Box Score (PDF)
ITHACA, N.Y. — The women's soccer team got off to a slow start Friday and couldn't dig itself out of an early hole against Columbia, ultimately suffering a 2-0 loss in its Ivy League opener at Berman Field.
Columbia (4-4-1, 1-0 Ivy League) took early control with Emma Anderson's goal in the fourth minute. Natalie Ambrose took a corner kick from the right side, which was nodded down by Emily Koe back toward the center of goal. Anderson had enough time to settle the ball at the top of the 6-yard box and touch it into the netting.
Cornell (2-4, 0-1) started to gain steam and eventually generated some quality chances.
Jessica Ritchie sent a perfect cross-field pass from the left side to
Juliana Comer coming into the 18-yard box on the far side. She cut to the middle and had the goalkeeper beat to the near post, but the ball bounced off the post and was cleared.
The Big Red had one of its two corner kicks in the half about a minute later, which touched off a scramble in the goal mouth. After one Cornell shot hit traffic,
Katerina Weikert got a foot to the rebound only to send it high and wide of the far corner.
Columbia then received a healthy dose of good fortune about a minute later, scoring a second goal on a ball that was kicked by a Cornell defender near the top of the 18-yard box and clattered off the shin pads of Natalie Neshat, arching over the goalkeeper, grazing off the crossbar and into the far-side netting.
Tess Pullano had Cornell's lone shot on target for the night on a turnaround shot off a deep throw with 3:30 to play before the intermission. While the Big Red played to a fairly even second half, the Lions managed their lead well and mustered their first victory at Berman Field since 2011.
Cornell returns to non-league play at 3 p.m. Sunday, when it travels to northern New Jersey for the squad's first-ever game against Fairleigh Dickinson.
