Cornell University's field hockey team can secure an Ivy League Tournament berth with a victory at Penn in Saturday's regular-season finale.
The Big Red will play at noon October 31 at Ellen Vagelos Field in Philadelphia, with coverage on ESPN+, according to Cornell's preview. Cornell is seeking its second appearance in the four-team tournament.
The Ithaca team enters tied with Columbia for fourth place. Even with a loss to Penn, Cornell would qualify if Columbia loses to Princeton.
Tournament position within reach
Cornell could rise to the No. 3 seed with a win and a Yale loss to Harvard. That combination would put the Big Red into a semifinal against No. 2 Princeton.
Harvard, 6-0 in league play, has clinched at least a share of the Ivy title and will host the tournament Nov. 6-8.
Cornell finished among the league's top four in each of the past two seasons but lost out on tournament berths through tiebreakers. Its only appearance came in the inaugural tournament in 2023.
The Big Red snapped a five-game losing streak with a 6-1 victory at New Hampshire on Oct. 25, scoring five times in the first half.
Milestones for Cornell's leaders
Cornell leads the Ivy League and ranks 18th nationally with 2.60 assists per game, according to the university.
Senior Rease Coleman has 15 assists and one goal and is tied for the national lead with one assist per game. Her 30 career assists leave her three behind Cari Hills for third on Cornell's career list.
Junior Uma Käding leads the league with 0.73 goals per game. She has 10 goals and 22 points this season, while her 27 career goals tie Kelley Boutin for 10th in program history, one behind Joanne Powell.
Senior Julia Ramsey holds Cornell's career assists record with 42. Freshman Megan Devletian scored her first two collegiate goals in the New Hampshire victory.
Junior goalkeeper Martha Broderick has 24 career wins, one short of Kelly Johnson's school record. Freshman Claire Pausz earned her first collegiate win at New Hampshire, making four saves.
Penn has lost the last three meetings
Penn leads the series 30-16-2, but Cornell has won the past three matchups. The Big Red won 2-0 in 2023, 3-2 in double overtime in 2024 and 3-2 in a shootout last season.
In the 2025 meeting, Ramsey scored a late equalizer and the clinching shootout goal. Jane McNally made eight saves for Cornell.
Penn enters at 4-10 overall and 0-6 in the league after a 2-0 loss at Yale. The Quakers, coached by Scott Tupper, also face Temple on Nov. 1 to close their season.
Reese Czajkowski leads Penn with six goals and 14 points, while Lucy Mangat has 10 points. Goalkeeper Ruby de Frees has made 85 saves.
Penn ranks second nationally and first in the Ivy League with 13 defensive saves, including three by Maxi Aranowitz.
FingerLakes1.com is the region’s leading all-digital news publication. The company was founded in 1998 and has been keeping residents informed for more than two decades. Have a lead? Send it to news@fingerlakes1.com.
