ITHACA, N.Y.— The Cornell field hockey team took care of business Saturday, taking down Columbia, 5-0.
Isabella Palde scored two goals to lead the Big Red, while
Caroline Ramsey netted her seventh of the year and
Bridget Mahoney and
Olivia Friedberg scored their first. In net,
Aerin Park matched her career-high five saves on 14 shots faced.
"We were on top in every aspect of the game today," said third-year head coach
Andy Smith.
And that they were.
The opening quarter looked as if the game would be evenly contested, with Cornell leading Columbia in the shots battle 5-3 at the end of the opening frame. Shortly into the second quarter though, it was evident the Big Red were the dominant team on the field.
Just under two minutes into the second quarter, the Big Red lined up and
Natalie Stone (push)
Bridget Mahoney (stop) and
Caroline Ramsey (strike) recorded the trio's sixth penalty corner goal of the year. Moments later,
Elizabeth Friedberg dished a pass to
Isabella Palde at the top of the arc and Palde swung and released for her third goal of the season.
Later in the quarter,
Isabella Palde fscored again after she found a long, high-arcing pass from
Caroline Ramsey at the top of the arc and once again swung and connected for another Big Red goal.
Coming out of the half, the Big Red stayed hot as
Olivia Friedberg found control of a bouncing ball in front of the Lions net and slapped it in as she was falling to give the Big Red a convincing 4-0 lead a minute into the third quarter. From there, the offense didn't let up at all, and the Big Red netted its final goal of the game when
Hanke Govaert dished a beautiful feed to
Bridget Mahoney who connected on the shot for her first goal of the year. The assist marks the first collegiate point for Govaert.
"We've been a very good team since the beginning of the season and today we showed it," added Smith.
The win marks the most goals scored by a Cornell team since Nov. 3 2018 when the Big Red beat Dartmouth during a 5-4 double OT shootout victory. Five goals is the most scored against Columbia since losing to Princeton, 8-1, on Oct. 12, 2019.
Nia Butler made her collegiate debut as well during the win.
Up next, the Big Red travel to Colgate for a 2 p.m. matchup Sunday.
