ITHACA, N.Y. – In the words of head coach
John Smith, the No. 19-ranked Cornell men's soccer team turned in a professional performance on Tuesday night, defeating Colgate by a final score of 2-0 at Berman Field. The Big Red responded in a big way following Saturday's 5-4 win over Harvard, earning its second clean sheet of the season.
"I was never worried about how they would respond," Smith said. "The guys who started (against Harvard) played the best half of soccer I've seen since I've been here. They knew how well they played in that half. It's a matter of showing up and doing your job to the best of your ability every single game."
Cornell (8-1-1) was dominant on the ball, holding 65 percent of the possession for the match. The Big Red out-shot Colgate 18-4 overall and 11-3 in shots on goal. Cornell gave itself more opportunities off set pieces striking seven corner kicks to just one for the Raiders.
"We created chances and could have scored more, but credit to the keeper he made some great saves" Smith said. "Some shots we just need to get on target, that's an area for us to keep working on. It was a deserved win with some good performances within it."
Fifth-year midfielder
Tyler Bagley continued his stellar campaign with a goal and an assist on Tuesday, increasing his season point tally to 27 (10 goals, seven assists). Sophomore's
Lalo Serrano,
Wilson Eisner and
Kisa Kiingi each tied for second on the team in shots on goal with two apiece. Junior goalkeeper
Brady McSwain posted his second career shutout, making three saves.
Bagley got Cornell on the scoreboard in 2nd minute after a ball was flicked on by senior
Charles Touche and a through ball was sent in by senior
Emeka Eneli. Needing to find space in the box, Bagley split two defenders and used his right foot to find the back of the net.
The Big Red drew a penalty kick opportunity in the 26th minute, but an uncharacteristic miss off the left post by fifth-year
Harry Fuller kept the score at 1-0. Fuller was previously perfect in penalty chances for his career.
Cornell extended it's lead to 2-0 prior to the halftime buzzer when senior
Jonah Kagen and Bagley teamed up to find Kagen's first goal of the season in the 38th minute. A strong sequence of passes between Kagen and Bagley set Kagen up perfectly for the shot on goal. It's just the second goal of Kagen's career and his first since the Nov. 3, 2018 match against Dartmouth his freshman season.
Kiingi and Touche provided the Big Red with its best chances at extending the lead in the second half. Kiingi's shot from outside the 18-yard box in the 59th minute was saved and sent off the crossbar by the finger tip of Colgate goalkeeper Nick Gerlach. Touche's follow up shot after the ball was sent out into the box fell wide left. Gerlach did all he could to prevent additional goals from the Big Red, making nine saves.
Up Next: Cornell travels to New Haven, Conn. on Saturday, Oct. 16 for a 4 p.m. match against pre-season Ivy League favorite Yale. Yale is 4-3-3 overall and 1-0-1 in Ancient 8 play. The Bulldogs played No. 4-ranked New Hampshire to a 1-1 draw on Tuesday night.
Starting XI:
GK:
Brady McSwain
D:
Tate Keir
D:
Mateo Rodriguez
D:
Jonah Kagen
D:
Kisa Kiingi
M:
Tyler Bagley
M:
Harry Fuller
M:
Lalo Serrano
M:
Wilson Eisner
F:
Emeka Eneli
F:
Charles Touche
