The women’s lacrosse team is coming off an overwhelming 17-5 victory over Colgate Wednesday night and is excited to face Ivy rival Dartmouth in contest tomorrow in New Hampshire. Luckily for the Red, an 11-2 halftime lead over the Red Raiders allowed the starters to rest, so they will be fresh for a clash with the Big Green.
Cornell (7-1, 2-1 Ivy) is set for one of its biggest games all season, and desires to avenge a loss last year. Dartmouth (5-1, 2-1 Ivy) was one of only four teams to beat the Red, and now stands in the way of Cornell’s hope to win the Ivy League. The Big Green has won the league five of the last six years, including the last four seasons in a row. Cornell has already suffered one Ivy loss, to Princeton, but the Tigers have proven beatable, falling 13-9 to Loyola. Moreover, Dartmouth has shown signs of weakness, losing a 13-7 game to Yale.
The Red knows its opponent, and what it needs to do to win the match-up. Cornell has to open quickly, and come out fast. This has been a problem, though mostly against unranked teams. Also, the Red must hold on defense and shut out Dartmouth’s scorers.
No one is more able to take on the task of protecting the net than the Cornell defense. Sophomore Katie McCorry had a dominating game against Colgate, managing to hold her mark scoreless the entire game. Senior co-captain Sarah McGoey is also having a stellar year, lending some experience to the young team. And as far as netLoo-tenders go, junior Carrie Giancola is one of the best.
The key to Dartmouth is its defense. The Red attack will need to be patient to get the ball past the Big Green’s first-team All Ivy, third-team All-American goalkeeper Sarah Hughes. Cornell has plenty of offensive weapons to try to score. Heading up the charge is junior Jamiee Reynolds, the Red’s leading scorer with 22 points on the season. She is flanked by junior co-captain Ginny Miles, who has racked up 18 points. The pair have proven to be go-to-players, scoring crucial goals and setting up the offense to make plays.
Sophomore Sarah Averson has the hot stick lately, nailing four goals against Colgate. Classmate Erica Holveck has demonstrated her speed in sprinting down the field to get the fast score. The trio of attackers junior Lori Wohlshlegal, sophomore Sarah Fischer and freshman Michelle Allen round out the ammunition for the Red.
Cornell wants to win the Ivy League not only for the title, but also because the champion gets an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. The Red either needs to earn the number one spot, or beat enough ranked teams to get a selection bid. A win over the Big Green is key to fulfilling either of those scenarios. The battle begins at 1:00 p.m. on Scully-Fahey Field.
Archived article by Cammy Kandiko