For all you folks out there who complain about how Cornell never plays “big-name” schools from “big-name” conferences, you can officially quit complaining.
That’s right, Cornell and the Cardinal of Stanford get it on at Berman field at 4:00 p.m. this afternoon. The occasion — a women’s lacrosse showdown between two of the hottest teams in the nation.
No. 14 Cornell sports a snazzy 5-0 record heading into battle but has had problems revving itself up at the beginnings of matches, occasionally finding itself grasping for victories in the second half.
“We’re working our way up, but we’ve got to keep working,” head coach Jenny Graap ’86 noted.
“I hope it’s not a problem in the upcoming games,” senior co-captain Sarah McGoey commented. “We have had a few games with slower starts, but it’s just a matter of getting motivated.”
Nonetheless, the team has always found ways to pull together, often relying on its stifling defense.
It was at this point last season that the Red suffered its first defeat, at the hands of then No. 13 Vanderbilt. The Red dispatched Vandy this past week, 8-6.
“We haven’t really talked about it as a team, but I’ve thought about it,” McGoey said, referring to last year’s loss. “It’s a little bit nerve-racking. Stanford has been playing well, and going into Princeton [this weekend] with a loss would be tough.”
Stanford’s athletic prowess is well-known as 15 of its spring sports teams are nationally ranked; 12 of them are in the top five.
Its women’s lacrosse team owns its own four-game winning streak and is on the verge of receiving a national ranking. Each of these games has seen the Cardinal score over 10 points.
“They have a lot of one-on-one schemes, so we’ve been practicing against that,” McGoey said. “Overall we just want to be strong and continue to play well.”
Like Cornell, Stanford also played Vanderbilt, defeating the Commodores, 11-6. However, the Cardinal suffered a 12-8 defeat at the hands of George Mason, the only ranked team it has played all season. Cornell, on the other hand, upset the only ranked team it faced, defeating No. 13 Penn State, 11-9.
Stanford is led by a trio of forwards — Katherine Barnes, Abbi Hills, and Liz Lanese who account for over 50% of the team’s offense. Barnes is averaging almost six points a game this season.
Junior forward Jamiee Reynolds leads the Red with 19 points and 22 ground balls, while sophomore Katie McCory paces the team with two interceptions.
“We have the better squad, and I have confidence that we’ll win,” McGoey assured.
Archived article by Sumeet Sarin