NEW YORK — A three-goal first half aided Columbia to a 4-1 victory over the Cornell women's soccer team in a rare Wednesday afternoon Ivy League contest at Rocco B. Commisso Soccer Stadium.
Nata Ramirez paced the Lions offensive attack with a four-point performance (one goal, two assists), upping her season point total to 19 and her Ivy League lead in points to four. Charlyse Berry, Courtney Ruedt, and Sam Cohn logged the other tallies for Columbia (5-3-3, 3-0-0 Ivy), who matched its program record for the most goals in an Ivy League contest.
Lauren Rodriguez and Samantha Mahoney split time in goal for the Lions as Rodriguez made one save across her 74-plus minutes of action. Mahoney made two saves over the final 14 minutes of the contest.
Senior forward
Ava Laden potted the lone marker of the contest in the 25th minute for Cornell (2-6-4, 1-2-0 Ivy) and senior goalkeeper
Erica Fox made two saves in the setback.
"Obviously a disappointing result," Cornell women's soccer head coach
Rob Ferguson said. "There were things we did well today and we executed on key pieces of our plan very well for long spells. In this league, we can't make the mistakes we made and expect to get a result. These are tough lessons, but we have to learn from them and help the players improve on those moments."
Columbia pounced out to an early 2-0 lead behind goals by Ramirez and Berry over a span of 4:12 between the 20th and 24th minutes. Ramirez factored on both goals as she lofted a cross from the left side of the 18-yard box into the goal area and was headed past Fox.
Retaliating quickly, Cornell cut the Lions' lead in half on a miscue by Columbia inside its own penalty area. Junior midfielder
Abigail Bishara played a cross into the 18-yard box that ricocheted off a pair of Columbia defenders, leading Laden for a right-footed strike from 10 yards out.
Columbia doubled its lead again with a minute and a half left in the opening half off a battle inside the goal area following Columbia corner kick before increasing its lead further in the 59th minute.
"I felt we were largely the better team in the first half, in terms of executing our game plan, pressing, getting on the front foot and using the ball well," Ferguson said. "We created a few solid chances and could have had a couple goals, yet at halftime we were 3-1 down. That's the game sometimes.
Cornell had two set pieces on the edge of the 18-yard box in the 60th and 64th minutes, but could not convert. The first chance was a lofted ball toward the right post by junior midfielder
Mariana Kessinger and was nabbed by Rodriguez. The latter attempt was taken by senior defender
Lily Ellingson from 20 yards out on the right side of the pitch following a Columbia yellow card and Ellingson's try clanged off the crossbar.
Another second-half scoring chance for Cornell was snuffed out by Columbia in the 68th minute as a near-side corner kick was headed on goal by senior midfielder
Reinna Gabriel but was cleared off the goal line by a Lions defender, keeping Columbia's lead at three.
Sophomore forward
Sydney Allen (80th minute) and senior forward
Laken Gallman (90th minute) each had shots on goal over the final 10 minutes of play but were both stopped by Mahoney.
MATCH NOTES
• Wednesday was the 38th meeting between the Empire State rivals. Columbia trimmed Cornell's lead in the series to 20-17-1 as the Lions improved to 14-3-1 over the last 18 matches against the Big Red.
• Columbia has won each of the last nine matches at Rocco B. Commisso Stadium, outscoring Cornell by a 17-4 clip during the span.
• Laden's goal was her 11th in a Cornell uniform and second marker of the season, snapping a seven-match scoreless streak. Her last goal previously came against Boston College at Berman Field on Sept. 5.
• Despite the result, Cornell owned a 5-3 advantage in corner kicks, including a 3-1 edge during the second half.
UP NEXT
Cornell will continue its modest two-match Ivy League road swing on Sunday, Oct. 13, when it travels to Cambridge, Mass., for a battle against Harvard (4-2-5, 0-2-1 Ivy). First touch between the Big Red and Crimson is scheduled for 1 p.m. Match action will be broadcast on ESPN+.
"We have to turn our attention to Harvard on Sunday, as there are a lot of points to play for in this Ivy League season," Ferguson stated.
