ITHACA, N.Y. — The Cornell women's soccer team went toe-to-toe with perennial Ivy League contender Columbia for 45 minutes on a hot Saturday at Berman Field, but the Lions scored twice in the second half to secure a 2-0 victory.
 
Mallaika Tomar scored off a give-and-go in the box in the 65th minute, then Maddie Temares added an insurance tally 15 minutes later a Columbia (6-2-1, 1-0 Ivy League) squad that posted its third straight victory and third consecutive clean sheet. Liz Matei made two saves.
 
Enjoying a boost from the return to the starting lineup of junior defender Naomi Jaffe and freshman forward Liza Mariner, Cornell (4-3-1, 0-1) had a slight edge in time of possession in the first half. Neither team generated much offense, though, and a scoreboard bereft of goals at the intermission was very nearly the only possible outcome.
 
The Big Red had the first quality chance in the second half on a curling 15-yard offering from senior forward Kennedy Yearby that sailed over the crossbar. After that, the Lions largely enjoyed the advantage in play and forced Cornell senior goalkeeper Chrissy Mayer into the game. All six of her saves came in the second half, perhaps none better than a shot from Ally Clark that was pushed over the crossbar with the game still scoreless in the 61st minute.
 
But the Lions would break through just a few minutes later. A cross into the box was headed away by a central defender, but Tomar won the ball back. Jordyn Geller gathered at the penalty spot, then slipped a pass back to Tomar to slip underneath the charging Mayer and into the net.
 
The second goal came 15 minutes later with Shira Cohen drawing a central defender out and slipping into the right side of the penalty area. On a one-on-one, she beat her defender to the middle before dishing off to Clark for a shot from about 10 yards. It turned out to be a misfire, but the ball went directly to a wide-open Temares near the far post for the tap-in. All told, Columbia outshot Cornell in the second half, 13-2.
 
The Big Red returns to Ivy League play when it travels to Penn for a match at 2 p.m. Saturday at Rhodes Field in Philadelphia, Pa.