PHILADELPHIA— The Cornell field hockey team dropped a heartbreaking 2-1 battle to Penn Saturday afternoon.

While the game was tightly contested, the Big Red fell short against the well-seasoned Quakers— whose six losses this season have all come from top-20 opponents— as turnovers and cards proved to be the biggest opponent at Ellen Vagelos Field. 

Penn worked to draw fouls and totaled 10 penalty corners on the day with the first two coming in the opening 30 seconds.

The Big Red's first of six penalty corners was its most important as Kate MacGillis inserted the ball to Bridget Mahoney who set up Caroline Ramsey for an Ivy League-leading tenth goal of the season at the 7:48 mark of the opening quarter.

With 45 seconds left in the same frame, the Quakers scored as quick passing led to Olivia Kenny pushing the ball through the legs of Aerin Park. In net, Park recorded a new career-high seven saves over the game's 69:54 of play.

The following three quarters were a back-and forth defensive battle contested in both team's shooting arcs. Penn outshot the Big Red 18-8, but Cornell was right there with Penn— making the most of opportunities and recording seven shots on goal, while the Quakers had nine. 

While the game was still very much in Cornell's control at half, the team returned for the third quarter riddled by turnovers and penalty cards. 

The Big Red were issued two greens and a yellow in the third quarter, leaving the team down at least one person for nine minutes of play. The final four minutes of the quarter were played with two players short. 

Another quarter of action would pass and the Big Red went to overtime for the first time since Oct. 5, 2019 when it won in a shootout victory over Columbia at home. 

Cornell wouldn't fair as well this time around, though, and in an overtime period dominated by the Quakers, the team finally found its golden opportunity with 16 seconds left in the period. Meghan Ward found a pass inside the arc, spun around the Cornell defender and let a shot off that would zip past Aerin Park into the bottom left corner of the cage.

The Big Red look to bounce back tomorrow against Bucknell. Game time is set for 3 p.m.