Box Score
Photo Gallery 1 (Photos by Tim McKinney)
Photo Gallery 2 (Photos by Patrick Shanahan)
ITHACA, N.Y. -- Natalie Zandt's second overtime game-winner of the season came with 18.6 seconds remaining in the first overtime period as the Cornell women's soccer team rallied for a 2-1 victory over visiting Niagara on Friday evening at Berman Field.
The Big Red (4-3), which trailed at the half, 1-0, tied the game six minutes after halftime as Lena Russomagno scored her sixth goal in the last four games, stripping a Niagara defender of the ball 25 yards from goal. The freshman took a dribble and fired a low, hard shot past the diving attempt of Niagara goalkeeper Ashleigh Bowers and into the left side of the net.
The two sides would battle the rest of regulation evenly, heading into overtime knotted at one. Niagara controlled the early part of the first 10 minute period, but Cornell slowly began to grasp the flow of the game. With time running down in the period, the ball went out of bounds in front of the Cornell bench. Cornell's Lauren Lynn picked it up and quickly threw it over the head of a Purple Eagle defender and into the path of the oncoming Zandt. Zandt took a dribble and fired a shot over the oncoming Bowers. The goalkeeper for Niagara managed to get a hand on the ball, but it wasn't enough to stop it from going past her and into the back of the net, setting off a wild celebration from the Cornell bench.
Niagara (3-4) got on the board first as Cornell struggled through a sluggish first half. In the 39th minute, Niagara's Aisha Eversley received the ball with her back to the Cornell goal, turned and played a through-ball to an oncoming Brittany Bisnott. Bisnott outraced the Cornell defenders, dribbled right to get around Cornell goalie Jodi Palmer, and struck a shot into the bottom left corner of the goal.
Despite allowing the goal, it was the efforts of Palmer that kept the Big Red in the game as the freshman netminder made five saves in the first half alone. Palmer wound up with six stops in the contest, while Bowers made four saves in the second half and overtime in relief of starter Sarah Stephens.
Cornell will try to take its winning ways on the road for the first time this season on Sunday when the Big Red travels to Bucknell for a 3 p.m. contest in Lewisburg, Pa.
