Box Score

BALTIMORE, Md. -- Cornell junior Jessi Steinberg had four goals and two assists, but big efforts from Grace Gavin and Kerry Stoothoff lifted No. 7 Loyola (Md.) past the Big Red 14-8 on Friday afternoon at the Ridley Athletic Complex. Loyola remained unbeaten (4-0), while Cornell slipped to 1-3 on the year.

Steinberg's six points gives her four consecutive multi-point contests to open the season. She leads the team in goals (12) and points (14) through four games. Senior Libby Johnson added a pair of goals, while Katie Kirk posted a goal and an assist. Kate Ivory had a big day on the defensive end, winning five ground balls and three draw controls to go with her four caused turnovers. The Big Red caused 14 turnovers and held edges in shots (32-28), ground balls (25-19) and draw controls (12-11) in the loss. Kyla Dambach and Courtney Gallagher split time in goal, with each allowing seven goals with three saves.

Stoothoff made all the difference in the first half with 10 of her 12 saves, as Loyola went into the break leading 7-4 despite the fact that Cornell controlled the first half. Grace Gavin had seven goals and an assist to dominate for the Greyhounds on the offensive end while adding two caused turnovers, two ground balls and three draw controls, while Abby Rehfuss scored twice. Kellye Gallagher notched three caused turnovers and won three ground balls.

Cornell dominated play in the first 30 minutes, but a superior effort from Stoohoff (10 saves) gave the home team a 7-4 edge at the break. Stoothoff also caused a pair of turnovers in an All-America-type effort. Cornell out-shot Loyola 23-12 and nearly doubled the home team in ground balls (13-7) and caused turnovers (8-5) and held an edge in draws (6-5). Grace (four goals, assist) was the player the Big Red struggled to stop. On offense, Steinberg scored twice and assisted on one of Johnson's two scores. Dambach made three saves in the first 30 minutes.

The Big Red took 12 of the first 13 shots of the game, but the home team scored on each of its initial four attempts and never trailed. The Big Red fought back to tie the contest at 4-4 when Steinberg found Johnson with six minutes left in the half. Loyola took the lead for good with three straight scores to close the half, with the killer goal coming with just two seconds remaining when Gavin found Meg Decker to send the home team into halftime with a 7-4 edge.

Gavin opened the second half with a score a little more than a minute in, but the Big Red answered with consecutive goals to get within 8-6 with 25:57 left on the clock. That would be as close as Cornell would get, as Loyola would go on a 6-1 run to put the game away.

Cornell returns to action when it meets Columbia in Ivy League action on Sunday, March 13 at 1 p.m. in New York City