ITHACA, N.Y. -- A battle between the Big Red and the Lions will commence this Saturday at 1 p.m. when Cornell women's lacrosse welcomes Columbia for its second of three home contests in March from Schoellkopf Field.

GAME INFO:
SITE: Schoellkopf Field -- Ithaca, N.Y.
DATE and TIME: Saturday, March 9 at 1 p.m.
RECORDS: Cornell (3-1, 1-0 Ivy League), Columbia (2-2, 0-1 Ivy League)
SERIES RECORD: Cornell leads, 26-0
BROADCAST: ESPN+
LIVE STATS: CornellBigRed.com

MATCHUP HISTORY
- Saturday's contest will be the 27th all-time meeting between the Big Red and the Lions.
- The Big Red had dominated since the first battle in 1997, winning all 26. Cornell's winning streak over Columbia is tied for the longest streak over an opponent in Ivy League history with Penn, who also is 26-0 against the Lions.
- Cornell has been on fire as of late at both ends of the field against its Ivy foe, scoring ten or more goals in 11 straight and holding Columbia to ten or fewer in five consecutive contests.
- The team's 23-8 victory in Ithaca during the 2022 season tied the program record for the most goals scored in a game in program history. Those other two instances happened at California in 2015 and against Binghamton in Ithaca in 2019.

A WIN OVER COLUMBIA WOULD 
- Make Cornell 4-1 through five games for the second consecutive year and secure a 2-0 start in Ivy play for the fourth time in the last five seasons. 
- Extend the Big Red's longest home winning streak over an Ivy opponent to 13-0.
- Be head coach Jenny Graap's 252nd victory as head coach and 231st at Cornell. 
- Secure the 373rd win in program history (372-326-4 in 52 seasons, .533). 

LAST TIME OUT: SIX PLAYERS LOG MULTI-POINT OUTINGS AS BIG RED DOWNS DARTMOUTH IN IVY OPENER
A rainy afternoon did nothing to cool off the Cornell women's lacrosse team, as it took down the Dartmouth Big Green, 15-13, last Saturday from Schoellkopf Field. The Big Red's victory secured its third consecutive one over Dartmouth and its Ivy League opener for the fourth time in five seasons.

Junior attacker Josie Vogel led the high-octane Cornell offense with three goals and an assist to nab her 19th consecutive game with at least one goal scored. Sophie Ward and Dillyn Patten also recorded hat tricks in the win, with Patten grabbing the first of her career after missing all last season due to injury. Bridget Babcock also flew around the field all afternoon for the Big Red, tallying two goals and two assists while securing a career-high five ground balls and a team-high two caused turnovers. Maggie Pons (two goals, two assists) and Kylie Gelabert (one goal, two assists) rounded out the multi-point performances in the win for the Big Red as each extended their point streaks to 10 and four games.

Cornell's offense continued to lay down the hammer early, as Gelabert found Vogel and Donahoe on separate feeds two minutes apart to push the Big Red ahead 2-0. Dartmouth eventually tied things up at three with 3:55 to go in the opening quarter off goals from Katina Christensen, Katie Elders, and Catherine Erb before Pons and Patten scored back-to-back goals over the final 13 seconds to jump back ahead by a 5-3 margin after one. The Big Red continued to make finding the back of the net a habit in the second, scoring four more off two unassisted goals by Vogel and another goal apiece from Patten and Pons to stay ahead by three heading into halftime.  

An entertaining third quarter saw game-highs in both shots (22) and shots on goal (15) between the Big Red and the Big Green as Dartmouth trimmed the deficit down to four twice. But Cornell weathered the storm thanks to a hat trick from Ward over 10 minutes of game action and a goal by Babcock immediately off the draw with two seconds left to keep the home team ahead by five going into the final 15 minutes. Dartmouth made things dicey in the final quarter, cutting Cornell's lead down to two on Fiona O'Keeffe's second of the day with 4:32 left. The Big Red defense stood tall late, allowing only one shot over the final four minutes and change to secure the win.

INSIDER: COLUMBIA
- Columbia comes into Saturday's game at 2-2 and 0-1 in Ivy League play. The Lions rebounded after a 16-5 loss to No. 14 Penn last Saturday with a 14-12 victory over Villanova on Wednesday from Robert K. Kraft Field. Columbia scored the first two goals and never looked back, securing the team's first win over the Wildcats in program history and the third all-time against a Big East opponent. 
- Anna Becker and Dani Falcone led the Lions with four goals each, while Cecelia Messner tacked on a hat trick. Becker's and Falcone's four-goal outing were career highs for the freshman and the junior. Michelle Zhai also handed out a career-best four assists for the blue and white. 
- Becker also recorded team-highs in ground balls (four) and draw controls in a game that included a combined 40 shots on goal between the Wildcats and the Lions. Freshman goalie Ava Kimche also earned her second win of the season in goal for Columbia with a career-high eight saves.
- Becker and Messner come into the weekend tied for the top spot on the team with nine goals each, while Zhai leads the Lions in points (13). 
- Columbia has struggled in the draw circle through four games this season, earning 41 victories. That metric is dead last in the Ivy League coming into the weekend. The Lions also have been given a combined 20 cards this season (11 green, nine yellow), sitting just behind Princeton (21) for the most in the conference. 
- Columbia returns three of its top four goal scorers from a season ago in Cecelia Messner (25), Dani Falcone (22), and Cordelia Flemming (19). An honorable mention All-Ivy selection in 2023, Falcone had three hat tricks and nine multi-point performances, including a career-high six points in a battle against William & Mary last season. Second team All-Ivy selection Julie Griswold also returns to anchor Columbia's defense after causing a team-high 13 turnovers and scooping up 13 ground balls in 15 starts a year ago. 
- Anne Murray heads into her third season as head coach of the Lions. Murray, who graduated from Princeton in 2009, helped lead the Tigers to four consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances as an attacker (2006-09). 
- All together, Murray has matched up against head coach Jenny Graap 16 times as a player and coach. Murray holds the overall record at 10-6, but Graap has taken the last three matchups. 
- The Lions are looking to rebound after a 3-12 season from a year ago that included going winless in Ivy play (0-7). Columbia also ended the season on an 11-game losing streak.

UP NEXT
Cornell will hit the road for the first time in March when it heads to Vestal to battle in-state rival Binghamton from the Bearcats Sports Complex on Tuesday, March 12 at 4 p.m. Game action will be available on ESPN Plus.