Game Notes I Live Video (Cornell RedCast subscription required) I Live Stats I 2011 Roster I 2011 Schedule and Results

GAME INFORMATION
Game #14: No. 2 Florida at Cornell
Date/Time: Sunday, May 1 at 12 p.m.
Site: Schoellkopf Field, Ithaca, N.Y.
2011 Records: Florida (14-1, 5-0 ALC); Cornell (5-8, 3-4 Ivy)
Series Record: Florida leads 1-0
Last Meeting: Florida won 10-5, March 24, 2010 in Gainesville, Fla.

HEAD COACH JENNY GRAAP
Cornell head coach Jenny Graap is in her 14th season at Cornell (128-88, .593) and 18th overall (149-132, .530) as a head coach ... directed the Big Red to the 2002 Final Four, earning IWLCA National Coach of the Year and Inside Lacrosse magazine's North Coach of the Year ... Inside Lacrosse and IWLCA Northeast regional coach of the Year in 2006 after leading Cornell to share of first Ivy League title ... Graap is the fifth head women's lacrosse coach at Cornell and has posted the second-highest win total and has a school-record winning percentage.

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THE STORY LINE: The Cornell women's lacrosse team will close out the 2011 season when it plays host to No. 2 Florida on Sunday, May 1 at 12 p.m. at Schoellkopf Field. Prior to the game, the Big Red will honor senior players Cara Grealy and Libby Johnson, as well as former player Heather Garson, who currently serves as team manager. Afterwards, the Big Red will attempt to close out the season with three consecutive wins and pick up a win over the highest ranked opponent in school history (currently No. 6 Yale in 1991). The highest ranked opponent Cornell has defeated at Schoellkopf Field was No. 7 Notre Dame in 2003.

SCOUTING THE BIG RED: Cornell is 5-8 (3-4 Ivy) in 2011, though six of its losses have come against top 20 teams. Led by junior Tewaaraton Trophy candidate Jessi Steinberg (35-4-39) and two-year captain Libby Johnson (19-7-26), the Big Red offense is scoring 9.3 goals per contest and averaging nearly 28 shots per game. Sophomore Kate Ivory paces the defense in ground balls (31) and caused turnovers (22), while Steinberg has a team-best 23 draws, with Katie Kirk (22-3-25) has won 19. In goal, Kyla Dambach (11.22 GAA, .385 save percentage) and Courtney Gallagher (8.12 GAA, .382 save percentage) each have seen significant time between the pipes. Head coach Jenny Graap '86 is in her 14th season at her alma mater and has directed the program to a 128-88 record over that span, including three NCAA tournament appearances, a Final Four appearance and an Ivy League title.

SCOUTING THE GATORS: Florida has climbed all the way to No. 2 in the country in just the second year of the program's existence, including knocking off perennial powers Georgetown, Syracuse and Northwestern along the way. After dropping its season opener in overtime to North Carolina, the Gators have responded with 14 consecutive wins. Kitty Cullen leads the team in goals (67) and points (73), leading six players with at least 20 points so far this season. Ashley Bruns paces the team in assists (23) and is second in goals (38), while matching a team-high with her 14 caused turnovers. Jamie Reeg has a team-best 14 caused turnovers and has added 23 ground balls and 16 draw controls. Leading the way on the draw is Brittany Dashiell with 34. In goal, Mikey Meagher has posted a 7.76 goals against average and a .468 save percentage. Former Yale head coach Amanda O'Leary has built the Gators' program from scratch, lifting UF to an American Lacrosse Conference title in her second season with a team that has a chance to claim a national title. She has a career record of 186-74 and is 24-9 at Florida.

LAST TIME VS. FLORIDA: Florida took control in the second half and held Cornell at bay in a 10-5 victory over the Big Red on March 24, 2010. Libby Johnson had a pair of goals, while Katie Kirk, Jessi Steinberg and Julie Klatzkin each had goals for the Big Red. No Cornell player had more than one ground ball or caused turnover in the loss. Kyla Dambach had eight saves in the first 49 minutes, while Kristen Reese made one save in the final 11 minutes. Ashley Bruns had a game-high three goals and both Caroline Chesterman and Kitty Cullen each scored twice. Brittany Dashiell was a force defensively, causing three turnovers and winning five ground balls for the Gators. Cara Canington picked up the win in goal, allowing all five goals with six saves to pick up the win. With the game tied 3-3 midway through the first half, Florida scored twice, once from Bruns and another from Cullen, to take the lead for good. Cornell cut the deficit to 5-4 at the break and got back to within 6-5 six minutes into the second half, but the home team scored the final four goals to pick up the win.

THE SERIES: Florida won the first-ever meeting between the teams in 2010 with a 10-5 triumph in Gainesville, Fla.

BIG RED VS. THE AMERICAN LACROSSE CONFERENCE: Cornell has posted a 12-11 all-time record against members of the American Lacrosse Conference, including an 0-1 mark against Florida. Cornell has faced Johns Hopkins (3-0), Ohio State (2-2), Penn State (1-3) and Vanderbilt (6-5), while never having met Northwestern. This is the only contest for the Big Red against an ALC squad.

THANK YOU SENIORS: Prior to Sunday's game, the Cornell women's lacrosse program will say goodbye to three seniors for their hard work and dedication to the program.
• Heather Garson — The native of Richmond, Va., spent two seasons on the active playing roster before taking over as a student manager due to injuries and has been a dedicated teammate throughout her four seasons.
• Cara Grealy — A three-year letter winner, the native of Yorktown Heights, N.Y., has appeared in 38 career games with totals of 18 ground balls, eight caused turnovers and four draw controls.
• Libby Johnson — The native of Skaneateles, N.Y., is a two-time second-team All-Ivy pick and a two-year captain. She is ranked 11th all-time in points (129) and eighth in assists (40) at Cornell.

LAST TIME OUT:  Yale jumped out to a lead less than a minute into the game, but was then swamped by 13 straight Cornell goals as the visitors ran away for a 14-3 victory over the Bulldogs on April 23 at Reese Stadium. Jessi Steinberg scored four goals, Shannon McHugh scored three times and the Big Red had nine players find the back of the net at least once. Cornell's defense was as impressive as its offense, allowing just 11 total shots, forcing 10 caused turnovers, forcing six bad clears and dominating the draw circle (16-3). McHugh won three draws, Ali O'Neil collected four ground ball wins and Cacki Helmer caused four turnovers. In goal, Kyla Dambach made three saves and allowed just one goal in the first 30 minutes before giving way to backup Courtney Gallagher in the second half. Adrienne Tarver scored all three of Yale's goals and took five of the team's 11 shots in the loss. Kaitlyn Flatley posted five caused turnovers and Fielding Kidd won three ground balls. In goal, Erin McMullan prevented worse damage by making 10 saves, including nine in the second half.

20-20-20: Sophomore Kate Ivory is closing on on becoming the third Big Red player in school history to record at least 20 ground balls, 20 caused turnovers and 20 draw controls in the same season. Ivory enters her final game needing to win three draws, having already reached the mark in ground balls (31) and caused turnovers (22). Four-time All-American Jaimee Reynolds hit the milestone in each of her four seasons (1999-2000-2001-2002), while Cari Hills hit 20 in each category in 1998.

JOHNSON JUMPS INTO TOP 10: Senior Libby Johnson's 40 career assists is already eighth on the school's career list and enters her final contest needing just one point to move into the top 10 on the school's all-time scoring list. She has scored 129 points in her four seasons, just shy of Ginny Miles' 130, good for 10th all-time.

STEINBERG HITS 100: With a four-goal effort against Princeton, junior attack Jessi Steinberg crossed the 100-point mark for her career. She became the 18th player in school history to hit that milestone and joined classmate Libby Johnson (129 points). Steinberg has since lifted that total to 112 points.

HELMER, JOHNSON, STEINBERG NAMED TEAM CAPTAINS: Senior Libby Johnson and juniors Jessi Steinberg and Caroline Helmer have been named team tri-captains for the 2011 season. The trio of captains will be expected to provide leadership for a roster that includes 14 freshmen and sophomores.