ITHACA, N.Y. — Harvard's Jasmine Leshnick, Ólöf Kristinsdóttir, and Audrey Francois all scored second-half goals to aid the visiting Crimson to a 3-1 victory over Cornell at Berman Field on Saturday afternoon.

The victory for the Crimson snapped Cornell's program-record 11-match home unbeaten streak, which dated back to last season.

Sophomore midfielder Tanum Nelson thwarted Harvard's attempt at a clean sheet by scoring her first collegiate goal in the 84th minute. Fellow sophomore midfielder Mariana Kessinger logged her first collegiate assist on the tally, while junior midfielder Peyton Nichols posted her first point since netting Cornell's game-winning goal against Colgate last year on Oct. 4.

"The performance was excellent. We came into it with a plan created on a short week and the players delivered," Cornell women's soccer head coach Rob Ferguson said. "We needed to keep the game tight, throw some metaphorical punches, and make sure it wasn't just us sitting back and defending. We did that perfectly in the first half and came out with the same energy, mindset, and plan in the second half, and were doing it well until a set piece on the edge of the 18 found its way into the net. It was the second goal that hurt us.

"From a performance perspective, Jackie Lasseter and Mia Gonzalez were phenomenal, Kendall Patten between the six and center-back role, bouncing between the two, and Tanum Nelson coming off the bench and delivering a beautiful strike; everybody did what we needed them to do. We know we're playing one of the best teams in the country. I was delighted with what the players put into it. I'm disappointed with the score, but we've never been this close to a team like that. Being able to put in a performance like that, and then three-nil down — which we don't feel like we should be — we're still fighting, pushing, grinding, and getting the goal, and then pushing for another [goal]. I'm filled with positives, but it's devastating for the players. I feel for them."

Junior goalkeeper Erica Fox made six saves on the day in the setback for the Big Red (3-3-5, 0-3-1 Ivy), while Anna Karpenko stopped three Big Red shots in the win for Harvard (8-3-1, 3-1-0 Ivy).

Fox made 14 saves over the Big Red's pair of matches this week, highlighted by her career-high eight saves in Wednesday's 1-1 draw with Columbia.

Neither team found the back of the net over the opening 45 minutes despite each side having opportune scoring chances.


After the first seven combined shot attempts were blocked or missed the target, Kristinsdóttir had the first true scoring chance when her shot ricochet off the crossbar in the 31st minute.

Nelson registered the match's first shot on goal in the 35th minute before Harvard stepped up its offensive attack late in the first half and carried over into the latter period as Fox made four of her six saves during a 14-minute window that spanned the halves.

Harvard eventually broke open the scoring in the 63rd minute on a set piece by Leshnick, about 20 yards away from the goal. The right-footed free kick from the Crimson's first-year player was lobbed over the head of Fox and into the top middle of the net.

Seven minutes later, Gabby DelPico set up Kristinsdóttir to increase the Crimson's lead. DelPico played a ball inside the 18-yard box, leading to Kristinsdóttir depositing a left-footed shot on the edge of the right corner of the 8-yard box past Fox.

Francois tacked on an insurance marker for Harvard in the 79th minute as her right-footed shot deflected off the left post and into the goal.

Cornell did not go down without a fight as the Big Red stymied Harvard's hopes of logging its sixth clean sheet of the season, thanks to Nelson's 84th-minute goal. Nichols and Kessinger made quick passes, allowing Nelson to play the ball to herself and lasered a one-touch into the bottom left corner of the net.

The Big Red had two shot attempts blocked in the waning seconds, both of which came off Nelson's boot.

MATCH NOTES
• Saturday was the 41st all-time meeting between Cornell and Harvard in women's soccer. The Crimson increased its unbeaten streak over the Big Red to 29 games, improving its mark to 24-0-5 since 1994.

• Nelson became the sixth different Cornell player to record their first collegiate goal of the season, joining Abigail Bishara, Mia Gonzalez, Maddie Leroy, Kendall Patten, and Sophie Weeter.

• Nichols' assist was also her first helper since Nov. 6, 2021, when she assisted Ava Laden's goal in a 2-1 loss to Dartmouth.

UP NEXT
Cornell will return to action next Saturday when it travels to New Haven, Conn., for its penultimate regular-season road match when it plays Yale (5-3-3, 0-2-1 Ivy). First touch between the Big Red and Bulldogs from Reese Stadium is scheduled for 5 p.m., and match action will be broadcast live on ESPN+.