ITHACA, N.Y. — Brittany Raphino factored in both Brown goals to aid the No. 15-ranked Bears to a 2-1 victory and secure its fourth consecutive Ivy League women's soccer title over Cornell at a blustery Berman Field on Saturday afternoon.

Raphino, the two-time reigning Ivy League Offensive Player of the Year, scored the match's first goal in the sixth minute before assisting on the eventual game-winning goal scored by Audrey Lam in the 55th minute.

Cornell senior forward Ava Laden trimmed Brown's lead in half after netting her third goal of the season in the 67th minute. Fellow senior Reagan Pauwels recorded her sixth assist of the season on Laden's goal, which puts her tied for the fifth-most assists in a single season.

The Big Red made a valiant attempt to draw the contest level, including a last-minute shot by sophomore midfielder Tanum Nelson that was stopped by Clare Gagne, who concluded the match with four saves for the Bears (10-1-2, 6-0-0 Ivy League).

Junior goalkeeper Erica Fox also made four saves for the Big Red (4-4-6, 0-4-2 Ivy League), all of which came in the opening 45 minutes.

"I thought in the first half, we didn't play well enough," Cornell women's soccer head coach Rob Ferguson said. "We created a couple of good moments. Both Mia (Mia Gonzalez) and Ava (Ava Laden), I thought, looked lively in those wide areas, but we didn't get them enough of the ball.

"We didn't defend well enough. I think both goals conceded were relatively soft. We've got to do a bit better with those. We weren't bad in the first half, just not as good as you need to beat a top-15 team in the country. The second half was excellent. We started the half the right way. We played and passed the ball much better and pressed more aggressively. We got our '10' higher in the press, pulling everyone else up. The intensity and fight was better."

Brown, who played the opening 45 minutes going with the moderate winds, was able to open the scoring in the sixth minute as Ava Seelenfreund had her shot deflect off a Cornell defender, allowing Raphino to take advantage of the rebound and laser a right-footed shot past Fox into the bottom left corner of the goal.

Neither side found the back of the net for the remainder of the opening half. Cornell mustered two shot attempts, both of which were wide of target.

As the first half started, Brown found the back of the net in the opening 10 minutes, increasing its lead to two. Following a throw-in, Raphino used a move with the ball to evade her defender, leading to Lam's shot attempt that was lofted over Fox's head and into the goal.

Cornell cut Brown's deficit in half with a goal in the 67th minute following a throw-in by senior defender Jackie Lasseter. Pauwels received the throw-in from Lasseter and gained separation from a Bears defender, allowing her to send a cross from the right flank to Laden on the left post. Laden deposited her left-footed shot into the bottom left corner out of Gagne's reach.

Lasseter (78th minute) and Nelson (90th minute) had their respective scoring chances saved by Gagne in attempts to level the match.

"The goal that put us two-nil down could've knocked the stuffing right out of us," Ferguson said. "The way we just kept going; we thought we played considerably better than they did in the second half. I thought we created more, and they were worried about what we were doing. I thought we'd tie the game when we scored to make it 2-1. I thought we'd tie the game until the end. I am very proud of what we put into the game against one of the best teams in the country. Losing it is harsh."

MATCH NOTES
• Brown increased its lead in the series against Cornell to 29-7-5 and is unbeaten over its last 14 matches against the Big Red (12-0-2).

• With Pauwels' assist on Lang's goal, she officially entered a tie for the fifth-most assists in a single season, matching Donna Eberhardt (1988), Amy Snow (1991 and 1992), Rebecca D'Aleo (1993), Lori Penny (1993), and Dempsey Banks (2013).

• Laden became the third player this year to record a trio of goals, marking the program's first time it had three-plus players with at least three goals in a season since 2014 (Elizabeth Crowell - 6, Caroline Growney - 4, Kerry Schubert - 4).

• Following her four-save performance, Fox increased her season total to 34 and has stopped 26 of those shots in Ivy League contests. 

UP NEXT
Cornell will conclude its 2023 season with its final Ivy League match when it travels to Penn. First touch between the Big Red and Quakers from Penn Park is scheduled for 2 p.m. Match action will be broadcast on ESPN+.