SERIES WITH AMERICAN
Overall: American leads 3-0, first meeting in 2001
In Ithaca, N.Y.: American leads 1-0
Current Streak: American, 3
Last Meeting: American, 3-1 (10/17/2021 in Washington, D.C.)
Smith vs. American: 0-1 (first meeting at home)
Series Notes: American has won all three previous meetings between the teams, including a pair of one-goal wins for the Eagles ... the Big Red  holds a 82-59-4 all-time record against current members of the Patriot League: Boston University (0-1), Bucknell (14-16-1), Colgate (28-20-3), Holy Cross (7-5), Lafayette (7-13-2) and Lehigh (26-1-1) in addition to American.

A WIN OVER COLUMBIA WOULD
• even Cornell's record at 2-2 on the season.
• give the Big Red a win in the Ivy opener for the third straight season.
• up Cornell's win streak against the Lions to four games.
• snap a two-game road skid for the Big Red.
• make Cornell field hockey 355-379-36 all-time since 1972.

LAST TIME OUT: UAlbany 3, Cornell 2 2OT (Sept. 10, 2023)  //  Recap  //  Box Score  //  Gallery  //  Highlights
• The Cornell field hockey team rallied to tie the game twice in regulation, but UAlbany earned a 3-2 shootout win in a tightly-contested matchup at Marsha Dodson Field.
• Caroline Ramsey scored her fifth goal of the season and freshman sister Julia scored the game-tying goal, the first of her career, late in the fourth to send the game into overtime.
• Freshman Martha Broderick made four saves in goal for the Big Red, which lost 4-3 in the shootout.
• Cornell held a 17-11 edge in shots, including 10-6 put on goal, while UAlbany was 10-8 on corners.
• Alison Smisdom posted two goals to lead the Great Danes and Delphine Le Jeune finished off the contest in the shootout with a goal to send the visitors to victory after a back-and-forth, action-packed 20 minutes of overtime.
• Lara Behn made eight saves and got a pair of stops in the final shootout to claim the third win of the year for the Great Danes. 

FOUR NAMED TO NFHCA WATCHLIST
• Four members of the Cornell field hockey team have been named to the 2023 NFHCA Watchlist sponsored by Victory Sports Tours. 
• Senior All-American Caroline Ramsey joins junior Olivia Friedberg, sophomore Grace Leahy and freshman Polly Parsons are among 131 student-athletes named to the initial list.
• Ramsey, an NFHCA third-team All-American in 2022, is a two-time all-region selection and a member of the U.S. National Team. 
• Friedberg was a member of the Canadian women's indoor national team this past season. 
• Leahy was the team's third-leading scorer a season ago as a freshman with five goals and 12 points, with three of her tallies going as game winners. 
• One of just 10 first year players to be recognized, Parsons joins the Big Red after being selected to compete for a spot at the Team USA U-21 National Training Camp. 

THE SCORE
• Senior Caroline Ramsey's five goals through three games nearly matches her 2022 season total of eight goals.
• The last time a Big Red player scored goals in at least three consecutive contests was – Caroline Ramsey in 2021 when she tallied in 10 straight games.
• With her five assists, Julia Ramsey is the first freshman to post those kind of numbers since Isabel Siergiej had five assists in a three-game span in 2015.
• Cornell has scored multiple goals in three consecutive games for the first time since 2019 when it hit that mark in its first five matchups.

PENALTY SHOOTOUT
• Cornell's 3-2 loss to UAlbany (shootout, 4-3) was its first in a penalty shootout since the rule was implemented in 2011.
• It was the Big Red's first game to pass through two overtimes since its 1-0 win over Columbia on Oct. 5, 2019 when the Big Red won 1-0 before  Maddie Henry stopped all five of the Lions' attempts (shootout, 1-0).
• The Big Red is 2-1 in penalty shootouts since it was implemented in 2011 with its first-ever contest a 5-4 win vs. Dartmouth in 2018 (shootout, 2-0).
• In three shootouts, Cornell is 6-for-15 and opponents are 4-for-15 after failing on their first 10 attempts.

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES
• The Big Red enters the 2023 season picked to finish fourth in the Ivy League Preseason poll. 
• A finish of fourth or better would put the Big Red into the inaugural Ivy League Field Hockey Tournament in November.
• Eight members of Cornell's fall 2023 roster to be selected for either a senior national team or a junior selection camp, with Ramsey and Parsons (USA) and Friedberg and Leahy (Canada) joining Georgia Kelly (Ireland), Martha Broderick (Scotland), Annabel Cheveley (England) and Elizabeth Friedberg (Canada).
• Ramsey enters the contest with 79 points, 20 shy of the career record at Cornell and 21 from becoming the first player in school history to surpass 100 points.
• With 36 goals, Ramsey needs six to match Krysten Mayers '18 with a Big Red record 42 scores.
• With her 14 career defensive saves, Ramsey already owns the Cornell record.
• Ramsey, a two-time NFHCA first-team regional All-American is looking to become Cornell's first three-time first-teamer. She currently joins Karla Griffin, Carissa Mirasol and Marisa Siergiej as two-time picks.

UP NEXT
• Cornell will play its Ivy League home opener when it welcomes Dartmouth to Marsha Dodson Field on Friday, Sept. 22 at 4 p.m.
• The Big Red will hit the road following the contest to face Sacred Heart on Sunday, Sept. 24 at 2 p.m. at Sacred Heart School in Greenwich, Conn.