Box Score (PDF)
 
Ithaca, N.Y. – Entering the day with Ivy League Title aspirations, the No. 18 Cornell women's lacrosse team faced an old nemesis in 14^th-ranked University of Pennsylvania on Saturday afternoon at Schoellkopf Field. The Big Red honored eight members of the graduating Class of 2016 in a pregame ceremony, but the day ended on a sour note, as the Quakers used a smothering defense to pull away down the stretch of the second half for a 10-6 win. The loss drops Cornell's record to 11-4 overall and 5-2 in Ivy League play, with the team slotted as the third-seed in the upcoming Ivy League Tournament.
 
Penn (12-3, 6-1 Ivy League) has been a thorn in the side for the Big Red over recent seasons, ending Cornell's season in the semifinals in two of the last three Ivy League Tournaments. With both teams coming into the contest carrying national rankings and Ivy League regular-season title thoughts, the table was certainly set for another tight matchup between the two programs.
 
Although Cornell carried the lion's share of possession through the contest's opening minutes, it was the Quakers that gained the early advantage on the scoreboard. Nina Corcoran found Alex Condon on great backdoor feed to open the scoring for the visitors 4:19 into the game. Penn added a second just under six minutes later, as Iris Williamson hit Catherine Dickinson with a pass from the goal-line extended on a quick restart. Dickinson snapped a shot over the shoulder of Cornell goaltender Renee Poullott to double the lead to 2-0.
 
The Big Red battled back over the middle portion of the half, as it began to find cracks in the Quakers stout defensive shell. Cornell halved the deficit with 17:38 remaining in the opening half, as Olivia Mattyasovszky fired a low laser off of a free position that beat Penn netminder Britt Brown inside the left post.
 
Cornell continued to wedge inside the fan to draw dangerous opportunities as the half continued. Kristy Gilbert appeared to tie the game with just over 12:30 remaining in the half. Receiving a pass from Joey Coffy about 25-yards from goal, she cut around the right flank of the Quaker defense and ripped a shot inside the far post, but the play was whistled dead before the shot due to a Penn foul. Gilbert made no mistake on the ensuing free-position opportunity, taking three steps, before wiring home a shot top-shelf to knot the score.
 
The Big Red took its first lead 1:15 later when Amie Dickson also converted on a free position to make it 3-2 Cornell with 11:14 remaining.
 
Penn snatched the lead back over the final stretch of the first half with a pair of goals to take a 4-3 lead to the break. Condon netted her second of the afternoon with 8:32 left. Williamson scored her first of the afternoon 4:26 later, shaking the Big Red defense with a great juke, before wiring home a shot top shelf on Poullott.
 
Although Cornell held a 5-3 advantage in draw controls in the opening half, Penn began to take over that part of the game during the early portions of the second session. Condon scored to net her hat trick on the Quakers opening possession.
 
Gilbert answered with her second goal of the afternoon to cut the deficit back to one just 1:07 later. Working quickly in transition, Dickson hit Gilbert in stride with the latter bursting down the left flank, before firing home a shot.
 
Williamson and Coffy traded goals over a little more than a minute span, but Penn began to lock down defensively during the back stretch of the half. The Big Red was only able to score once over the final 24-minutes of play, while the Quakers added on four goals to pull away.
 
Mattyasovszky capped the scoring for the Big Red, locating the ball in the midst of a scrum of players in the middle of the fan. In one motion she scooped the ball and fired a bounce shot that skipped over Brown's crosse and into the twine. The goal cut the deficit to 8-6.
 
Poullott finished with seven saves in the game, including a pair of excellent stops over the final stretch to keep the Big Red within striking distance. Unfortunately, the two-goal deficit was as close as Cornell could get. Williamson and Condon continued their big days, scoring their third and fourth goals of the afternoon, respectively, to put the game out of reach.
 
On the defensive end, Catie Smith finished two of Cornell's eight total caused turnovers in the contest. The two brought her season total to 35, breaking the program's all-time single-season record for the statistic. Catherine Moubayed added a ground ball and caused turnover in the contest.
 
Up next for the Big Red is a trip to the Ivy League Tournament, which will be held at Penn's Franklin Field due to the Quaker's head-to-head win over Princeton University earlier this season. Cornell will face the Tigers in the semifinal round of the tournament next weekend. Date and time are still to be announced.