ITHACA, N.Y. — The women's soccer team couldn't hold on to an early lead Sunday, suffering a 2-1 loss to Wagner in a non-league game at sunny Berman Field. Cornell (5-3) dominated territorially, but hit the post twice in search of an equalizer that never materialized.
 
The Big Red took a 1-0 lead just 2 minutes, 8 seconds into the game on a Wagner (4-5-1) own goal. Freshman Whitney Farber's throw-in foudn junior forward Caroline Growney in the right side of the penalty area. As she attempted a cross to sophomore midfielder Elizabeth Crowell in the middle, the ball caromed off a Seahawks defender and inside the far post.
 
But that was seemingly the last of Cornell good fortune on the day. Wagner stormed back and took the lead later in the first half after its only two shots on goal for the entire day found the net. Johanna Konrad cashed in a loose ball from about 10 yards out after Megan Fritz's shot was blocked in the 11th minute, then she set up Sydney McNutt for the winner in the 28th minute on a counterattack after a Big Red turnover 40 yards out from goal.
 
With the game sandwiched between Ivy League contests, Cornell played a total of 23 players and gave significant playing time to several reserves. Still, the Big Red led in shots, 24-3, and had all eight of the game's corner kicks. Wagner goalie Katie Marcy was called upon to make six saves, perhaps none better than a diving catch of a 30-yard shot from senior Claire MacManus labeled toward an upper corner of the net when the game was still tied.
 
About five minutes later, senior forward Kerry Schubert laid the ball back to junior defender Charlotte Tate in space on the left. She took a couple strides toward goal before ripping a shot that clanked off the top of the crossbar and over the end line. Late in the half, freshman forward Tess Pullano pounded a ball from a sharp angle on the right side that Marcy punched away.
 
The Big Red's last gasp came with less than eight minutes in the second half, when a scramble in the Wagner box led to Crowell's shot off the post. Growney was first to the rebound, but her shot deflected off a defender and into Marcy's arms.
 
Cornell lost a game in which it held a lead for the first time since Sept. 12, 2012, which was Patrick Farmer's first season as the Big Red's head coach. The Big Red returns to action at 7 p.m. Friday, when it plays host to Penn at Berman Field in its second Ivy League contest of the season.

Box Score (PDF)