With a 3-1 record in Ivy play and a 7-2 record overall, the women’s lacrosse team is poised to make a run for the Ivy League Championship, a feat that has not been accomplished since 2006. Coming off a huge overtime win against Princeton, the Red looks to build on its momentum against Dartmouth at home on Saturday, and hopefully climb even further in the national rankings.
“Dartmouth (7-1, 3-0 Ivy League) has always been a good team, and we have been working all this week to focus and develop a strategy against them,” said senior midfielder Katie Kirk.
When Cornell (7-2, 3-1) faces off against the Green this Friday, the team will be facing a Dartmouth squad that is loaded with talent and looking to make a run at a national title this year.
The Green is currently ranked in the Top-10 in two national polls. In addition, the Green is coming off a two game winning streak, and has suffered its only loss to nationally ranked Florida.
“Dartmouth is a good team, and we have had a lot of trouble competing with them in the past,” said junior attack Veronica Lizzio. “At the same time, every Ivy game is important, and we prepare accordingly for each one.”
However, despite Dartmouth’s firepower, Cornell is still riding its overtime win against Princeton last weekend. Senior captain Jessi Steinberg’s impressive performance earned her the title of womenslax.com Player of the Week. Her four goals and one assist against the Tigers propelled the Red to victory. In addition, senior defender Cacki Helmer is having a career season, earning Ivy League Defensive Player of the Week on March 12 for creating numerous turnovers and collecting eight ground balls.
“The win against Princeton was great,” said senior attack Olivia Knotts. “It kept us in the running for the Ivy title, and made the game against Dartmouth this week mean even more.”
In addition to staying in contention for the conference title, a win against Dartmouth would give the seniors a victory against a team that they have yet to defeat in their careers at Cornell.
“This game against Dartmouth has some extra meaning for us,” Knotts said. “Not only would it give us a major victory in Ivy League play, but it would give us our first win against a team we have not defeated in three years.”
Cornell will face off against the Green on Saturday at 7:00 P.M. The game will also be Cornell’s “Pink Game” this season, as t-shirts will be sold and donations will be accepted to raise awareness for breast cancer.
Original Author: Nicholas Rielly