The women’s lacrosse team will travel to Cambridge, Mass. this weekend to face off against the Crimson of Harvard. Though the history between these two teams has been traditionally dominated by Harvard, who holds a 19-3 advantage in the all-time series, Cornell has reversed that trend in recent years, winning the last three meetings. If the story for the two teams this year continues, it seems that Cornell’s novel trend will continue.
Cornell (11-1, 5-1 Ivy) has clinched at least second place in the Ivy League, and is riding a six- game winning streak heading into tomorrow’s game. Its only loss on the year was suffered at the hands of top-ranked Princeton.
Harvard’s season has been up and down for the most part and has leveled out with a record near .500 (7-6). It has fought hard but had little success against Ivy opponents finding itself just outside the cellar of the league, with its only Ivy win coming over Columbia.
Nevertheless, Harvard remains a threat for the Red as it seems to finally be clicking coming into Saturday’s game. It holds a current three-game winning streak, including a convincing showing against 20th ranked New Hampshire on Wednesday. This weekend will also be senior weekend for the Crimson, which may make the game all the more emotional for them.
“They are definitely a legit team,” commented Cornell senior midfielder Katie McCorry. “They have had some good games recently and are looking to come out strong. We need to be ready for that.”
The Crimson’s offense has also seemed to find itself as of late. Though there has been a dearth of scoring for most of the season, Harvard has combined for 35 goals in the last three games. Their offense has several weapons including Katie Shaughnessy, Melissa Christino, and Elaine Belitsos that the Red must look to contain.
Harvard’s defense has varied throughout the year, though it has been strong in the past two games, giving up a total of just seven goals. Laura Mancini will be between the pipes for the Crimson.
Cornell’s recent success has been even more impressive. In its six game stretch since Princeton, Cornell has battled several ranked teams emerging victorious each time. They dismantled perennial league power Dartmouth, held off an emotional BU team, defeated local rival Syracuse and escaped Ivy foe Yale with an overtime victory.
This past Tuesday Cornell continued to look dominant as they easily rolled over Colgate 13-4 in Hamilton, NY.
What has especially been notable in these past few games is the key play from several of the seniors on the squad. Lori Wohlschlegel has been phenomenal during the stretch. Coming back from an injury early in the season, she has consistently helped the Red find the back of the net in one way or the other, recording a hat trick in five of the six games and adding nine assists.
Classmate midfielder Jaimee Reynolds has also been explosive during this streak. She has 20 points including four hat tricks. A consistent threat throughout her career, she has continued her goal scoring streak to 59 games, which is every game she has ever played in at Cornell. Having amassed 173 points during her career she is now just 7 points away from tying Cari Hills’s all-time scoring mark.
Goalie Carrie Ginacola has also been a stalwart senior during this period, coming up big in several games including against BU when she stopped 14 shots, and against Yale where she turned aside a season high 20 shots, including several in OT.
The Red has also seen production lately from senior Beth Calder and juniors Sarah Aversion and Sarah Fischer. The defense, led by seniors McCorry and Sarah Graham and juniors Rachel Friedman and Erica Holveck, has been stellar throughout the season allowing only Princeton to score in double digits. It will look to continue that trend against the Crimson.
“We would like to go out on a good note for our last Ivy game,” said senior midfielder Kari Zarzecki. “We are excited for the game and we are not going to let anything that Harvard throws at us break our mindset.”
Archived article by Chris Callanan