POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. — Seniors Ava Laden and Sophie Weeter each scored one goal, aiding sophomore goalkeeper Natalie Medugno to her second career clean sheet in her third collegiate appearance, as the Cornell women's soccer team overpowered Marist, 2-0, at Tenney Stadium on Wednesday night.
"Very pleased to get the win," said head coach Rob Ferguson. "We felt we controlled the game throughout while improving on some of our movement and creativity, which was a focus in training. It's still an area we want to build on and develop further. Our discipline and decision-making defensively saw good improvement."
Laden's goal was her first since the regular-season finale against Dartmouth in 2021, while Weeter's goal was her first-ever collegiate marker.
"It was great to get Ava back on the scoresheet," Ferguson said. "Having Kendall Patten back in the lineup, getting her first minutes, and Sophie registering her first goal was very well deserved."
Cornell's defense was stout throughout the 90-minute fixture, allowing just four Marist shot attempts with only one on target. The Big Red held a 13-4 advantage in shot attempts, including a 10-1 margin in the second half.
Marist's Amanda Calderelli had two of the Red Foxes' four shot attempts on the night. Christina Layden had the lone shot on goal against Medugno.
The first close scoring opportunity for Cornell came in the 11th minute when senior midfielder Reagan Pauwels sent a 30-yard strike toward Marist's starting goalkeeper, Kelly Lambertson, who was able to get her mitts on the ball.
Two minutes later, Pauwels lofted a left-footed pass over a trio of Marist defenders to Laden, leading to the eventual game-winning goal.
Cornell had a chance to increase its lead to two goals mere minutes later as Laden played a ball near the left side of the 8-yard box to senior Mia Gonzalez, but Lambertson came out of the net to prevent a scoring chance.
Eleven minutes into the second half, junior defender Cecily Pokigo sent in a deep out-swinging set piece leading toward Weeter's first collegiate tally. Inside a crowd within the 18-yard box, Pokigo's lofted ball was headed toward an open area on the left side of the box, enabling Weeter to beat the defender on her and Maddy Catalanotti, who replaced Lambertson after halftime.
Senior forward Laken Gallman and Pauwels each had scoring chances in the 68th minute, but both shot attempts were redirected off the crossbar. Gallman's initial attempt clanked off the crossbar and Pauwels' rebound attempt followed suit. Junior forward Maddie Leroy headed the rebound of Pauwels' shot toward the goal, but Catalanotti made the first of her three saves on the night.
Gallman had another chance to increase Cornell's lead to three late in the 82nd minute but Catalanotti made a diving save with her left arm.
Match Notes
• The Big Red took a 3-2-1 lead in the series over Marist following Wednesday night's two-goal victory. Cornell has won three of the last four against the Red Foxes, including the previous two meetings in Poughkeepsie.
• With the victory, Cornell increased the Ivy League's overall record to 13-0-3 (.906), remaining the lone undefeated Division I conference that sponsors women's soccer.
• Wednesday marked the first time Cornell won a match by at least two goals since Aug. 27, 2021, when it defeated Canisius, 2-0, at Berman Field. It was the first time Cornell won by multiple goals away from its home pitch since Sept. 6, 2015, when it also won by a 2-0 score against Akron at the St. Bonaventure Alumni Classic. The last time Cornell won a true road match by two-plus goals was on Oct. 3, 2010, when it defeated Colgate by a 2-0 decision.
• Cornell has netted four goals through its first two matches of the season, marking the third time in the last four seasons of competition in which it has scored at least four times across its first two matches to open a season (2019 and 2021).
• The Big Red increased its unbeaten streak to four matches, dating back to last year. It is the program's longest overall unbeaten streak since beginning the 2019 season with four consecutive victories.
• Thanks to Laden's first-half goal, Cornell improved to 6-1-1 when netting the match's first goal with Ferguson as head coach. The Big Red is 5-3-2 when scoring multiple goals under Ferguson.
• Weeter's goal was her first collegiate point since assisting on Peyton Nichols' goal against Canisius in her Cornell debut on Aug. 27, 2021.
• Freshman forward Emily Gibbons made her collegiate debut for the Big Red, appearing in the final seven-plus minutes of the contest.
Up Next
The Big Red will play its third match in seven days when it returns to Berman Field to entertain Central New York rival Syracuse on Sunday. First touch between the Big Red and Orange is slated for 1 p.m. Game action will be broadcast on ESPN+.
Cornell will welcome Syracuse to Berman Field for the first time in nearly seven years when the Big Red fell to the Orange, 2-1, in overtime on Sept. 4, 2016.
