Box Score (PDF)
ITHACA, N.Y. – All it took was one shot in overtime for the men's soccer team to take down regional rival Colgate, 4-3, as
Ryan Bayne laid claim to the golden goal less than two minutes into extra time on Tuesday night at Berman Field.
"I thought it was an exciting game, a little bit too exciting at times," said head coach
John Smith. "I was really proud of us in terms of how we stuck to the task. Whether you're going in a goal down, you always hope that your team can find a way to come back and we did so twice and to come back down 2-1 at halftime to get to 3-2, I thought it was a fantastic second half performance."
"All credit to them (Colgate). They tied it up and they're a good team. I mean, that's a team where their record doesn't do them any justice whatsoever."
The win extends Cornell's (6-3-2) unbeaten streak this season to six as well as marks the ninth-straight season that the Big Red has emerged unbeaten against the Raiders (4-8-1).
The captain got the score after sending a laser from midfield that found its way into the upper left-hand corner of the net. The game-winner was the defender's first-collegiate goal.
"That was an absolute bullet," said Smith. "It was a wonderful strike and one of those ones that you tell your grandkids about when you get older."
The Big Red came out after halftime with a new fire, flipping the script on Colgate who was leading 2-1 at the half and outshooting Cornell 8-6.
"Sometimes you've got to try and light the fire with your group and we did," said Smith. "They're a team that tends to respond in those moments. I had a couple of words and they came out and brought the intensity and they were relentless for that first period of the second half."
Cornell found the back of the net two different times in the first 20 minutes of the second period, thanks to goals by
Ryan Hill and
Tommy Hansan.
Hill earned his second goal of the season in the 54th minute off of a gorgeous cross from
Harry Fuller from the right side of the field. Hill read the ball perfectly and leapt up to head the ball into the net. Hansan, who leads the team in goals (4) and shots (18), was dished an assist from
Tyler Bagley and then scurried towards the top of the 18-yard box before sniping a shot into the bottom right corner of the net.
Walter Prince got Cornell on the board 16 minutes into the match, sending in the ball from within the goal area following a well-positioned corner kick from Bagley.
Colgate opened up the scoring in the 14th minute as Steven DeLeo beat the keeper from inside the box. Aram Ouligian and Freddy Jonsson added in scores for the Raiders in the 27th and 71st minutes.
Cornell ended up tallying 17 shots on the night, outshooting Colgate 10-4 in the second period. The team also held a slight advantage in corner kicks, 6-5.
Both
Mitchell Meyer and the Raiders' Jacob Harris emerged with three saves each.
Cornell heads back into Ivy League play as it visits Yale this Saturday at 5 p.m.
