Box Score (PDF)
 
ITHACA, N.Y. — Freshman midfielder Juliana Comer scored her first collegiate goal with 13:44 remaining in the second half to power the women's soccer team to a 2-1 victory over Yale on Saturday afternoon at Berman Field.
 
The play leading up to the winning goal started on the right side line with a throw-in by junior midfielder Whitney Farber. Freshman forward Kennedy Yearby then flicked the ball on with her head, and Comer trapped the ball in her mid-section before drilling a shot that worked its way through the hands of Yale goalkeeper Alyssa Fagel before sneaking inside the far post.
 
Cornell (4-7-2, 1-2-1 Ivy League) came out aggressive from the opening whistle with senior midfielder Elizabeth Crowell's high shot sailing wide of the right post just 1:22 in. In the 11th minute, junior forward Paige DeLoach nearly had a clean breakaway from the middle third, but she was ruled to be a stride offside.
 
Working with the aid of a stiff breeze to the northward goal, Yale (5-5-3, 1-2-1) picked up its play as the half progressed. Sophomore goalkeeper Meghan Kennedy was forced to be sharp on a Sarah McCauley shot from 20 yards in the 21st minute, deflecting the ball past the post. The Big Red defended the ensuing corner kick and set the stage for the game's first goal at the other end about a minute later.
 
Sophomore defender Grace Keller served a long ball from just inside the Big Red side of the center line, then DeLoach cleverly nodded the ball into space for Crowell to run on to. As Fagel charged off her line to meet Crowell near the top of the 18-yard box, Crowell was able to arrive at the ball a split-second ahead of the keeper. The ball deflected off Fagel and into the air toward the middle of the box, where sophomore midfielder Jessica Ritchie read the spin on the bounce and directed the ball into the vacated net with the outside of her right foot.
 
The goal ended a Big Red scoring drought spanning 526 minutes, 56 seconds over portions of seven straight games — but the Bulldogs continued to pressure and largely dominate the first half in terms of a territorial perspective. Yale outshot the Big Red on the day, 24-6, and the Bulldogs had all nine of the day's corner kicks.
 
But Kennedy was equal to everything thrown her way during the run of play, making a career-high 10 saves. She also got a little help about three minutes into the second half when freshman midfielder Karli Berry cleared a ball off the line while positioned on the back post during a Yale corner kick. The Bulldogs would eventually pull even in the 57th minute on a penalty kick converstion by Aerial Chavarin following a hand ball in the box.
 
Up next for Cornell is its final road game of the season, when it travels to Brown at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 22.