Although it was a cold and rainy day in Ithaca, N.Y., the women’s lacrosse team shined more brightly than ever when it defeated Yale, 12-5, last Sunday at Schoellkopf field. With the win, the Red will advance to the first-ever Ivy League Tournament, which will take place next weekend at the Penn.The Red (5-8, 4-3 Ivy) went into the game knowing that its chances of making the tournament were on the line since Yale (6-9, 3-4) was in the exact same position as Cornell. Whichever team came out victorious would secure a spot alongside Princeton, Dartmouth and Penn in the conference tournament. Cornell will face Dartmouth on Friday, thanks in large part to sophomore Jessi Steinberg, who racked up six goals for the Red in its victory over the Bulldogs.“Jessi had another great game for us offensively,” said senior midfielder Morgan Hale. “Her first three goals got us on the board early and gave our attack the ability to really work our possessions and run our plays.”In addition to Steinberg’s double hat trick, sophomore midfielder Katie Kirk picked up three goals, while junior captain Libby Johnson scored two. Hale scored Cornell’s final goal with five seconds on the clock — her first goal of the season. “It was a big time team win,” Hale said of the victory. “All of our units really worked well together. Our transition game and defensive riding was much improved and we had a lot of players contributing to our high number of caused turnovers. Our draw control in the second half also provided us with important possession time in the attacking end.”One player whose contributions were extremely notable was sophomore defenseman Caroline Helmer. She had four ground ball wins, two draws and a caused turnover. Helmer’s outstanding performance this weekend earned her Ivy League Defensive Player of the Week. Not only did the win secure the Red a ticket to the Ivy Tournament, but it also provided the team with a win on Senior Day — the home game during which the team honored its seven seniors. Tissy O’Connor, Kate Dewey, Kristen Reese, Lindsey Kane, Kaitlyn Giles, Morgan Hale and Megan Gray were surprised by the a choreographed dance routine performed by the underclassmen during warm-ups as a tribute to the seniors. “It was amazing,” Hale said. “I know I speak for the seven seniors when I say it’s a moment on the field that we’ll never forget.” Helmer, who was one of the choreographers, added that the victory was particularly memorable for the Red because it came on Senior Day.“Being able to send off the seniors who have done so much for this program with a great win was an amazing feeling,” she said. Next up, for the No. 3 seeded Red is a match-up with No. 2 Dartmouth in the tournament this Friday at 4 p.m. in Philadelphia, Pa. Cornell fell to Dartmouth, 6-9, only two weeks ago during their lone regular season meeting. However, both Helmer and Hale explained that the previous loss would act as further motivation to win the upcoming game. “Immediately after our Dartmouth game, the first thing we all said was that we wanted another shot at the Big Green,” Helmer said. “Now that we have that second chance we can’t wait to show them how well Cornell lacrosse is capable of playing.”Hale agreed. “We couldn’t be more pumped that we get to take on Dartmouth again. Our team focus has been improving with each competition, and Friday is another opportunity for us to up our game and compete with confidence,” she said.
Original Author: Katie Schubauer