ITHACA, N.Y. —  The Cornell women's soccer team plays its final non-conference match before Ivy League play commences next weekend when it travels to suburban Philadelphia to play Villanova at the Higgins Soccer Complex on Sunday afternoon. First touch between the Big Red and Wildcats is slated for 2 p.m.

MATCH INFORMATION
Cornell at Villanova
SITE: Higgins Soccer Complex – Villanova, Pa. (artificial surface)
RECORDS: Cornell (2-0-3, 0-0-0 Ivy League), Villanova (3-0-4, 0-0-0 Big East)
SERIES RECORD: Villanova leads, 3-2-0
BROADCAST: FloSports
Stats: StatBroadcast.com

LAST TIME OUT
Cornell and its Central New York rival Binghamton played to a 2-2 draw at Berman Field on Wednesday night. The draw ensured Cornell extended its home unbeaten streak to nine matches (4-0-5), tying the program record initially set during the 1985 and 1986 seasons (8-0-1).

Junior forward Sydney Malaga and senior forward Ava Laden scored second-half goals to avenge an early deficit. Binghamton netted the game-tying marker in the 79th minute to level the match.

Sophomore goalkeeper Natalie Medugno made all three of her saves in the opening 20 minutes of the match, bringing her record on the year to 2-0-2.

In a tale of two halves, Cornell ended up edging Binghamton in shot attempts, 15-14, which included a 12-5 ledger in the second half. The Big Red had a 7-1 advantage in shots on goal in the latter 45-minute period.

NO 'L' IN UNBEATEN
After concluding the 2022 campaign with Ivy League victories over Princeton and Dartmouth, Cornell is currently unbeaten over its last seven matches, posting a 4-0-3 mark during the stretch.

No Cornell team has registered an eight-match unbeaten streak since going 9-0-3 during a 12-match span — the second-longest in the program history — over the final match in 2014 and the first 11 matches in 2015.

A win or tie on Sunday afternoon against Villanova would mark just the fifth time in program history in which the Big Red has logged an unbeaten streak of at least eight matches (1985-86, 1987-88, 1991, 2014-15).

STARTING OFF STRONG
Cornell's 2-0-3 record is the best five-match start to a season since the Big Red went 4-1-0 in 2019. With its current record, this season marks the seventh instance in program history in which Cornell has not lost any of its first five contests, joining the squads from 1986, 1991, 1992, 2004, 2005, and 2015.

With a non-losing result on Sunday afternoon to Villanova, it would mark the fifth time in Cornell program history in which it has not lost in any of its first six matches (1986, 1991, 2005, 2015).

Regardless of the result of Sunday's match, Cornell will be off to its best six-match start to a season since 2019, when the program had a 4-1-1.

THANKS FOR THE HELP!
Senior midfielder Reagan Pauwels has a team-leading three assists on the season, including helpers in the program's last two contests.

With an assist on Sunday, Pauwels would become the first Big Red player with a three-match assist streak since Ava Laden opened her collegiate career with assists in her first three matches as a sophomore in 2021.

Pauwels' next assist would be her fourth of the season, making her the eighth Cornell player (10th occurrence) over the last 20 seasons of competition to register at least four assists. The last time a Cornell player had a four-assist season was in 2021 when Laden tallied four helpers.

SHINING IN THE SECOND HALF
Cornell's offense has kicked into another gear in the second half this season, as five of the team's eight goals have been scored in the final 45-minute period.

Along with the increased goal total in the second half, Cornell has a plus-21 advantage in shot attempts (44-23) in the frame. In comparison, Cornell has a minus-7 figure in shot attempts in the first half, as opponents have a 24-17 edge.

Corner kicks have also seen an uptick in the second half as the Big Red only have five first-half corners compared to 13 in the second half.

ANCIENT EIGHT'S SUCCESS
Through matches completed on Thursday, the Ivy League has excelled on the pitch, posting a combined 32-7-13 record, leading to a Division I-leading .740 win percentage.

All eight members of the Ivy League have a win percentages north of .500, and six programs currently have at least a .700 win percentage.

The Ivy League is one of three conferences (Big Ten and SEC) with at least a .700 win percentage.

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 VILLANOVA
Villanova enters Sunday's match with a 3-0-4 overall record while riding a 10-match unbeaten streak dating back to last season.

Three of the Wildcats' last four matches have resulted in ties, as Villanova played 1-1 draws with Bucknell (Aug. 31) and Penn (Thursday) and a scoreless draw with West Virginia.

Sunday will be Villanova's first home match since drawing with Lehigh, 1-1, on Aug. 20. The Wildcats concluded its five-match road trip on Thursday against Penn on the Quakers' home turf.

Jackie Richards paces Villanova's offense with her team-leading four goals and nine points. Makayla Stadler (three goals) and Alex Little (two goals) are also the Wildcats' multi-goal scorers. Megan Donnelly has a program-leading three assists on the season.

Goalkeeping duties have been reserved for Payton Woodward, as she has logged all 630 minutes between the pipes for Villanova. Woodward's 0.43 goals-against average (tied for 26th) and .824 save percentage (tied for 64th) rank within the top 65 nationally for Division I goalkeepers. She also has four clean sheets to her credit this season.

VILLANOVA'S LAST TIME OUT
Villanova and Penn played to a 1-1 draw at Penn Park on Thursday night, increasing the Wildcats' unbeaten streak to 10, dating back to last season.

Jackie Richards scored for Villanova with a goal off a header in the 81st minute, but Penn responded with a goal off a corner kick just 70 seconds later to draw the contest level.

Penn's tally was the first time Villanova conceded a goal since drawing with Bucknell, 1-1, on Aug. 31. Villanova goalkeeper Payton Woodward made her lone save of the night in the 87th minute, laying out to make the stop.

The Quakers held advantages over Villanova in shot attempts (11-8) and corner kicks (7-3) over the 90-minute match.

38 YEARS, 218 MILES, 5 MEETINGS
Cornell and Villanova are meeting for the sixth time on Sunday afternoon. The Wildcats have a slight 3-2-0 edge over the Big Red in the series.

Last season, then-freshman defender Gaby Gonzalez netted the game-winning goal on a corner kick in the 18th minute to lift Cornell past Villanova, 2-1, at Berman Field. Laken Gallman opened the scoring with a 13th-minute tally. The win for the Big Red marked the first victory over the Wildcats since the inaugural contest between the programs on Oct. 7, 1984, in Garden City, N.Y.

Villanova's lone goal last season came from Alexa Wojnovich in the 19th minute, while Payton Woodward stopped seven Cornell shots in the setback for the Wildcats.

The Big Red is making its second-ever appearance on Villanova's home turf. In the only other meeting held at the Higgins Sports Complex, first-half goals by Chloe O'Neill and Brice McInroy spearheaded a 2-0 victory for the Wildcats. Goalkeeper Megan McClay made four saves in the clean sheet.

UP NEXT
Cornell will play its first Ivy League match of the season when it travels to Princeton on Saturday, Sept. 23. First touch from Myslik Field at Roberts Stadium is scheduled for 1 p.m. Game action will be broadcast live on ESPN+.