Box Score
ITHACA, N.Y. -- Harvard was able to control tempo in the second half, holding the Big Red scoreless while maintaining significant time of possession advantage in walking off with an 11-7 win over No. 20 Cornell on Saturday afternoon at Schoellkopf Field. With the loss, Cornell drops to 9-6 (3-4 Ivy), whiole the Crimson improved to 4-10 (2-5 Ivy) in the conference finales for both teams.
Shannon McHugh had a pair of goals to lead the Big Red, while Libby Johnson added a goal and an assist. Tissy O'Connor scored a goal, won four draws and two ground balls, and caused a turnover in the loss. Goalkeepers Kristen Reese (11 goals allowed, six saves in 45:27) and Kyla Dambach (0 goals allowed, one save, 14:33) split time in the cage for Cornell.
Both teams attempted 22 shots, while Cornell held a slim 11-9 edge on the draw. Cornell was whistled for a season-high 31 fouls, while Harvard was whistled 23 times, including for four of the five yellow cards issued on the day.
Jess Halpern had four goals and an assist to lead the Crimson, while both Sara Flood and Kaitlin Martin chipped in two goals apiece. Goalkeeper Katherine Martino had eight saves, won two grounders and caused a turnover to pick up her first win of the season.
Harvard looked as though it was beginning to run away with the game miwdway through the first half, using a 5-0 run in the span of just 4:20 to break open a 3-3 tie and go up five goals. Cornell crept back with four consecutive scores to end the half to go into the locker room within a goal at 8-7. The Big Red's seven goals were scored by six different players, with McHugh's two free-position scores setting the tone early. In all, five of the Big Red's seven goals were scored from the 8-meter position, while Harvard only had one attempt, a miss early in the half.
Cornell held a 16-11 edge in shots at the break and won 10-of-16 draw controls, but Martino's five saves kept Cornell off the board with four stops coming in the first eight minutes. She added two ground balls and a caused turnover in an active first 30 minutes between the pipes.Cornell's Tissy O'Connor won four draws, while Wiegand forced two turnovers in addition to her goal.Harvard was whistled for 20 first half fouls, including four yellow cards.
The home team couldn't get it going in the second half, as neither team could find the back of the net for the first 12:33 until Halpern's fourth goal of the game put the Crimson up 9-7. That triggered three Harvard goals in the span of under three minutes, with Katie Doherty closing the scoring with 14:33 left. The visitors played keep-away most of the rest of the contest, with Martino making two saves in the final 10 minutes to keep the Crimson on top.
The Big Red will close out the 2009 season at home when it faces Notre Dame on Saturday, May 2 at noon at Schoellkopf Field. Prior to the contest, Cornell will honor its four seniors, Halsey Diakow, Kelly Hansen, Deirdre Lafferty and Jessica Wiegand.
