Cornell Trounces Siena, Continues Perfect Start

Cornell field hockey continues to keep the ball rolling in the right direction as the Red stayed perfect on the season after shutting out Siena, 4-0, yesterday afternoon.
Saints (1-3) goalkeeper Renee Clavette registered 22 saves, but could not hold off the persistent Red (3-0) attack. In the course of 70 minutes, Cornell pounded the net with 43 shots to Siena’s one.
With one goal and one assist, junior attacker Catie De Stio was first to put the Red on the board. Freshman midfielder Genevieve Collins scored soon after off of a shot by De Stio to give Cornell the 2-0 lead. Opportunity arose from a penalty corner when junior midfielder Mattie Prodanovic struck the ball hard on goal. Senior midfielder Katie Kirnan repositioned the shot to ensure that the ball slipped passed Clavette and the Red ended the half up by three.
In the second stanza, junior midfielder Kate Thompson developed the play that would cap the score at 4-0. Bringing the ball up the field, Thompson found freshman Kat DiPastina, who assisted sophomore midfielder Olivia Boyd in logging the first goal of her college career. [img_assist|nid=37938|title=First blood|desc=Junior attacker Catie De Stio scored first in the Red’s offensive onslaught against the Saints yesterday.|link=node|align=left|width=336|height=240]
Senior Mel Jue and sophomore Alex Botte split time in the cage to share the shutout victory. The strong defensive squad proved to be impenetrable as neither Red goalie was summoned to intervene in making a stop.
“I think the team as a whole came together,” said De Stio, “We really started to connect our passes and shots. We finished on the offensive end and played solid defense. It was a great team effort across the field.”
Like De Stio, junior back Liz Schovee is convinced that leadership and teamwork has played a key role in the team’s success.
“The goalies have been tremendous in communicating with our backs and we have done a great job of working as one cohesive unit in the last three games,” said Schovee, “On defense we continue to make an effort not to cause fouls and we did not allow any corners against Siena. This is not only a result of close marking, but also from keeping the ball out of our defensive end.”
Cornell will return to Marsha Dodson Field on Saturday at noon to take on Lock Haven in its second home game of the season. The Lady Eagles stand at 3-1 after downing Vermont, 3-0, on Sunday. Lock Haven’s only loss of the fall came from No. 13 Penn State.
“This is a good team with good ball carriers,” said Schovee, “Traditionally, our games have been close, so it will definitely be a test of our defense. We need to communicate a lot and make sure we are all on the same page.”
“This weekend will be a good indication as to where we stand as a team so far this season,” said Botte, “We struggled against Lock Haven in the past. If we just put the ball away in the attacking third and the defense plays the way it has been this week then we should be in good shape.”
The Red players, in hopes that their undefeated status will attract a good turnout to the turf on Saturday, are pumped and ready for action. “Weekend competitions put everyone in a mindset where the focus is on field hockey alone,” said Schovee, “It will be exciting to carry out our home pre-game routines again.”
“Every game we go in with the same mentality. We want to win,” said De Stio, “ We expect good competition from all of our opponents and we see each game as a stepping stone for us to gain experience and become a better team.”