October 8, 2012

Complete Women's Soccer Release in pdf format

Photos courtesy of Gil Talbot/Harvard Athletic Communications and Cornell Athletic Communications

PRINCETON, N.J. -- Three weeks into the conference slate of the Ivy League women’s soccer season and five teams still are in the mix for the title and the automatic bid to the NCAA Championship.

Princeton and Penn remain tied atop the standings with nine points apiece. Both teams are undefeated in League play at 3-0. Dartmouth and Columbia have six points each, at 2-1 apiece, and Harvard has four points with a record of 1-1-1.

Princeton defeated Brown last week, 2-0, while Penn handed Columbia its first Ivy loss of the year, 1-0. Dartmouth kept Yale winless in League play, 3-1, and Cornell junior goalkeeper Tori Christ posted a career-high 10 saves in a 1-1 draw with Harvard. It marked the second-straight season that the Big Red tied the Crimson.

In non-conference action, Cornell defeated Lafayette, 4-1, to end a 14-game losing streak. Senior Xandra Hompe had a goal and three assists against the Leopards to become the fourth Big Red to tally at least three assists in a single game and the first since Amy Snow in 1991.

The Quakers extended their unbeaten streak to a season-best four games with a 1-1 tie against the top team in the Northeast Conference, St. Francis (Pa.). Dartmouth took No. 20 Pepperdine down to the wire, falling in double-overtime, 1-0, and Harvard and Columbia picked up wins against New Hampshire and NJIT, respectively.

This week features a pair of non-conference games. Princeton will host Lehigh and Dartmouth will take on Brown, one of three Ivy League teams the Bears will face as part of their non-conference schedule (Harvard, Oct. 24; Yale, Nov. 4).

PLAYER OF THE WEEK
It was a pretty good week for Cornell. The Big Red posted a 1-0-1 record in two games, its longest unbeaten streak since the 2010 season. It ended a 14-game losing streak with a 4-1 victory over Lafayette and picked up its first point in the Ivy League standings thanks to a 1-1 draw with Harvard. Senior forward Maneesha Chitanvis (Los Alamos, N.M.) was an important figure in Cornell’s successful week, posting five points on two goals and one assist in the two games.

Both of Chitanvis’ goals came during the Big Red’s 4-1 win over Lafayette. She personally turned a 2-1 lead to a 4-1 victory with a pair of second half scores. She then assisted on the equalizer in Cornell’s 1-1 tie with Harvard, collaborating with Mary Keroack in the 75th minute.

Chitanvis takes home her first career Ivy League weekly award. It also marks the first weekly award for Cornell since Keroack was named Rookie of the Week on Sept. 6, 2010. Chitanvis is Cornell’s first Player of the Week since Abigail Apistolas shared the award with Harvard's Lindsay Kowal on Oct. 10, 2011, and the first sole recipient of the honor since Emily Knight on Sept. 15, 2003.

Chitanvis’ Weekly Stats
2 GP, 2G, 1A, 5 Pts., 10 Shots, 3 SOG

ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
Harvard freshman Emily Mosbacher (Woodside, Calif.) recorded at least one point in back-to-back games for the first time in her short career, recording a goal and an assist in two contests for the Crimson. Mosbacher netted the gamewinner for her second career goal in Harvard’s 2-1 win over New Hampshire, finding the back of the net in the 52nd minute. She then helped put the Crimson ahead in its contest against Cornell, tallying her first career assist on Meg Casscells-Hamby’s goal in the third minute of the game.

Mosbacher is Harvard’s first weekly award winner this season, becoming the Crimson’s first Rookie of the Week since Lauren Urke on Nov. 7, 2011.

Mosbacher’s Weekly Stats
2 GP, 1G, 1A, 3 Pts., 3 Shots, 1 SOG, 1 GW

HONOR ROLL
Corey Delaney, Dartmouth (Fr., F – Chatham, N.J.)
2 GP, 1G, 2 Pts., 7 Shots, 4 SOG, 1 GW

Peyton Johnson, Harvard (Jr., M/D – Catonsville, Md.)
2 GP, 1G, 1A, 3 Pts., 3 Shots, 3 SOG, 1-1 PK

Coleen Rizzo, Columbia (Jr., F – Needham, Mass.)
3 GP, 2G, 4 Pts., 6 Shots, 3 SOG, 1-1 PK, 1 GW

Kerry Scalora, Penn (Jr., F/M – Berlin, Conn.)
2 GP, 1G, 2 Pts., 5 Shots, 4 SOG, 1 GW

Rachel Sheehy, Princeton (Sr., M – Exton, Pa.)
1 GP, 1G, 2 Pts., 2 Shots, 1 SOG, 1 GW

UPCOMING SCHEDULE
Tuesday, October 9
Dartmouth at Brown, 7pm

Wednesday, October 10
Lehigh at Princeton, 7pm

Saturday, October 13
*Yale at Cornell, 4pm
*Harvard at Brown, 4pm
*Princeton at Columbia, 7pm
*Penn at Dartmouth, 7pm

KEY
*-Ivy League Contest