ITHACA, N.Y. — Making her first collegiate start, sophomore forward Sydney Allen took advantage of her opportunity in Cornell's starting lineup, helping the Big Red secure a 1-0 clean sheet against Dartmouth at Berman Field on Saturday afternoon.

Allen broke open the scoreless contest in the 53rd minute with her second goal of the season. Both of Allen's goals have come at Berman Field and have served as game-winners for the Big Red.

Senior goalkeeper Erica Fox made a pair of saves to register her first clean sheet on the season for the Big Red (2-5-4, 1-1-0 Ivy), snapping its seven-match winless streak.

Emily Hardy made four saves in the setback for the Big Green (6-4-1, 0-2-0 Ivy) as it has dropped its last two matches, both of which have been Ancient Eight contests.

"Proud and happy for the team. The team thoroughly deserved to win today's game," Cornell women's soccer head coach Rob Ferguson said. "At the end, it was always going to be a bit hectic at one-nil, but we did everything we needed to do. We ran, competed, used the ball well, created chances, and got the goal when needed."

Cornell employed an up-tempo, pressing attack on defense, which stifled Dartmouth's offense that entered the match averaging over two goals per match (2.20). The Big Red's continual pressure throughout the contest resulted in Dartmouth only managing six shot attempts, with just two on target.

"It's what we planned to do all week in training," Ferguson said on the defensive pressure. "We knew we had to be on the front foot and get on top and stay on top, and over 90 minutes, it's really hard to do that and be relentless about it. In the first half, especially after last week, we knew we had to fix that and they did. [Dartmouth] created next to nothing."

With its up-tempo style of play, Cornell practically held the ball for most of the first 45 minutes, out-shooting Dartmouth by an 8-3 margin despite both teams not finding the back of the net.

In the 53rd minute, Cornell broke open the tie as its relentless defensive pressure led to Allen's go-ahead goal, snapping the Big Red's scoreless streak at 395:30.

A tackle by senior defender Lily Ellingson caused a Big Green turnover in its defensive midfield and passes by senior forwards Reinna Gabriel and Laken Gallman ultimately set up a give-and-go between Allen and junior midfielder Mariana Kessinger, whose cross from the left side of the 18-yard box was one-timed into the goal by Allen within the goal area.

"The composure from Mariana to play that pass was superb," Ferguson said. "It's on her weak foot. She is the player on our team who can always pick a pass. She's so aware of what's going on and that's the pass you can pick out. Kudos to her and Syd Allen, who started for the first time today. [She] did what she's been doing in training for two weeks. She's really upped things and been consistent."

Dartmouth threatened in the 86th minute with a shot from outside of the 18-yard box by Daisy Granholm, but Fox nabbed the shot to preserve the one-goal lead.

MATCH NOTES
• Saturday was the 44th all-time meeting between Cornell and Dartmouth as the Big Red trimmed the Big Green's lead in the series to 28-11-5.

• Cornell has won four of the last five matches against Dartmouth on Berman Field, having posted victories of 1-0 (Nov. 8, 2014), 4-1 (Nov. 5, 2016), and 1-0 (Nov. 5, 2022).

• Eight of the last 10 and 11 of the previous 16 matches between the two Ivy League rivals have been decided by one goal or less.

• Kessinger's assist on Allen's game-winning goal was her first assist since logging a helper against Harvard on Oct. 7, 2023.

• Fox increased her career clean sheet total to 4.5 and registered her first solo shutout since also holding Dartmouth scoreless in the Big Red's season finale during the 2022 season on Nov. 5, 2022.

• The six shot attempts and two shots on goal against are tied for the fewest allowed by the Big Red this season, matching the outputs by Villanova on Sept. 15 in a 1-1 draw.

• Cornell owned a 7-1 edge in corner kicks, including a 4-0 advantage in the first half.

• Under Rob Ferguson, Cornell has an 11-2-6 record when scoring the match's first goal and improved to 2-0-1 when doing so this season.

• Junior Maran Kingsley made her season debut for the Big Red, appearing in the final 16 minutes of the first half.

UP NEXT
Cornell will head on the road for its next two Ivy League matches where it will first play Columbia (4-3-3, 2-0-0 Ivy) on Wednesday at Rocco B. Commisso Stadium in New York City. First touch between the Big Red and Lions is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. Match action will be broadcast on ESPN+.

The Big Red own the series lead against its Empire State rival, 20-16-1, despite only having three wins over the last 17 meetings (3-13-1).

Cornell has not had much luck on Columbia's home pitch, losing its last eight trips to New York City. The most recent victory for Cornell over Columbia in New York came in a 2-1 decision on Sept. 25, 2004.