The Red field hockey team had a historic weekend in Pennsylvania, where it extended its winning streak to six games to break the 37–year old program’s record for most consecutive wins at the start of the season. Cornell came away from the Keystone State with two thrilling victories against Penn and Lehigh.

On Friday night, the Red (6-0, 1-0 Ivy) defeated the Quakers, 3-2, in the Ivy League opener and carried the momentum through the weekend to down the Mountain Hawks, 1-0, yesterday afternoon.

Junior attacker Catie De Stio racked up all four goals on the weekend, including two game-winners, to represent the Red’s offense. Senior goalie Mel Jue had a combined 11 saves for the defense in the wins.

Déjà vu sank in after the final horn of regulation Friday evening as the Red was forced to settle the score of its first Ancient Eight contest of the season in sudden death. Cornell repeated last Saturday’s success, capturing yet another suspenseful overtime win against Penn (2-4, 0-1 Ivy). In contrast to its triumph over Lock Haven a week ago, the Red went ahead, 2-0, early in the first half, but lost the lead with less than three minutes left in game when the Quakers took advantage of a penalty corner to tie the game at two goals apiece. De Stio, who was three-for-five on the day, netted the deciding goal off of a breakaway just 22 seconds into the extra period.

Junior midfielder Kate Thompson was an offensive catalyst, responsible for creating the rebound that De Stio slapped past Penn goaltender Kieran Sweeney 10 minutes into the first stanza. Thompson’s initial rip from outside the circle was kicked aside, but De Stio anticipated the deflection to give the Red a 1-0 edge. In the second half, De Stio slipped the ball out of the reach of a charging Sweeney for goal number two. One minute later, Quakers Sarah Hasson and Katie Rose scored the retaliating goals, evening the game at 2. Thompson and De Stio reconnected once again for the game-winner in the 71st minute. Scoring machine: Senior Catie De Stio scored three to lead the Red over Penn.

Penn’s field served as a slight disadvantage to the Cornell squad, which is accustomed to faster playing surfaces like that of its home venue, Marsha Dodson Field. Nevertheless, the Red effectively countered the obstacle that the artificial grass presented. Senior tri-captain Natalie Appleton commented on the transition.

“The turf had a definite impact on Friday’s game,” said Appleton, “Field turf makes the ball bouncy. On this type of surface, we had to keep composure on the ball, work on trapping, and stay poised when passing. We also concentrated on hitting the ball hard and being patient while making tackles on the defensive end of the field. We were really pumped up for overtime because it had been such a close game. Even though Penn caught up, we knew we could pull through if we kept possession.”

“The conversion from Astroturf to field turf and back to Astroturf again was challenging,” said De Stio, “But, we outworked our opponent and stepped up as a team. Each player had a hand in bringing the ball up the field before it was finally put in the goal. In overtime, we kept to the same set up with the idea of scoring early. We do this all the time in practice, so we were prepared to handle the pressure and finish. I think we capitalized on the fact that we had been in this position just a week earlier.”

De Stio’s hat trick and Jue’s five-save contribution lifted the Red to a perfect 5-0 as it advanced to Bethlehem, Pa., to face Lehigh.

“We were really excited to be undefeated,” said Appleton, “We hadn’t really looked at our overall record as a goal. We always strive to focus on each game and getting one win at a time, but it was a nice result of our hard work.”

In yesterday’s matchup with the Mountain Hawks, the game remained scoreless until De Stio put the Red on the board in the second half with the lone goal of the competition. Junior midfield Mattie Prodanovic picked up the assist as De Stio helped guide her shot to the left corner of the cage. Jue notched six saves in the shutout for the Red.

“We started off slow in yesterday’s game but picked it up quickly, working the ball better after first couple of minutes,” said Appleton, “The one goal allowed us some breathing room, but we had to stay aggressive.”

“With only one practice in between games, it was difficult to adjust quickly to the change in field conditions.” Said De Stio, “Despite this set back, we outshot Lehigh 20-7 and pulled out the win. It is a great feeling, being undefeated, but we are still learning from every game we play. We continue to work on improving our weaknesses in practice and fine-tune the little details of the team. In the end, we just go in and play hard to bring Cornell field hockey to the next level.”