ON TAP THIS WEEK: Colgate will continue its lengthy stretch away from Tyler's Field this week with two more road games. The Raiders will travel to Ithaca to play Cornell, Tuesday at 4 p.m. and then head to the nation's capital to take on defending league champion and nationally ranked American. Game time is set for 11 a.m. in the District of Columbia.
MEET THE COACH: Cathy Foto is in her 21st season at the helm of the Raider program. The Hartford, Conn., native took over controls of the program back in the 1989 season. During her career at Colgate, she has accumulated a 145-204-7 record, including a 9-9 mark in 2008. A two-time Patriot League Coach of the Year in 1996 and 2004, Foto has coached several all-Patriot League selections and under her tutelage, eight student-athletes have combined to win 10 different PL awards – Tournament MVP, Defensive Player of the Year, Goalie of the Year, or Rookie of the Year. On September 24, 2008, Foto notched her first upset of a top 20 program as Colgate stunned 18th-ranked Albany 1-0 on a goal by Lauren Carey.
SERIES OVERVIEW: Colgate holds a slight 17-16-3 lead in the series versus Cornell that dates back to the 1974 campaign. The yearly meeting has occurred at least once every year since then with exception of 1978, when they didn't play. Despite dropping a 6-4 decision last year at Tyler's Field, Colgate has prevailed in four of the last six meetings. The Raiders are winless all-time against American. The Eagles have won all 11 meetings since 2001.
?LAST WEEK IN REVIEW: Colgate dropped a 4-1 decision to Lehigh in its Patriot League season opener. Laura Denenga got the Raiders lone goal in the second half. Colgate was outshot 26-11 by the Mountain Hawks.
SCOUTING CORNELL: Big Red will enter the contest sporting a 7-1 record. Cornell suffered its only loss on the season in a 1-0 overtime loss to Yale. The Big Red has gone into overtime four times this season. There are four common opponents between Colgate and Cornell in Siena, Lock Haven, Lehigh and Yale. Catie De Stio (7 goals, 18 points) and Kelley Kantarian (4 goals, 9 points) are the top offensive threats for Cornell. Kantarian scored three times against Colgate last year in the 6-4 win over the Raiders, while De Stio added a goal and two assists. Melanie Jue (5-1, 0.79 gaa, 29 saves) is the primary goalie.
SCOUTING AMERICAN: The Eagles are 5-5 on the season and have been ranked as high as 18 in the national polls. American won its 44th consecutive Patriot League game Saturday with a 5-0 victory over Holy Cross. Christine Fingerhuth and Savannah Graybill each have scored a team best five goals and 12 points, while Melissa Casale has nine points on the year. Graybill had one of two goals for American in its 2-0 win over the Raiders last season. Alyssa Poorman (1.50 gaa, 29 saves) has played the majority of time between the pipes for the Eagles.
DYNAMIC DUO: Colgate has scored 14 goals on the year, 10 of them coming from Katelyn Nerbonne and Laura Denenga. Both are ranked among the league's top 10 in shots on goal, points and goals.
IN THE TOP 10: With her assist in the loss at Lehigh, Mika Ella-Tang now has 14 in her career and is now tied for eighth all-time. She needs one more to move into a tie for sixth.
CAREER HIGH: Sarah Pedersen posted a career-high save total in the 3-1 loss versus UAlbany. The senior turned aside 15 shots, which bested her former mark of 14 set last year against Syracuse and Lock Haven. After 11 games, she leads the Patriot League with 8 saves per game.
MOVING UP THE ALL-TIME LISTS: With her two-goal effort versus Siena, Katelyn Nerbonne moved closer to the all-time top 10 in Colgate history in goals and points. The senior has 23 goals in her career, just two behind Josette Wood and Gail Pettruti for 10th. It was Nerbonne's fourth multi-goal game of her career. In addition, her four-point outing moved her point total to 58, which is one point behind Becky Evans for 10th all-time.
SOMETHING TO WATCH: With her victory over Saint Francis, Sarah Pedersen needs one more win in net to tie Julie Clark for fifth all-time with 19 career wins.
?FOTO INDUCTED IN CONNECTICUT FIELD HOCKEY HALL OF FAME: On October 4, Cathy Foto was enshrined with six others into the 10th Connecticut Field Hockey Hall of Fame at the Aqua Turf Country Club in Plantsville, Conn. Foto, a native of West Hartford, Conn., will be joined by Leah Secondo (Honorary), Debbie Martin (umpire), Cathy Neary McGuirk (Branford HS Coach), Lea Ann Schmidt (former player at Ridgefield HS), Laura Mack (former player at Canton HS), and Lisa Griswold Lindley (former player at Northwestern and UMass) to form the Class of 2009. Sixty two others have been inducted into the hall of fame in previous classes.
?PICKED THIRD IN PRESEASON POLL: The 2009 Patriot League Preseason Poll was released and Colgate was chosen to finish third according to head coaches and league SID contacts at respective institutions. The Raiders grabbed 34 points, seven points more than Bucknell. American copped nine of 12 first place votes and was the consensus favorite, while Lafayette was second in the voting with the other three first place votes.
