HAMILTON, N.Y. – Sophomore
Peyton Nichols scored her first goal of the season and freshman
Natalie Medugno logged a four-save clean sheet in her collegiate debut, aiding Cornell to a 1-0 victory over Colgate at Beyer-Small '76 Field on Tuesday night.
Medugno is the second Cornell goalkeeper in as many years to earn a shutout in her collegiate debut.
Erica Fox had a two-save clean sheet against Canisius in her first collegiate game on Aug. 27, 2021.
"Very happy with the performance, I thought we deserved a positive result," Cornell head coach
Rob Ferguson said. "We grew into the game throughout the 90 minutes and controlled the ball much better in the second half. We created a number of chances and scored a really good goal on a counter.
"We knew coming into this game that there would be lots of squad rotation, and the players showed us what we already knew, which is we have a really good group with good depth and great togetherness.
Colgate outshot Cornell in the first half, 10-4, with only three of the combined attempts being on goal.
Ashley Durik had the lone Big Red shot on target, while Ari Bezanson and Sara Anelli had the shots on goal for the Raiders.
Cornell jumped out in front early in the 56th minute when
Reagan Pauwels' seam pass to Durik allowed her to dribble down the left side of the pitch. Durik sent a centering pass to Nichols inside the 18-yard box, one-timing her shot past Colgate goalkeeper Emma Hickey.
"The goal was top class," Ferguson said. "From the seam pass from Pauwels, to the run and drive with the ball from Durik and her decision to square the ball into the path of Nichols, whose finish was really composed."
Not even a minute later, Durik tried to make it a 2-0 contest but Hickey made the save.
The Big Red backline was solid in defending Colgate from tying the contest, yielding one shot attempt over the final 34-plus minutes of the contest.
"
Sydney Waiters in the middle of the back line was tremendous, as the whole back line and Medugno," Ferguson said. "
Isabella DeLew in the holding central midfield role did very well on both sides of the ball."
Game Notes
• Tuesday was the 43rd all-time meeting between the two Central New York rivals. Cornell cut into Colgate's lead in the series, 22-17-4. Cornell won its second straight match against the Raiders, marking the first time that has happened since 2009 and 2010. It was the Big Red's first win in Hamilton since a 2-0 victory on Oct. 3, 2010.
• Six Big Red players recorded their first career starts Tuesday, including sophomores
Alex Brotherton,
Caroline Kirby, and
Maddie Leroy, along with freshmen
Mariana Kessinger,
Maran Kingsley, and Medugno.
• Along with Medugno and Leroy, freshman defender
Izzy Scott also made her collegiate debut on Tuesday.
• Nichols' goal was her first of the season, snapping a 20-game goal drought. It was her first time scoring since Sept. 2, 2021, against Niagara.
Looking Ahead
Cornell's next match will be on Saturday when the Big Red travel to Cambridge, Mass., for a 1 p.m. meeting against nationally-ranked Harvard. Game action between Cornell and the No. 25 Crimson will be broadcast on ESPN+.
