Box Score (PDF)
ITHACA, N.Y. – The men's soccer team extended its undefeated streak this season to five games, its longest since 2013, after coming away with a 1-0 victory against Harvard at Berman Field Saturday night. The result is Cornell's first Ivy League win of the season and marks the first time since 2012 that the Big Red (5-3-2, 1-0-1 Ivy) has triumphed over the Crimson (2-6-2, 1-1).
"You look at the shots and the shots on frame and I think we were ahead by a bit in the first and second half," said assistant coach Drew Hutchins. "But obviously in any game, especially one that's a one-goal game, you're going to have that spell where you're put under it a bit and that was a good 15 to 20 minutes in the second half and I thought we weathered that storm very well."
"I think maybe earlier in the season or last year, a bit of panic would have settled in a bit, but that wasn't the case. The guys were calm, cool and collected and they weren't wishing for any time off the clock. They were taking care of business which was good to see."
George Pedlow secured the game-winning goal just nine minutes into the game after receiving a wide service from the left side of the field via Ryan Hill. As Hill's assist was traveling through the air, Pedlow leapt up to win the header and the ball followed through to the bottom right corner of the net after taking a bounce.
The goal was Pedlow's third of the season while Hill's assist was his first.
The Big Red was trouble for Harvard goalkeeper Kyle Parks all night as the team kept peppering the net, forcing him to make six saves.
Cornell nearly got on the board again with about nine minutes left in the match after consecutive shots by Brady Dickens and Caleb McAuslan. Dickens had ensued on a one-on-one battle with Parks, who kicked the ball out with his right leg as he was falling to complete the save. However, the ball ended up rebounding and McAuslan was left alone to take advantage of the loose ball, but Parks stood up just in the nick of time to tip McAuslan's shot up and over the net.
The squad outshot the Crimson, 12-9, with Eric Nuss leading the way with three shots while McAuslan and Pedlow each tallied two.
Mitchell Meyer was a brick wall for Cornell, denying all three of Harvard's attempts on goal to earn his second shutout of the year.
The team takes a short break from Ivy League play this week as it hosts Colgate for a Tuesday night matchup at 7 p.m. at Berman Field.
"This is our first Ivy win of the season and first shutout in the league this season so it was a big, emotional win," said Hutchins. "Obviously it's going down to the wire there so you can't afford that emotional hangover and that starts in training tomorrow."
