ITHACA, N.Y. -- A six-point performance from junior attacker Kylie Gelabert was not enough for the Cornell women's lacrosse team, as it fell 11-7 to the Penn Quakers on Saturday afternoon from Schoellkopf Field. With the loss, the Big Red fell to 7-6 and 2-3 in conference play, while the Quakers improved to 9-3 and 3-2 in the Ivy League. 

Gelabert's four goals paced a Cornell offense that fired 15 shots on goal against the Quakers. The junior from Victor, N.Y. also had two assists to finish the day one short of her career-high seven points set earlier this season in a 15-7 win over Binghamton. Senior Caitlin Slaminko also had a strong performance with her sixth multi-goal outing to tie her career high of 17 set last season, while Alexa Donahoe had the other goal on the day for Cornell. Junior Josie Vogel also dished out two assists to extend her points streak to 26 consecutive games, and senior midfielder Bridget Babcock had a game-high four caused turnovers and ground balls. Mackenzie Clark, who made her first career start in net, stopped a career-high ten shots. 

Anna Brandt led the sheet for Penn with her ninth-consecutive multi-goal output with four and tied Babcock for the lead in caused turnovers with four. Niki Miles (three goals, two assists), Catherine Berkery (two goals), and Maria Themelis (two assists) rounded out the top offensive performers for the Quakers. Senior Kelly Van Hoesen also earned her ninth win of the season with eight saves. 

Both goalies came up clutch early to begin the first, as Clark and Van Hoesen made consecutive saves to keep the scoreboard at zero. Penn found the back of the net first on Catherine Berkery's 21st of the season off a feed from Natasha Gorriaran to go ahead. Penn won the following draw control before a caused turnover and ground ball by Marissa Stafford allowed Cornell to retake possession. The Big Red ripped off three consecutive shots that sailed wide, causing the shot clock to become the enemy as it dwindled toward the teens. However, the fourth shot was the charm from a catch and shoot for Slaminko on a feed from Gelabert between two Quaker defenders to tie things at one. Penn and Cornell's offense sputtered before a Penn turnover caused by Bridget Babcock gave Cornell possession. No time was wasted, as a cutting Donahoe found nylon for her seventh of the season on another excellent find by Gelabert to push Cornell ahead. Gelabert finally added herself to the goal party less than a minute later off a pass from Josie Vogel to jump ahead by two. Penn did answer about three minutes later with Anna Brandt's 29th of the year to pull within one to close an entertaining first that saw 16 combined shots.

The Big Red got the first chance to extend its lead in the second, but Van Hoesen stepped up and blocked a ripper from Dillyn Patten to take back possession. Patten would be called for a shooting space foul on the other end, allowing Niki Miles to net her 33rd of the season to tie things up at three. Penn continued to test Clark in the cage, but the sophomore stepped up with two key saves on consecutive possessions. Cornell cashed in on the second with Gelabert's second of the day on a free position to retake a 4-3 advantage. Penn had an answer for Gelabert's 16th of the season with Brandt's second to put the fight at 4-4 with 7:15 to go. With the momentum for the taking, Cornell pushed the envelope with consecutive shots by Ward and Gelabert. Penn did the reverse with three shots that sailed wide and one that hit Clark's stick before going out of bounds. But a foul by Cornell was the straw that broke the momentum, as Miles buried her first of the afternoon on a free position to push Penn ahead, 5-4. Cornell kept the pressure on immediately after the Quaker goal with three more shots thrown at Van Hoesen but could not find a goal. Penn took advantage with the third shot causing a runout and Miles' second of the afternoon to take a 6-4 lead into the locker room.

A sloppy start to the third quarter ensued, with four turnovers and two green cards. The second almost came back to bite as a Quaker free position shot clanged off the post. Penn kept the pressure on in the Cornell defensive end and eventually found the back of the net on another free position goal by Brandt to go up by three. Annie Thomas won the following draw control, allowing Slaminko to rip one that fell into Van Hoesen's stick. The Quakers immediately countered with its eighth goal of the contest from Erika Ching to force a media timeout. Clark continued to be pressured in the cage but came up with two key saves to give possession back to the Big Red. Cornell wasted no time with Babcock racing up the field and feeding a trailing Gelabert for her second of the day on a bouncer to net Cornell's first goal since 9:23 to go in the second quarter to pull back within three. Gelabert's third of the day did nothing to slow down the Quaker offense, as Keeley Block and Brandt teamed up for two more less than a minute apart to rebuild its lead to five. 

Cornell started the fourth on a woman-up after a Quaker yellow card carried over from the third quarter and got a good look about a minute in from Gelabert that hit the post. Donahoe tried to find the back of the net for the second time after stopping a potential Quaker runout but pushed it wide and forced a shot clock violation. Neither team could keep the ball cleanly with turnovers scattered about for nearly six minutes until the Big Red's second shot clock violation of the quarter came back to bite, as Penn tallied another to take its largest lead of the game at 11-6 with eight minutes left. With the clock not becoming its friend, the Big Red needed a spark and fast. After a green card called on Miles, the Big Red began to chip away with another connection from Vogel to Gelabert to pull within five. The push was on, and the seesaw shifted back towards the home team again on Slaminko's second of the game to get within four with 3:49 left. But the potential push for a comeback fell short, as Cornell attempted just one shot over the final stretch, allowing the Quakers to leave Ithaca with its fourth win in the last five in the series.

BIG RED NOTABLES

• Mackenzie Clark made her first career start in net for the Big Red during Saturday's contest and bested her previous career high in saves (eight) set in last season's battle with the Quakers in Philadelphia.
• Junior Kylie Gelabert's four-goal performance tied her career-high set in a 17-6 win over Colgate on March 9, 2022. 
• With her two assists, junior attacker Josie Vogel extended her point streak to a team-high 26 consecutive contests. She is also one point away from becoming the 28th player in Big Red history to eclipse 100 career points.
• Senior midfielder Bridget Babcock's four caused turnovers are the most the captain has had in a Big Red uniform.

UP NEXT
Cornell closes out its 2024 home slate with a battle against No. 10 Yale as part of a Big Red lacrosse doubleheader on Saturday, April 20. First draw is set for 3:30 p.m. from Schoellkopf Field. The Big Red will also celebrate its seven seniors (Bridget Babcock, Grace Faircloth, Hilary Hoover, Alexis Reinhardt, Annie Thomas, Olivia Wall, and  Sophie Ward) and their contributions to the program.