Senior Soccer Players Depart With Sadness

When the seniors of the women's soccer team walk off the pitch this Saturday at the team's final game, they will leave behind a team vastly different from the one they joined three years ago. Seniors Katie Thomas, Natalie Dew, Kelley Hess, Ann Hubert, Megan Healey, and co-captain Emily Wyffels have all made their mark on the program, and they will be sorely missed by their teammates and coaches.

"It's always tough to see every senior group go, because we work hard to replace them in playing ability, but every year, it makes me wonder if we can replace that kind of commitment and spirit that these kids have shown me the last couple of year," said head coach Berhane Andeberhan.

The Class of 2005 has been through a lot in its four years on East Hill. After a 4-8-3 campaign in 2001, the team reached the ECAC Finals in 2002 and traveled all the way to Oahu last season for a game against Hawaii. While the Red is going through a difficult season this year, the seniors have maintained a positive attitude throughout.

"Even though this has been a rough year, I think we all believe we have made a difference in changing the culture of the team, and we hope to see our teammates take it the rest of the way to being a truly great program," Thomas said.

Thomas has been the team's go-to goalkeeper since her freshmen year. After posting 104 saves as a rookie, Thomas recorded a 0.96 goals against average and six shutouts, and was an All-Ivy honorable mention selection as a sophomore. Although she was hampered by injury last year, Thomas returned healthy at the start of the 2004 season, and has split time in goal with sophomore Katrina Matlin.

Dew has been a mainstay in the back for several years. While usually playing at stopper, Dew was called upon at times to mark an opponent's dangerous forward, often times volunteering for the job. She has also played at the defensive midfielder position, and last season was named to the All-Ivy second team.

"She relishes the task of defending. She's a very intense and physical player," Andeberhan said. "When she first came here, she got dirty looks from teammates in practice because she was so physically intense, and a lot of them were not used to it."

Hess is one of the best technical players on the team and a student of the game. She has seen time at midfield throughout her playing career.

Hubert, a fullback, has been hampered by a foot injury during the last two years. While her injuries have limited her playing time during her career, she has worked hard to recover. "Through it all, she has been an amazing young lady, very courageous. She maintained a tremendous work ethic," Andeberhan said. "Even though she didn't play a lot, she has been an inspiration in many ways because for such little reward, Ann has been working hard, and we value her as a member of the team."

Healey, who starred at Ithaca High School, transferred to Cornell from Stony Brook after her freshmen year and is a talented defensive midfielder.

"In high school, she played mostly in the center, but we have her playing on the wings. Right or left, she handled it very well, and her strength is her defensive presence," Andeberhan said.

Wyffels has also battled injury during her time at Cornell, but has emerged as a leader this season, serving as one of the team's four captains. She recently scored her first career goal against Buffalo, and is the Red's best technical forward.

"In the spring and summer, she really took care of a lot of key things -- team unity, helping the team prepare, captain's practices," Andeberhan said. "She is one of the people that you will hold as an example, whether she plays a lot or plays a little, she always maintains such a positive even keel. She's a great person for freshmen to imitate."

The seniors have played a role in mentoring the younger players on the team, an opportunity they have enjoyed. While their time at Cornell is almost over, the class of 2005 has helped the program grow into one that will be strong in the years to come.

"We came into the program as Berhane's first recruiting class," Thomas said. "Knowing that we were undertaking the challenge to rebuild the program. I know we all have given our hearts and souls to bringing this team to a different level than it was our freshmen year."

When the seniors of the women's soccer team walk off the pitch this Saturday at the team's final game, they will leave behind a team vastly different from the one they joined three years ago. Seniors Katie Thomas, Natalie Dew, Kelley Hess, Ann Hubert, Megan Healey, and co-captain Emily Wyffels have all made their mark on the program, and they will be sorely missed by their teammates and coaches.
"It's always tough to see every senior group go, because we work hard to replace them in playing ability, but every year, it makes me wonder if we can replace that kind of commitment and spirit that these kids have shown me the last couple of year," said head coach Berhane Andeberhan.
The Class of 2005 has been through a lot in its four years on East Hill. After a 4-8-3 campaign in 2001, the team reached the ECAC Finals in 2002 and traveled all the way to Oahu last season for a game against Hawaii. While the Red is going through a difficult season this year, the seniors have maintained a positive attitude throughout.
"Even though this has been a rough year, I think we all believe we have made a difference in changing the culture of the team, and we hope to see our teammates take it the rest of the way to being a truly great program," Thomas said.
Thomas has been the team's go-to goalkeeper since her freshmen year. After posting 104 saves as a rookie, Thomas recorded a 0.96 goals against average and six shutouts, and was an All-Ivy honorable mention selection as a sophomore. Although she was hampered by injury last year, Thomas returned healthy at the start of the 2004 season, and has split time in goal with sophomore Katrina Matlin.
Dew has been a mainstay in the back for several years. While usually playing at stopper, Dew was called upon at times to mark an opponent's dangerous forward, often times volunteering for the job. She has also played at the defensive midfielder position, and last season was named to the All-Ivy second team.
"She relishes the task of defending. She's a very intense and physical player," Andeberhan said. "When she first came here, she got dirty looks from teammates in practice because she was so physically intense, and a lot of them were not used to it."
Hess is one of the best technical players on the team and a student of the game. She has seen time at midfield throughout her playing career.
Hubert, a fullback, has been hampered by a foot injury during the last two years. While her injuries have limited her playing time during her career, she has worked hard to recover. "Through it all, she has been an amazing young lady, very courageous. She maintained a tremendous work ethic," Andeberhan said. "Even though she didn't play a lot, she has been an inspiration in many ways because for such little reward, Ann has been working hard, and we value her as a member of the team."
Healey, who starred at Ithaca High School, transferred to Cornell from Stony Brook after her freshmen year and is a talented defensive midfielder.
"In high school, she played mostly in the center, but we have her playing on the wings. Right or left, she handled it very well, and her strength is her defensive presence," Andeberhan said.
Wyffels has also battled injury during her time at Cornell, but has emerged as a leader this season, serving as one of the team's four captains. She recently scored her first career goal against Buffalo, and is the Red's best technical forward.
"In the spring and summer, she really took care of a lot of key things -- team unity, helping the team prepare, captain's practices," Andeberhan said. "She is one of the people that you will hold as an example, whether she plays a lot or plays a little, she always maintains such a positive even keel. She's a great person for freshmen to imitate."
The seniors have played a role in mentoring the younger players on the team, an opportunity they have enjoyed. While their time at Cornell is almost over, the class of 2005 has helped the program grow into one that will be strong in the years to come.
"We came into the program as Berhane's first recruiting class," Thomas said. "Knowing that we were undertaking the challenge to rebuild the program. I know we all have given our hearts and souls to bringing this team to a different level than it was our freshmen year."
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No. 8 Princeton Proves Too Much For Women's Soccer

Eighth-ranked Princeton showed why it is one of the best teams in the country Friday night, as the Tigers defeated the women's soccer team (4-10-2, 1-5-0 Ivy), 7-0, at Berman Field. With the win, Princeton clinched its fourth Ivy League title in the past five seasons, along with a berth in the NCAA College Cup tournament, while the Red dropped its ninth-straight game. Princeton's Esmerelda Negron had a record-breaking night, as she became the program's all-time leading scorer and also set the record for goals scored in a season.

"They're clearly the best team in the league, and we didn't match up with them," said head coach Berhane Andeberhan. "What I'm proud of is the kids hung in there and battled."

From the outset, the Tigers used their speed to attack the Cornell defense and senior goalie Katie Thomas. During the first 20 minutes of play, Thomas stopped several Princeton breakaways and dangerous shots. However, in the 22nd minute, the Tigers finally broke through, when Maura Gallagher recovered the ball to the left of the Cornell box. She then found Negron open in the middle, and Negron placed a low shot past Thomas for her 12th goal of the season.

Diana Matheson continued the scoring for Princeton in the 31st minute when she beat Thomas on a hard-angle shot from the right side. Matheson then tacked on another tally in the 39th minute, as she received the ball from midfield on the left side of the goal, connecting on a similar hard-angle shot. 

"The most important thing is that we couldn't handle their physicality and their speed. They have foot speed everywhere, which was amazing," Andeberhan said. "We played okay, but we weren't able to generate a lot of offense because we were busy defending."

Thomas was tested early in the second half, making a diving stop in the 45th minute. She then stopped a shot from five yards out in the 55th minute, only to have the ball deflect right to Princeton's Emily Behncke, who buried the shot in the net. Less than a minute later, Matheson served the ball downfield, with Negron and freshman Leslie Campbell chasing after it. Negron beat Campbell to the ball, and tapped it over the head of Thomas, who had come out of the box to play the ball.

Princeton relied on the same tactic throughout the game to set up its scoring chances. The Tigers would send the ball downfield on the wings, and the forwards used their speed to recover the ball deep in the Cornell end. The Red shifted its players to cut off the wings, but that opened up passing lanes for Princeton in the middle.

While the game was out of reach, Andeberhan was pleased with the team's effort throughout the last quarter of the game.

"We wanted to keep battling and learn as much as we can from this game," he said. "We've never been in a situation where we're playing the offside trap, and we constantly have them in trouble, but we're also in danger of disaster. You can't manufacture that in practice."

The Red's offside trap yielded nine offside calls on Princeton, but it also led to the Tigers' sixth goal, as Negron scored her third goal of the game after she was close to being offsides. Amanda Ferranti finished the scoring for Princeton in the 85th minute, when she collected a rebound from the left side of the net.

The Tigers outshot the Red, 26-5, and Thomas finished the game with seven saves, several of which were on point-blank shots.

"She was unlucky in a couple of spots. I thought she and Leslie played great, and it's hard to realize that with such a lopsided score," Andeberhan said.

Eighth-ranked Princeton showed why it is one of the best teams in the country Friday night, as the Tigers defeated the women's soccer team (4-10-2, 1-5-0 Ivy), 7-0, at Berman Field. With the win, Princeton clinched its fourth Ivy League title in the past five seasons, along with a berth in the NCAA College Cup tournament, while the Red dropped its ninth-straight game. Princeton's Esmerelda Negron had a record-breaking night, as she became the program's all-time leading scorer and also set the record for goals scored in a season.
"They're clearly the best team in the league, and we didn't match up with them," said head coach Berhane Andeberhan. "What I'm proud of is the kids hung in there and battled."
From the outset, the Tigers used their speed to attack the Cornell defense and senior goalie Katie Thomas. During the first 20 minutes of play, Thomas stopped several Princeton breakaways and dangerous shots. However, in the 22nd minute, the Tigers finally broke through, when Maura Gallagher recovered the ball to the left of the Cornell box. She then found Negron open in the middle, and Negron placed a low shot past Thomas for her 12th goal of the season.
Diana Matheson continued the scoring for Princeton in the 31st minute when she beat Thomas on a hard-angle shot from the right side. Matheson then tacked on another tally in the 39th minute, as she received the ball from midfield on the left side of the goal, connecting on a similar hard-angle shot.
"The most important thing is that we couldn't handle their physicality and their speed. They have foot speed everywhere, which was amazing," Andeberhan said. "We played okay, but we weren't able to generate a lot of offense because we were busy defending."
Thomas was tested early in the second half, making a diving stop in the 45th minute. She then stopped a shot from five yards out in the 55th minute, only to have the ball deflect right to Princeton's Emily Behncke, who buried the shot in the net. Less than a minute later, Matheson served the ball downfield, with Negron and freshman Leslie Campbell chasing after it. Negron beat Campbell to the ball, and tapped it over the head of Thomas, who had come out of the box to play the ball.
Princeton relied on the same tactic throughout the game to set up its scoring chances. The Tigers would send the ball downfield on the wings, and the forwards used their speed to recover the ball deep in the Cornell end. The Red shifted its players to cut off the wings, but that opened up passing lanes for Princeton in the middle.
While the game was out of reach, Andeberhan was pleased with the team's effort throughout the last quarter of the game.
"We wanted to keep battling and learn as much as we can from this game," he said. "We've never been in a situation where we're playing the offside trap, and we constantly have them in trouble, but we're also in danger of disaster. You can't manufacture that in practice."
The Red's offside trap yielded nine offside calls on Princeton, but it also led to the Tigers' sixth goal, as Negron scored her third goal of the game after she was close to being offsides. Amanda Ferranti finished the scoring for Princeton in the 85th minute, when she collected a rebound from the left side of the net.
The Tigers outshot the Red, 26-5, and Thomas finished the game with seven saves, several of which were on point-blank shots.
"She was unlucky in a couple of spots. I thought she and Leslie played great, and it's hard to realize that with such a lopsided score," Andeberhan said.
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W. Soccer Hosts Tigers

When the women's soccer team takes the pitch at Berman Field tonight at 7 p.m., it will have the chance to end two streaks: No. 8 Princeton's nine-game winning streak and its own eight-game losing streak. The Red (4-9-2, 1-4-0 Ivy) will try to spoil the Tigers' momentum, as Princeton's only loss this season came over a month ago.

"[Tonight's game] gives us a chance to test ourselves against the best in the league and one of the best teams in the country," said head coach Berhane Andeberhan. "We competed well against them the last couple of years, although they were the better team."

On Tuesday night against Buffalo, senior co-captain Emily Wyffels helped the Red jump out to the early lead in the sixth minute, as she scored her first collegiate goal off of a Buffalo turnover. The Bulls netted the equalizer off a free kick in the 31st minute, and then went ahead for good in the 53rd minute. The Red welcomed junior co-captain Shannon Fraser back to the starting lineup. She hasn't started the last three games due to a hamstring injury.

"She's only 70 percent, but her effect is so immeasurable because all of sudden, our midfield is more effective because they have a target," Andeberhan said. "She and Emily read each other well and they're complimentary. The two of them were driving the four fullbacks of Buffalo crazy. Their ability to hold the ball together also gave our midfield the ability to attack."

The Red has played some close contests against the Tigers in recent years. Last season at Princeton, junior Kara Ishikawa scored the team's only goal in the 18th minute, but the Tigers took the lead for good before the half was over and shut down the Cornell offense.

"Kara Ishikawa scored a great goal which showed her technical and tactical advancement and superiority, it was a magical goal," Andeberhan said. "[Princeton] scored two goals which showed their physical superiority. They just crossed the ball in the box and outjumped us."

Princeton boasts one of the most dangerous players in the conference in 2003 Ivy League Player of the Year Esmeralda Negron. Negron's 11 goals and eight assists are tops in the conference, and she had played particularly well against the Red, recording three goals and an assist in three career games against Cornell. Emily Behncke is another scoring threat for the Tigers, as she is the league's third leading scorer with eight goals and four assists. In goal, Madeleine Jackson and Emily Vogelzang have been splitting time all season, and both keepers have a goals against average under 0.60.
The Red will utilize team defense, with the defenders playing man-to-man on the ball side and zone on the other side. While Negron is sure to be a scoring threat, Andeberhan will not have senior back Natalie Dew mark her during the game.

"We will still play our regular system and have Natalie play as the defensive midfielder. She will on occasion be helping out and will occasionally defend as a one-to-one back," Andeberhan said. "She has such dynamic range and good reading ability that we try leave her free to go help out."

Mistakes Doom W. Soccer

A pair of early mistakes proved to be too much for the women's soccer team to overcome, as the Red fell to Brown (6-8-0, 2-3 Ivy), 3-0, Saturday night in Providence, R.I. The Red (4-8-2, 1-4 Ivy) dropped its seventh straight game, but the team's attitude remains positive as a number of its young players are gaining valuable experience.

The Bears struck first in the second minute of play, as a routine clear from the Red defense went right to Brown forward Meghan Schreck, who was still in the Cornell box. Schreck buried the ball back into the net for her fourth goal on the year.

Schreck netted her second goal of the game by again capitalizing on a Cornell miscue in the 26th minute. Brown crowded Cornell goalie Katrina Matlin off of a throw-in as Matlin was able to get a hand on the ball. Unfortunately for Cornell, she was unable to control it, and the ball came out to Schreck, who was a few yards in front of the goal.

"There was no real threatening play, or major buildup, or anything like that, but we just mishandled the ball," said head coach Berhane Andeberhan. "I feel like a broken record, but [after the mistakes] happened, we played well."

Brown tacked on its final goal a minute into the second half after a questionable potential offsides call led to a Kathryn Moos breakaway, and Moos beat Matlin for her fourth goal of the year.
Andeberhan was pleased with the team's play in the second half, but the Red was unable to finish on their scoring chances.

"A while ago, we had no scoring chances, and we worked hard on that, and improved that. But, there is a step between that and getting a goal," Andeberhan said.

Cornell's best scoring chance of the game came midway through the second half, as a series of combination passes led to a through ball in the air. Junior Kara Ishikawa ran in to head the ball on goal from 18 yards out, but the attempt curved around and hit the upper 90.

The Red was without the services of junior co-captain Shannon Fraser for the third straight game. Fraser has been battling an injury all season, and Andeberhan hopes that she will return to the lineup soon.

"It's very difficult of course without Shannon again. She's getting better, but we lose her ability and we lose her in spirit, and that's a big thing," Andeberhan said. "If Fraser gets healthy, that would give us a boost in the arm."

With three games left on the season, the Red will shift its focus to gaining big-game experience for its players. Next Friday, Cornell will face one of the best teams in the country in No. 9 Princeton.

"The goals now are small goals, giving different people experience in game situations, and solving little problems," Andeberhan said. "The wonderful thing has been that the kids have had a tremendous attitude and a tremendous work ethic, so we want to keep that and keep preparing for the future."

W. Soccer Welcomes Elis

After playing its best soccer of the year, the women's soccer team looks to snap its four-game losing streak, as it welcomes Yale (7-4, 1-2 Ivy) to Berman Field tomorrow for a 12 p.m. contest. The Red (4-5-2, 1-2 Ivy) dropped a 3-1 contest to Syracuse on Wednesday night, but head coach Berhane Andeberhan believes it was the team's best effort on the field this season.

"We absolutely played a near-flawless game in the first half," Andeberhan said. "I thought up until now, our Bucknell game was our best game. This game, I think, exceeded that because we created a lot of dangerous scoring chances."

Freshman Jackie Stromberg scored her first collegiate goal just 22 seconds into the game, beating Syracuse's goalie as she came out to get a loose ball. 

"Jackie was unlucky not to score another one or two. She got herself in great position, calmly finished her first chance, barely missed on a couple others," Andeberhan said.

Syracuse knotted the equalizer in the 26th minute, and the Orange then grabbed the lead eight minutes into the second half on a goal by Helen Fox. Fox then added her second of the night with just three minutes to play in the game, and Syracuse upped its record against the Red to 7-0-1.

Since dropping a match against Colgate two weeks ago, the booters have been working on increasing their scoring chances, and that was evident against the Orange. Andeberhan has been emphasizing to his forwards to stay in scoring position in the area outside the opponent's box. 

"[Our forwards] are so responsible sometimes that they come back too much to midfield to spur the midfielders, but then they get themselves out of scoring position," Andeberhan said. 

While the Red has led early in its past two games, Andeberhan does not want the team to change its tactics to hold on to the one-goal lead.

"Unlike when I was their age, youth soccer is a seasonal thing. They don't play all the time and they don't see top-level games all the time, so some of that stuff we have to learn by experiencing it, and there are a lot of great experiences happening. Andeberhan said. "But I don't want to put the added pressure on them of having to hold on, I want them to play correctly."

The team has practiced dealing with physical play from its opponents all season, and several of the Red's playmakers were on the other end of physical play from Syracuse. The Orange had 14 fouls on Wednesday compared to the Red's six.

"The biggest obstacle we're facing is the physical play, but it won't be long until we can handle that," Andeberhan said. "Handling the physical play without having the tactical depth of knowledge would be two ugly teams colliding. I don't want to build that, I want to build something unique here, and I'm very satisfied with our direction."

Yale enters tomorrow's match on a two-game winning streak, having defeated Dartmouth 1-0 last Sunday for its first Ivy win of the season. The Bulldogs have faced some of the top teams in the country, losing to No. 15 Stanford, No. 17 Santa Clara, and No. 11 Princeton, but scoring the upset against 2003 national runner-up UCONN.

Senior goalie Sarah Walker earned Ivy League Player of the Week honors for notching a shutout against Dartmouth. The win was Yale's first over the Green since 1995. Walker has a 0.82 goals against average with four shutouts in 11 starts this season. On offense, Christina Huang and Mimi Macauley lead the team in scoring with seven points each, with Macauley assisting on five of the team's goals this season.

"Yale is a bit similar to us, judging from their results, but very well coached. I like their coaches, they're among the ones I respect the most in the league," Andeberhan said. "They play a good game of soccer, and their physical play is not marginal."

After playing its best soccer of the year, the women's soccer team looks to snap its four-game losing streak, as it welcomes Yale (7-4, 1-2 Ivy) to Berman Field tomorrow for a 12 p.m. contest. The Red (4-5-2, 1-2 Ivy) dropped a 3-1 contest to Syracuse on Wednesday night, but head coach Berhane Andeberhan believes it was the team's best effort on the field this season.
"We absolutely played a near-flawless game in the first half," Andeberhan said. "I thought up until now, our Bucknell game was our best game. This game, I think, exceeded that because we created a lot of dangerous scoring chances."
Freshman Jackie Stromberg scored her first collegiate goal just 22 seconds into the game, beating Syracuse's goalie as she came out to get a loose ball.
"Jackie was unlucky not to score another one or two. She got herself in great position, calmly finished her first chance, barely missed on a couple others," Andeberhan said.
Syracuse knotted the equalizer in the 26th minute, and the Orange then grabbed the lead eight minutes into the second half on a goal by Helen Fox. Fox then added her second of the night with just three minutes to play in the game, and Syracuse upped its record against the Red to 7-0-1.
Since dropping a match against Colgate two weeks ago, the booters have been working on increasing their scoring chances, and that was evident against the Orange. Andeberhan has been emphasizing to his forwards to stay in scoring position in the area outside the opponent's box.
"[Our forwards] are so responsible sometimes that they come back too much to midfield to spur the midfielders, but then they get themselves out of scoring position," Andeberhan said.
While the Red has led early in its past two games, Andeberhan does not want the team to change its tactics to hold on to the one-goal lead.
"Unlike when I was their age, youth soccer is a seasonal thing. They don't play all the time and they don't see top-level games all the time, so some of that stuff we have to learn by experiencing it, and there are a lot of great experiences happening. Andeberhan said. "But I don't want to put the added pressure on them of having to hold on, I want them to play correctly."
The team has practiced dealing with physical play from its opponents all season, and several of the Red's playmakers were on the other end of physical play from Syracuse. The Orange had 14 fouls on Wednesday compared to the Red's six.
"The biggest obstacle we're facing is the physical play, but it won't be long until we can handle that," Andeberhan said. "Handling the physical play without having the tactical depth of knowledge would be two ugly teams colliding. I don't want to build that, I want to build something unique here, and I'm very satisfied with our direction."
Yale enters tomorrow's match on a two-game winning streak, having defeated Dartmouth 1-0 last Sunday for its first Ivy win of the season. The Bulldogs have faced some of the top teams in the country, losing to No. 15 Stanford, No. 17 Santa Clara, and No. 11 Princeton, but scoring the upset against 2003 national runner-up UCONN.
Senior goalie Sarah Walker earned Ivy League Player of the Week honors for notching a shutout against Dartmouth. The win was Yale's first over the Green since 1995. Walker has a 0.82 goals against average with four shutouts in 11 starts this season. On offense, Christina Huang and Mimi Macauley lead the team in scoring with seven points each, with Macauley assisting on five of the team's goals this season.
"Yale is a bit similar to us, judging from their results, but very well coached. I like their coaches, they're among the ones I respect the most in the league," Andeberhan said. "They play a good game of soccer, and their physical play is not marginal."
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Women's Soccer Team Drops Second Ivy Contest to Crimson

Looking for its second Ivy win, the women's soccer team traveled to Boston this past weekend to face Harvard (4-4-2, 2-1 Ivy), but came up on the losing end of a 4-1 contest. The Red (4-4-2, 1-2 Ivy) will try to snap its three-game losing streak when it travels to face Syracuse (6-5-2, 1-4-1 Big East) tonight at 5:30 p.m.

The Red got on the board early against the Crimson, as junior co-captain Shannon Fraser scored in the 11th minute. Fraser collected her own rebound after her initial shot hit the crossbar, putting the ball past Harvard goalie Katie Shields for her first goal of the season.

Harvard answered back in the 32nd minute, when Alisha Morgan retrieved a rebound off of a Danielle Mirabal shot, and beat Cornell goalie Katie Thomas to notch the equalizer. The Crimson took the lead in the 65th minute, as Falyne Chave set up teammate Katie Johnson, who buried the ball in the upper right corner of the goal.

Mirabal added another goal for the Crimson in the 84th minute, poking the ball away from Thomas to score on the empty net. Brittany Meeks, who assisted on Mirabal's goal, netted Harvard's fourth goal with 15 seconds left in the game.

Thomas finished the game with six saves for Cornell, while Shields stopped five for the Crimson. Fraser registered five of the Red's 10 shots in the contest.

Syracuse enters tonight's contest having dropped three straight conference matches. The Orange only recorded three shots in a 1-0 loss to Rutgers on Sunday, and have scored only two goals in its last four games. Sophomore Molly McManus leads the team in scoring with three goals and two assists, while senior Shana Thomas also has netted three goals. Between the pipes for the Orange is Shannon Myers, who has recorded a 1.11 goals against average and three shutouts in 12 starts this season.
The Red has never defeated Syracuse in the team's seven meetings since the series began in 1997. Syracuse upped its record to 6-0-1 against Cornell with a 3-0 win last season in Ithaca. The Red will face Yale this Saturday at Berman Field for a 12 p.m. contest, before heading back on the road next Wednesday to face Army.

W. Soccer Travels to Cambridge

With a full week of preparation behind it, the women's soccer team heads out to Boston to take on Harvard (3-4-2, 1-1 Ivy) tomorrow morning at 11 a.m. The Red (4-3-2, 1-1 Ivy) looks to rebound from a 3-0 loss last Saturday against Penn at Berman Field. Without a midweek game to play this week, the booters were able to hold a team meeting to talk about the season.

"Because we had no game during the week, we got together, got some perspective, discussed what went well, what didn't go well, and what we need to work on," said head coach Berhane Andeberhan. "The other thing is we were able to give some people a little bit of rest in the beginning of the week, and then turn it up in terms of fitness."

Last weekend, Penn capitalized on the Red's mistakes and the absence of two of its seniors, netting two goals in the span of six minutes. Katy Cross, one of the best players in the league, scored the Quakers' first goal, while Rachel Snyder found the back of the net twice off assists from Carolyn Cross.

"We made some critical mistakes about four or five times, and that ended up in three goals, so we're trying to sure up those errors. You can't give a phenomenal player like Katy Cross a chance to get in between your defenders and receive the ball," Andeberhan said.

Another thing the team is working on in practice is avoiding the slow start, which was a problem in the team's last two games. Normally, Andeberhan lets his squad warm up before the game by themselves, but he will introduce some new warm-ups before the game against Harvard.

"I suggested, if necessary, that I will warm the team up before a game. But my captains came up with an even better idea. They wanted me to suggest some more active, more competitive things, instead of the couple of things we tend to do," Anderberhan said. "We're casting aside a couple of our warm-up exercises, and getting a competitive exercise in there, so hopefully that helps."

Last season against the Crimson, the Red came away with a 1-1 tie, but Andeberhan has described the "1-1 win" as the team's best effort last season.

"Technically and tactically, we're a little better this year. If we can replicate that level of intensity [from last year], we should have a good game," Andeberhan said.

Harvard comes into tomorrow's contest after winning its first Ivy game of the season against Yale. Alisha Morgan's goal in the 31st minute proved to be all the offense the Crimson needed, as Harvard held on for the 1-0 win over the Bulldogs. Morgan and Emily Colvin each have two goals on the year. In goal, Katie Shields has posted a goals against average of 0.84 with two shutouts.

While the Crimson lacks a Katy Cross-type player, its starting 11 are solid throughout the lineup. However, the Red's bench should be a big factor in the game.

"If we keep the game close, we will fare well because of our depth. I don't think [Harvard] has that kind of depth. When they go to their bench, they drop to where we were in the past, but their first 11 are very good," Andeberhan said. "Historically, I think you have to give them the edge, but I think we can compete well."