ITHACA, N.Y. - The Cornell men's soccer team used a second-half surge to advance past the Fordham Rams 4-2 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday afternoon at Berman Field.

The Big Red are set to face the Pittsburgh Panthers in the NCAA Tournament second round on Sunday, November 24 at 5:00 p.m. from Ambrose Urbanic Field.

Alex Harris and Alioune Ka scored two goals apiece, with one of Harris' being on a penalty-kick. Danny Lokko, Daniel Samways, and Liam May were credited with assists.

Cornell owned possession for the vast majority of the first ten minutes of the contest. In a turn-of-events, it would be the Rams who found the opening tally of the game in the 27th-minute. Moments later, Fordham tacked on another to ease to a 2-0 advantage 31 minutes in.

The tightly-contested first-half saw the Rams lead in total shots (8-7), shot-on-goal (4-3) and saves (3-2), all by one.

With its season hanging in the balance, Cornell entered the second-half with a vengeance. In the 49th-minute, Harris was dealt a grade-A opportunity from Lokko and Samways and he made it count as he has done all year.

10 minutes later with the lead cut to just one, Lokko was fouled in the box, giving Cornell a penalty-kick chance. Harris took the opportunity and made it count, tying the game in the 59th-minute. With that goal, Harris moved up to number two all-time in single-season goals scored, with 19.

In the 73rd-minute, Ka moved the score to 3-2 when he took it upon himself to find the go-ahead goal, coming on an odd ricochet. In the 85th-minute, Ka added insurance to the lead, notching a tally to put Cornell ahead 4-2. Ryan Friedberg collected two saves in the win, moving his record to 13-3-2 on the year.

"I thought the second half performance was immense. It was obvious at half time the guys hadn't lost faith. That being said, to go in at half time down 2-0 and come back in the second half with 4 unanswered goals is impressive. The second half performance is as much a credit to the mentality of this group as it is to their ability", John Smith, the Dr. Daniel P. Wood Head Coach of Men's Soccer mentioned.

"We now look forward to heading down to Pittsburgh to play another fantastic opponent on Sunday", Smith concluded with.

Next Round
The Cornell men's soccer team will travel to face the Pittsburgh Panthers on Sunday, November 24 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Kickoff is slated for 5:00 p.m. at Ambrose Urbanic Field. Game action will be broadcast on ESPN+.