Field Hockey Announces 2018 Slate

ITHACA, N.Y. – Head coach Donna Hornibrook has announced the Big Red field hockey team's 2018 schedule. Cornell opens the season with three consecutive road games, starting with a contest at Bucknell on Friday, Aug. 31 at 4 p.m., before concluding the weekend at Lock Haven on Sunday, Sept. 2. The Big Red has a long history with the Bison, who own the 15-11-1 advantage in a series that began in 1974. The series with the Lady Eagles, on the other hand, has been relatively short, starting in 2007. Cornell defeated Lock Haven last year to even the series to 5-5. The meetings with the Lady Eagles have proven to be exciting with eight of the 10 games being decided by a single goal, including five in overtime. The road trip wraps up the following weekend when the Big Red looks to snap a five-game losing streak against Rutgers on Friday, Sept. 7. The home-opener against Rider is slated for Sunday, Sept. 9 on Marsha Dodson Field. Cornell has faced the Boncs just four times, with three of those meetings coming before 1997. The Big Red holds the 3-1 advantage after winning two straight, including a 3-1 decision in 2016. For the fourth time in Coach Hornibrook's tenure, the Big Red will participate in the Catamount Classic, facing Maine on Friday, Sept. 14, before taking on host Vermont on Sunday, Sept. 16. Cornell has won three in a row against both Maine and Vermont, evening both series at 3-3. Cornell will celebrate Homecoming Weekend and open Ivy League play when it welcomes Penn to Ithaca on Saturday, Sept. 22. Even though the Quakers hold a 26-14-2 lead all-time, and have won three in a row, the series has been back-and-forth in recent years, as the teams have split the last 20 meetings, with 11 of those coming as one-goal decisions. The team remains in Ithaca for a midweek contest against in-state rival Colgate on Tuesday, Sept. 25. The Big Red had a four-game winning streak against the Raiders snapped last season, but still holds the slim 22-20-3 lead in the all-time series. Cornell travels to Columbia on Sunday, Sept. 30, before returning to Dodson Field to take on Yale on Saturday, Oct. 6. The Big Red has lost two in a row to the Lions, but has won four straight against the Bulldogs. Cornell still leads both series, posting a 17-5 record all-time vs. Columbia and a mark of 22-17-1 in the series with Yale. The Big Red hits the road for three consecutive contests, travelling to Lehigh on Monday, Oct. 8, Harvard on Saturday, Oct. 13 and Brown on Saturday, Oct. 20. Cornell has won 22 straight games vs. the Mountain Hawks and owns a 24-1-1 lead in the series, but has lost two in a row to the Crimson to slip to 13-27-4 all-time. On the other hand, since Hornibrook became the head coach in 2004, Cornell has gone 11-3 vs. the Bears, including winning the last five meetings, to take the 21-16-2 lead in the all-time series. The team concludes the season with four straight home games, beginning with an attempt at winning its fourth consecutive meeting with Lafayette on Monday, Oct. 22. The following weekend Cornell welcomes Princeton (Oct. 27) and Bryant (Oct. 28). Perennial Ivy League power Princeton holds a commanding 31-6-3 lead in the all-time series, but the Big Red is a perfect 1-0 against the Bryant Bulldogs. The season concludes at home vs. Dartmouth on Saturday, Nov. 3. Cornell has won nine of its last 11 meetings with the Big Green, including five straight, to cut into Dartmouth's 22-16-1 lead in the all-time series. Cornell finished the 2017 season with a 10-6 record, giving the program double-digit wins for the fifth straight season and the ninth time in Hornibrook's 14-year tenure.