ITHACA, N.Y. - Cornell used a blocked kick from junior Matt Pollock on a late extra-point attempt to hold off a furious rally by the visiting Princeton Tigers and post a 21-20 home victory on Saturday afternoon at Schoellkopf Field. Junior wideout Brian Romney hauled in the first two touchdown passes of his career, as the Big Red improved to 2-5. Princeton fell to 4-3 with the loss and both teams now stand at 2-2 in Ivy play.

After trailing 21-7 in the final minute of the third quarter, Princeton scored the final 13 points of the contest, including a touchdown on a 6-yard reverse run by junior Greg Fields with just under seven minutes left in regulation. However, the ensuing extra-point attempt was batted down by Pollack and a final Princeton drive in the closing minutes resulted in a turnover on downs.

The two scoring plays by Romney combined for 78 yards and were the first two touchdown passes ever thrown by junior quarterback Ryan Kuhn, who took over the starting role a week ago. Princeton entered the game with the second-best pass defense in the Ivies at 156 yards per contest, but it yielded a combined 320 yards in the air to Big Red quarterbacks Kuhn and D.J. Busch.

With the score tied at 7-7 in the third quarter, the Big Red scored on consecutive possessions in the third quarter, beginning with Romney's second scoring grab on the day on a perfect placed pass from Kuhn over his receiver's shoulder from 24 yards out on 3rd-and-long. The following possession, Busch stepped in and found Chad Nice for a 79-yard touchdown, their second connection over 70 yards on the year, to give the Big Red a 21-7 advantage late in the third quarter. It was the first time that Cornell has put together two 70-yard plays in a single season.

Nice and Romney had 142 and 114 yards receiving, respectively, marking the first time in over four years that two Big Red players each passed the 100-yard mark in the same game. Their 256 combined receiving yards is the third most ever by a Cornell duo and the highest total since Eric Krawczyk and Pat Dutton combined for 281 yards in a 44-38 overtime loss against Colgate in 1997.

Princeton quarterback Matt Verbit threw for a game-high 260 yards, including an 80-yard touchdown pass to freshman Bill Foran. Senior running back Jon Veach started the Tigers' comeback late in the third quarter with his team-leading sixth touchdown of the year, a 3-yard option run on a pitch from Verbit. It also was his 15th touchdown in his past 12 contests. A 47-yard punt return by Fields, who had a game-best eight receptions, set up his fourth-quarter touchdown.

After a three-and-out on Princeton's opening possession, the Big Red drove into Tigers' territory but was unable to convert on third down from the 36-yard line. However, a punt by senior Mike Baumgartel pinned the visitors at the 2-yard line, where they managed one first down before being forced to punt away.

The Big Red wasted little time scoring in its second turn with the ball, as Kuhn found Romney in stride across the middle on first down before the receiver ran untouched into the end zone for a 54-yard score.

The Cornell rush defense was at its best in the opening quarter, as the Tigers had six rushes for a loss of four yards and totaled just 29 yards in the first 15 minutes of action.

An interception at midfield by Big Red senior Nate Tarsi gave the home team strong field position and a chance to extend its lead midway through the second quarter. However, the Cornell offense got held up at Princeton's 37-yard and the ensuing punt forced the Tigers to start their drive on the 8-yard line.

Princeton would find the end zone with a big play of its own on the fourth play of the drive, as Verbit hurled a long pass down the right sideline to Foran, a reserve quarterback on the Princeton depth chart, who went 80 yards for his first career touchdown.

Cornell wasted a chance to regain the lead, as a 36-yard field goal attempt by junior A.J. Weitsman with just under three minutes left before the break bounced off the left post and fell short.

On the ensuing Princeton possession, Cornell picked off its second pass of the contest, as junior Jason Cloyd took a ball out of Fields' hands. After a holding penalty brought back a long pass play, the Big Red was forced to punt with under a minute left.

Despite getting the ball with 50 ticks left on the clock, the Tigers tried to make good use of the final possession of the opening half, beginning with a 37-yard pass play from Verbit to Fields. However, the visitors got held up at the Cornell 31-yard line and were unable to convert on fourth down. The Big Red took a knee to close out the half with the score knotted at 7-7.

The Big Red will return to action on Saturday, Nov. 6, when it welcomes Dartmouth to Schoellkopf Field for a contest beginning at 1 p.m.