ITHACA, N.Y. — The Cornell women's soccer team travels to Providence, R.I., for a pivotal Ivy League match on Saturday afternoon when it battles Brown at Stevenson-Pincince Field. First touch is scheduled for 4 p.m.

Brown can clinch a spot in the Ivy League Women's Soccer Tournament with a win on Saturday, regardless of the outcomes of the other trio of conference fixtures.

Cornell is seeking to remain eligible in securing a spot in the tournament that will feature the top four-finishing programs in the Ivy League table following the conclusion of next week's matches. The only combination of results that would eliminate the Big Red from reaching the Ivy League Women's Soccer Tournament on Saturday would be if it loses to Brown, Yale defeats Columbia, and Penn either ties or defeats Harvard.

MATCH NO. 15
Cornell at Brown
SITE: Stevenson-Pincince Field – Providence, R.I. (artificial surface)
RECORDS: Cornell (3-7-4, 2-3-0 Ivy League), Brown (5-3-5, 2-1-2 Ivy League)
SERIES RECORD: Brown leads, 30-7-4
SERIES STREAK: Brown won 12
WEATHER FORECAST: 63°, mostly sunny, 0 percent chance of rain; Winds: WNW 10-15 mph
BROADCASTS: ESPN+
LIVE STATS: CornellBigRed.com

LAST TIME OUT
ITHACA, N.Y. (OCT. 19, 2024) — Sophomore forwards Alanna Colbert and Sydney Allen scored first-half goals to provide enough cushion for Cornell as it defeated Yale, 2-1, at Berman Field last Saturday afternoon.

Joining Colbert and Allen in the scoring column for the Big Red was senior forward Laken Gallman and senior defender Lily Ellingson, who assisted on the respective goals for the Big Red. Junior goalkeeper Natalie Medugno notched her third victory of the season, halting a trio of Bulldog shots.

Cornell owned a 14-8 advantage in shot attempts and a 9-4 edge in shots on goal.

THE MATCH IS ON HER FOOT
Sophomore forward Sydney Allen has recorded all three of Cornell's game-winning goals this season, which have come against Syracuse (Sept. 1), Dartmouth (Oct. 5), and in last Saturday's victory over Yale.

With her game-winning goal against Yale last Saturday, Allen became the 12th Cornell player (14th instance) to record three game-winning goals in a season. It is the first time Cornell has had a player net three game-winners in a season since Maneesha Chitanvis (three) in 2010.

Allen's three game-winning goals is tied with Princeton's Brooke Dawahare for the Ivy League lead in game-winning goals this season.

Should Allen register another game-winning goal this season, she would be the first Cornell player with at least four game-winning goals in a season since Amy Duesing in 1993. Allen would also be tied with Meagan McMahan (1983 and 1984), Amy Finkelstein (1990), Jen Tidsbury (1992) and Duesing for the second-most game-winning goals in a single season. Laurie Collier (five in 1987) currently assumes the Cornell single-season record.

MOST GAME-WINNING GOALS
Cornell Program History
1. 5, Laurie Collier (1987)
T2. 4, Meagan McMahan (1983, 1984)
T2. 4, Amy Finkelstein (1990)
T2. 4, Jen Tidsbury (1992)
T2. 4, Amy Duesing (1993)
T7. 3, 14 times by 12 players, Last: Sydney Allen (2024)

KNACK FOR THE NET
Cornell has scored at least one goal in 42 of its 61 matches played under head coach Rob Ferguson, dating back to the first season played under Ferguson in 2021.

The 68.9 percent of contests with a goal ranks as the highest clip in Cornell program history, surpassing Randy May, the program's first head coach. May saw his teams score in 67.7 percent of the 282 matches he coached (191 matches with a goal) during his 18-year tenure as head coach between 1982 and 1999.

HIGHEST PERCENTAGE OF MATCHES WITH A GOAL
By Coach — Cornell Program History
1. Rob Ferguson (2020-Present) — 68.9 percent (42-of-61)
2. Randy May (1982-99) — 67.7 percent (191-of-282)
3. Berhane Anderberhan (2000-05) — 66.0 percent (64-of-97)
4. Patrick Farmer (2012-16) — 62.2 percent (51-of-82)
5. Gretchen Zigante (2006) — 58.8 percent (10-of-17)
6. Danielle LaRoche (2007-11) — 48.1 percent (37-of-77)
7. Dwight Hornibrook (2017-19) — 38.6 percent (17-of-44)

As of late, the Big Red has displayed its scoring prowess, scoring a goal in 14 of its last 19 contests, 24 of its previous 30 matches, and 27 of its latest 35 fixtures, dating back to 2022.

SEEKING HISTORY
With a victory over Brown on Saturday afternoon, Cornell will have won at least three Ivy League matches in a season for the first time since posting a 5-0-2 conference record during the 1995 campaign.

Since the Cornell women's soccer program was elevated to varsity status prior to the 1982 campaign, the Big Red has registered at least three conference wins in a season on nine occasions — all of which came during a 10-year stretch between 1986 and 1995 (1986, 1987, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995).

Since 1996, the Big Red has won two Ivy League matches in a campaign eight times, five of which have come over the last 10 seasons (1996, 1999, 2002, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2022, 2024).

CLEAN SHEET CLUB
With her clean sheet against Lehigh on Sept. 8, junior goalkeeper Natalie Medugno increased her career total for clean sheets to 5.5.

Medugno is one-half of a clean sheet away from tying Meghan Cauzillo (1997-00) and Meghan Kennedy (2015-18) for the 10th-most shutouts in Big Red program history.

Should Medugno record a full clean sheet on Saturday afternoon, it would be her second clean sheet of the season, surpassing Cauzillo and Kennedy and match Katrina Matlin (2003-06) for the ninth-most clean sheets by a Cornell goalkeeper.

CAREER CLEAN SHEETS
Cornell Program History
1. 22, Melissa Gambrell (1986-89)
2. 21.5, Kelsey Tierney (2013-16)
3. 20, Sue DeLong (1990-91, 93-94)
4. 16, Sherrie Chocola (1984-86)
5. 13, Katie Thomas (2001-04)
6. 10, Marybeth Bell (1995-96)
7. 9, Kate Thompson (1983-84)
8. 7, Kate Alexander (1992-93)
9. 6.5, Katrina Matlin (2003-06)
T10. 6, Meghan Cauzillo (1997-00)
T10. 6, Meghan Kennedy (2015-18)
12. 5.5, Natalie Medugno (2022-Present)

NOBODY WINS
Cornell's four draws are tied for the third-most in a single season, matching the outputs by the squads from 2002 and 2015. The Big Red's next draw would match the 2022 squad for the second-most ties in program history. Only last year's team, which concluded the year with a 4-5-6 mark, had more draws in a single season.

The Big Red's four ties are tied with Columbia (6-3-4) for the third-most draws by an Ivy League program, trailing Penn (1-7-6) and Harvard (5-3-5).

MOST DRAWS IN A SINGLE SEASON
Cornell Program History
1. 2023 — 4-5-6 record (.467 win percentage)
2. 2022 — 4-7-5 record (.406 win percentage)
T3. 2002 — 8-5-4 record (.588 win percentage)
T3. 2015 — 9-4-4 record (.647 win percentage)
T3. 2024 — 3-7-4 record (.357 win percentage)

IVY PRESEASON POLL
Cornell was picked to finish eighth in this year's Ivy League women's soccer preseason poll, the conference office announced on Aug. 19.

After claiming last year's inaugural Ivy League Women's Soccer Tournament title, Harvard was tabbed the preseason favorite upon receiving 10 of the 16 first-place votes. The Crimson concluded with a point total of 120, 12 points ahead of Brown (108), which received four first-place votes. Behind Brown was Princeton, which finished with 103 points and the other two first-place votes.

Rounding out the eight-team poll ahead of Cornell's 22 points was Columbia (77 points) in fourth, Dartmouth (57 points) in fifth, Yale (48 points) in sixth, and Penn (41 points) in seventh.

SCOUTING BROWN
Brown enters Saturday afternoon's match with a 5-3-5 overall record and 2-1-2 mark in Ivy League play.The Bears currently assume third place in the Ivy League table with its eight points, one point ahead of fourth-place Yale and two points ahead of fifth-place Cornell.

Entering Thursday's matches, Brown is one of 47 Division I programs to not have a loss on its home pitch this season.

The Bears enter today's contest riding an seven-match home unbeaten streak (5-0-2) and is unbeaten over its last 20 regular-season home matches (15-0-5). Brown's last regular-season home loss came on Sept. 8, 2022, against then-No. 22-ranked Ohio State, 3-2, and its last home regular-season loss to an Ivy League opponent came in a 3-2 setback against Harvard on Oct. 13, 2018.

Ella Weil, the reigning Ivy League Offensive Player of the Week, leads Brown's offense behind her team-leading five goals and 13 points, both figures ranking as the fourth-most in the Ivy League this season. Karlie Schlosser has a team-high four assists, which has her in a five-way tie for the second-most helpers in the Ancient Eight.

Bella Schopp has started in all 13 of her appearances this season, logging a 5-3-5 record with a 1.06 goals-against average and .735 save percentage. Schopp has four clean sheets on the season, tied with Columbia's Lauren Rodriguez for the third-most in the Ivy League.

BROWN'S LAST TIME OUT
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (OCT. 19, 2024) — Ella Weil's team-leading fifth goal of the season gave Brown an early 1-0 lead, but the Bears conceded a marker in the 66th minute to Columbia as the Bears and Lions played to a 1-1 draw at Stevenson-Pincince Field.

Weil's goal came off a rebound of a shot by Layla Shell from outside the 18-yard box that hit the crossbar.

Bella Schopp made both of her saves during first-half action while Columbia's 66th-minute goal snapped her shutout streak at exactly 250 minutes.

42 YEARS, 325 MILES, 41 MEETINGS
Cornell and Brown will be meeting for the 42nd time on Saturday afternoon. The Bears own the advantage in the series, 30-7-4, while owning a 14-match unbeaten streak (13-0-1) over the Big Red since Cornell's last victory over its Ivy League rival in 2008.

Brown has held Cornell scoreless in three of the last four meetings and 10 times during its 14-match unbeaten streak over the Big Red.

Last year, then-No. 15-ranked Brown registered a 2-1 victory at Berman Field on Cornell's Senior Day to solidify its fourth consecutive Ivy League regular-season title. Ava Laden scored the lone goal for Cornell, trimming Brown's lead in half with her tally in the 67th minute. Erica Fox made four saves in the setback for the Big Red.