This week in 2006, the Cornell women’s lacrosse team wrapped up an incredible regular season by defeating Yale 9-7 on senior day at Schoellkopf Field. For the second time in program history, the Big Red completed a perfect home record and increased its winning streak in Ithaca to 13 games. This victory on April 22nd came just days after the squad took care of business against upstate New York rival No. 13 Syracuse.
In this first contest of the week, the Big Red dominated the Orange 9-4, which propelled the 11th ranked Cornell team into the final stretch of the season. The effort was possible thanks to a huge night by senior goalie Maggie Fava and the rest of the Big Red defense. The high-powered Syracuse offense, including a duo of 40-goal scorers, only managed 25 shots against this swarming defense. Cornell dominated possession, as the Orange even went over 25 minutes without netting a goal. On the offensive end, the Big Red got the job done behind a hat trick from Katherine Simmons and a pair of scores from Noelle Dowd.
Cornell continued its dominant season just a few days later by clinching a spotless record at Schoellkopf with a victory against Yale. On senior day, Fava anchored the Big Red once again, holding the Bulldogs scoreless for the first 31 minutes and 47 seconds of the game. During this time, the Cornell offense thrived and jumped to a 5-0 lead behind three of Simmons’ four goals. In total, the Big Red netted four scores in the final eight minutes of the half. Yale drew nearer and successfully closed the gap in the second to make the contest interesting. Nonetheless, due to a series of crucial draw wins and solid defense, Cornell skated by to secure its perfect home record.
This magical season for the Big Red women’s lacrosse team resulted in the program’s first Ivy League championship. The squad clinched the title after dominating Harvard 17-8 just one week later. Unfortunately, the storied year came to a close a few weeks after, as Cornell fell to No. 7 Notre Dame in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. However, the spring of 2006 will always be remembered and set a high standard for teams of the future.
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