Field Hockey Preview

With some help, the field hockey team has the opportunity to finish the season as Ivy League champions with a win in its final game against Dartmouth.
Although Dartmouth (6-10, 1-5 Ivy) has struggled somewhat this season, the Red (9-7, 4-2 Ivy) cannot afford to take the Green lightly. Following a 4-2 win over Siena, Cornell is currently tied for second in the Ivy standings.
“Dartmouth is a very tough team and we know that it’s not going to be an easy game,” said senior co-captain Katie Bradshaw. “The Ivy League is really competitive and we know anything can happen. We just have to focus on this last game before thinking about any of the scenarios.”
With the league-leading Princeton Tigers playing Penn on Friday night, the Red will know whether the title is attainable going into Saturday night’s game. The scenario is simple, the Cornell field hockey team can take a share of the Ivy crown with a Princeton loss coupled with a Cornell win.
The Green has a 20-7-1 all-time record over the Red but Cornell had the last laugh in 2006, with a 5-2 victory in Ithaca.
“We hope we’re going to have a chance at the title. Princeton has to play their final game away at Penn so anything can happen there,” said head coach Donna Hornibrook. “I know that we’re going to be pretty motivated against Dartmouth and our players are going to give everything they have. Our players have really shown their talent and their ability to play multiple positions this season. We’ve had some tough injuries but other players were able to step up and show the real depth of our team. I’m very proud of the team this year for their continued effort and I know they’re going to bring that to the final game.”
This final game is a crucial one for both Bradshaw and senior classmate Lizzie Goldblatt as they hope to end their careers on a high note.
“It’s tough to believe that this is going to be my last game,” Bradshaw said. “Hopefully we can finish it off with a win.”
The Red will have to travel to New Hampshire to face Dart­mouth but the Red’s 6-1 away game record shows that the team has no problem traveling to another arena.
“We’ve been working on ball movement, tackling, and other issues that we had in the past few games,” Bradshaw said. “We played really well though and all of the players on the team have really been able to step up.” Hornibrook was able to reach her milestone 200th win in her last game against Siena and now she can lead the Red to its fifth Ivy title with a victory over Dartmouth and some help from Princeton.