The Red may no longer be in contention for an Ivy League title, but the team will not surrender. To the sound of the final horn, the Red is determined to protect its pride and honor.
‘It’s always nice to win your last game of the season,’ said head coach Donna Hornibrook. ‘It can help you carry momentum into next season. Also, it’s the senior game so it has special significance to our graduating seniors. We definitely want to win this game.’
On Sunday, seniors Lori Blutinger, Danielle Dunn, Gina Testa, Jamie Woolsey, and Sara Wiener will bid farewell to Schoellkopf Field when the Red host Dartmouth in the season finale. Dartmouth enters the game with a 7-9 overall record (3-3 Ivy) and is coming off a victory over Holy Cross. Record aside, the Green is a quality opponent — having claimed victories over 16th ranked Syracuse and perennial Ivy League champion Princeton this season. The key to success for Dartmouth has been a strong defense that has allowed an average of only 1.83 goals a game. The Red will make some adjustments to counter the Green.
‘The system they play is different from the more traditional ones,’ Hornibrook said. ‘It requires us to do our best job. They are a good defensive team so we need to take a few more chances on offense. We had a setback against Villanova. We can’t slip back into the positional problems we had earlier in the season.’
The stiff Green defense is contrasted with a relatively ineffective offense. Dartmouth averages 1.67 goals per game and only once all season has the Green scored more than two goals in a league contest. Despite the Green’s weak attack, the Red is prepared for a tough outing.
‘It’s going to be a challenging game,’ Hornibrook said. ‘Dartmouth is big, strong, and athletic.’
The Red comes into Sunday’s game on a high note. Last Sunday, Cornell thrashed Rutgers, 4-0. Co-captain Testa had a record-tying day, scoring all four Red goals. Her feat marked only the fourth time in the history of the Cornell program that a player has scored four goals in one game. The goals gave Testa six on the season — tying her for the team lead and surpassing her total of five from last season. Assisting Testa on her march into the record books were classmates, Wiener, Woolsey, and Dunn. Dunn had the honor of contributing on two goals.
Defensively, the Red has played very well. Against Rutgers, the Red held the Scarlet Knights to 12 shots and five penalty corners. Goaltender Blutinger recorded her first career shutout stopping three shots.
‘We worked really hard,’ Blutinger said. ‘We had a huge win on Sunday where every member of my senior class contributed to the [4-0] shutout of Rutgers. We’ve been working all season to get to that point and to see it come together all at once. Hopefully, it will continue into Sunday and next season.’
Archived article by James Rich
Sun Staff Writer