HAMILTON, N.Y. — Junior midfielder Abigail Bishara's strike from 30 yards out in the 85th minute aided the Cornell women's soccer team to a season-opening 1-1 draw against its Central New York rival Colgate at a sun-soaked Beyer-Small '76 Field on Sunday afternoon.

Colgate's Ari Bezanson tallied the opening marker for the Raiders in the 10th minute, capitalizing on a rebound of her initial shot that ricocheted off the crossbar.

Cornell junior goalkeeper Natalie Medugno made three saves in the draw for the Big Red (0-0-1), while Alli Popham (six saves) and Ella Poppinga (one save) split goalkeeping duties for Colgate (0-2-1).

"When you score late like that, it feels like a good tie," Cornell women's soccer head coach Rob Ferguson said. "We showed resiliency in a tough situation; that's been a focus of our mindset. It was a tough opening game on the road against a team that had the advantage of games under their belt. They looked fit and sharp and brought the intensity. They pressed us very well and were clearly up for their home opener. We have plenty of areas where we know we need to improve, as you'd expect after game one."

Both teams traded scoring chances in the opening eight minutes of the contest before Bezanson scored in the 10th minute. Bezanson's initial shot attempt rang off the crossbar before heading in her rebound attempt.

"After falling behind, I felt we got to grips with the game 10 or 15 minutes in," Ferguson said, "then created the better quality of the chances in the first half, with some good attacking play."

Generating four high-end scoring chances in the middle of the first half, three of which came on the edge of the goal area, Popham was able to preserve the Raiders' one-goal lead with critical saves. Junior midfielder Tanum Nelson had the best of the Big Red's opportunities when Popham made a diving save to her right. 

"The second half felt scrappy," Ferguson stated. "It became too transitional, which we need to fix moving forward. When we were asked to defend for extended periods, we did it well, which is a positive.

"The adjustments we made with 15 or so minutes to go weren't scripted but were a necessary reaction to the state of the game, and the players did well. We were first to more balls, picked up more second balls, and didn't allow them easy outs."

A cross from the top of the left flank by senior defender Lily Ellingson was blocked by a Colgate defender on the edge of the penalty area, leading to Bishara's one-touch strike into the top right corner of the goal to draw the contest level with just shy of five minutes remaining.

"The game-tying goal was top class," Ferguson noted. "An absolute gem of a strike from a player we know has that in her. It was a big moment and got us a result."

The Big Red threatened to take the lead following Bishara's game-tying marker but were called for being offsides three times over the final five-plus minutes.

MATCH NOTES
• Sunday was the 45th all-time meeting between Cornell and Colgate. Cornell now owns an 18-22-5 record against Colgate as the teams played to a draw for the first time since a scoreless double-overtime contest at Berman Field on Oct. 12, 2015. It was the first draw between the two programs on Colgate's home turf.

• The draw extended Cornell's unbeaten streak against non-conference opponents to 12 matches (5-0-7), dating back to the 2021 campaign.

• Cornell has opened consecutive seasons with ties for the first time since 2003 and 2004, when it drew with Stony Brook in a pair of double-overtime contests, 2-2 and 0-0.

• Sophomore forward Sydney Allen and freshman defender Ella Koschineg made their collegiate debuts on Sunday. Koschineg logged 13 minutes of action while Allen was on the pitch for 10 minutes.

UP NEXT
Cornell will open a three-match homestand on Thursday when it welcomes Buffalo to Berman Field for a 7 p.m. kickoff. Match action will be broadcast on ESPN+.

The contest will serve as Cornell's "Athletics Kick Off" event, including free food and giveaways for fans in attendance.