ITHACA, N.Y. -- Sam Di Maio redirected a Grace Angelella shot with 53.4 seconds remaining in the second overtime to lift Lafayette over Cornell on Monday afternoon at Marsha Dodson Field. The Leopards improved to 8-9, while the Big Red fell to 3-11.
Maddie Henry was outstanding in goal, making nine total saves, including four during a flurry of Lafayette penalty corners in the second overtime.
Grace Royer scored the Cornell goal late in the first half on a feed from
Maddy Conklin, giving the Big Red an early lead.
Kristen Ferguson was credited with a defensive save in the second half.
The Leopards had a 17-7 shot advantage and had all eight of the game's penalty corners, including four in the two overtimes. Rachel Bird scored the game-tying goal on a penalty corner midway through the second half to knot the score.
The buildup to Cornell's goal began with a restart above the arc. The Big Red played the ball back to
Delaney Golian to the right, and she sent it ahead into the penalty area. The ball was knifed down by a defender, but Conklin got to it first and quickly turned a shot toward the far post. That also hit a defender, and this time Royer was there to pounce on it and slid a shot past the charging goalkeeper and inside the near post.
Much of the second half was played inside Lafayette's offensive end. Less than four minutes into the second half, the Big Red defense had trouble handling a bouncing ball in the arc and allowed a shot from Di Maio that Henry got a piece of before it bounded away off the post. About four minutes later, a strong hit from the outside by Audey Sawers was deflected by Di Maio just wide of the other post. Perhaps Lafayette's most ominous threat to pull ahead came with about 15 minutes left in the second half. Kristen Taylor took a shot from 10 yards that Henry got a piece of, but the ball started to spin toward goal only to be swatted away on a diving defensive save from Ferguson.
A laser by Rachel Bird on a penalty corner feed by Lisa van der Geest knotted the game at 1-1 with 16:13 left in regulation. The Big Red then survived a pair of Leopards penalty corners inside the final minute to go to the extra period.
Prior to the winning goal off a penalty corner, Lafayette's eighth of the day, Cornell successfully defended another with 6:40 left. The rebound was corralled by Royer who sent a long pass ahead to Gabby De Petro. Lafayette goalkeeper Sarah Park cut off the angle and made one of her two saves, keeping the Leopards alive. Less than six minutes later, hear teammates cashed in on her stop.
The Big Red will welcome nationally ranked Princeton to Marsha Dodson Field on Saturday, Oct. 27 at 11:30 a.m.
