ITHACA, N.Y. -- Cornell scored the game's final three goals to rally past Villanova 13-11 on Saturday afternoon at Schoellkopf Field in the 2020 season opener for the Big Red women's lacrosse team. The win avenged a 2019 season-opening loss to the Wildcats (1-1).
Genevieve DeWinter scored the tying and go-ahead goals 40 seconds apart and
Katie McGahan's 11 saves made the effort hold up as Cornell improved to 19-5 in season openers under head coach
Jenny Graap '86.
Caroline Allen led a balanced Big Red offense with three goals and an assist, while DeWinter and
Bridget Babcock were each credited with two goals and an assist and
Grace Paletta and
Shannon Brazier found the back of the net twice each.
Olivia Jensen had a goal and an assist.
The Big Red held a 16-10 edge on the draw circle with
Annie Thomas (five), Allen (four) and
Hilary Hoover (three) combining for 12 of those wins.
Taylor Lis forced a pair of turnovers on defense and won a pair of ground ball possessions in the win.
Katie Comerford had four goals and Grainger Rosati posted a goal and three assists for a Villanova team that assisted on 10 of its 11 scores. The Wildcats held a 29-27 edge in shots and caused 10 turnovers. Alexa Moro had seven saves in goal, including six big ones in the second half to keep Villanova in the mix.
Gallery: (2/15/2020) Women's Lacrosse vs Villanova, 02.15.20
FIRST HALF
• Villanova won the season-opening draw and McGahan was forced to make a pair of saves in the Big Red's first two defensive possessions.
•
Caroline Allen got the home team on the board first, but Villanova answered right back to knot the contest seven minutes in.
• After falling behind 2-1 on an
Olivia Jensen score, the Wildcats went on a 5-1 run, holding Cornell to one score over the span of 16:41 to gain a 6-3 edge.
• The Big Red settled in, with
Grace Paletta, Castiello and Allen each finding the net in the final 5:40 of the half.
• Villanova out-shot the Big Red 17-13 in the first 30 minutes, but Cornell won 9-of-14 draws and got 6 saves from McGahan to keep them in the first after falling behind by three (6-3).
• The Big Red closed the half on a 3-1 run to make it 7-6 at the break.
•
Caroline Allen had two goals and an assist in the first half, while both
Katie Castiello and
Bridget Babcock scored their first collegiate goals.
• Neither team had a failed clear, going a combined 21-for-21.
• Katie Comerford had three goals and both Bruno and Rosati notched a goal and two assists.
• All seven of Villanova's goals were assisted in the first half.
SECOND HALF
• Cornell came out of the locker room and scored the first three goals of the second half, tying the game 19 seconds in and notching the go-ahead score 55 seconds later with Brazier and Allen finding the back of the net.
• Trailing 9-7, Villanova went on a 4-1 run and helped Cornell scoreless for stretches of 10:01 and 10:35 to regain its edge with 6:42 left on Comerford's fourth goal of the day.
• DeWinter scored consecutive goals on individual efforts, the first with 4:55 and the second 40 seconds later.
• Villanova got a tying shot attempt with 2:38 remaining, but McGahan put her body in front of it for her 11th save on the evening.
• The Big Red put an insurance goal on the board with 79 seconds left on a goal by Brazier, then won the ensuing draw to run out the clock and gain the victory.
UP NEXT
• The Big Red will host Marist on Wednesday, Feb. 19 at 5 p.m. at Schoellkopf Field.
• Cornell won its only other meeting between the two programs, defeating the Red Foxes 18-12 last March in Poughkeepsie, N.Y.
