NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Cornell men's soccer dropped a tough match on Friday night, falling to Ivy League leader and No. 24-ranked Yale by a final score of 3-1. The Big Red took momentum into halftime with a late first half goal, but Yale's goal in the second stanza proved too much for Cornell to overcome.
With a loss on Friday, Cornell drops to 7-4 overall and 1-2 in the Ivy League, while Yale remains unbeaten at 9-0-2 overall. Despite the loss, Cornell out-shot Yale 14-8 overall and 8-5 in shots on goal. Yale had more opportunities off of set pieces however with seven corner kicks to Cornell's three.
The Bulldogs wasted no time getting on the board early, taking a 1-0 lead in the 2nd minute following a set-piece goal from Jeremy Haddock.
A yellow card just outside the box gave the Bulldogs another set-piece opportunity in the 24th minute, with Yale's leading point-getter Mark Winhoffer setting up for a free kick. Winhoffer extended Yale's lead to 2-0, beating the Big Red's defensive wall.
Cornell gained momentum heading into the break when junior
Vardhin Manoj scored his third goal of the season, and his third goal in the last four matches with less than two minutes remaining. Sophomore
Jonah Kagen kept his eyes on Manoj in the box, who put one touch on the ball, turned and fired with his left foot to beat Yale's keeper.
The Big Red had its momentum stopped in the 70th minute when Yale took a 3-1 lead off the boot of its leading goal-scorer, Miguel Yuste. Cornell nearly responded with a goal of its own shortly thereafter as the ball pinballed around the box, leading to three different blocked Big Red shots.
Up Next: Following the match against Yale, Cornell will travel to Albany to face the Great Danes at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 22. Albany is currently 6-4-1 with a 2-1 record in the American East Conference. The Great Danes boast a three match winning-streak and will face UMBC on Saturday prior to welcoming the Big Red to town. Albany is led in scoring by Austin DaSilva, who has amassed 10 goals scored in 11 games played. DaSilva ranks No. 6 nationally in goals scored and No. 14 in total points (21).
