ITHACA, N.Y. — A trio of first-half goals aided Princeton to a 3-0 clean sheet over the Cornell women's soccer team to open Ivy League play on Berman Field on Saturday afternoon.
Kate Toomey led Princeton (5-3-0, 1-0-0 Ivy) behind her three-point performance, scoring one goal and adding an assist. Isabella Garces and Alexandra Barry also scored for the Tigers. Tyler McCamey registered her third clean sheet of the season, making one save during her 90 minutes in goal.
Senior forward Laken Gallman logged the lone shot on goal for the Big Red (1-5-4, 0-1-0 Ivy), as senior goalkeeper Erica Fox made three saves in the setback.
"First half was really poor and the second half was a lot better," Cornell women's soccer head coach Rob Ferguson said. "By the time halftime came around, the game was as good as lost and that's disappointing. It's not the way we wanted to start Ivy League play."
Princeton snapped its 213-plus-minute scoreless streak in the 18th minute on a set piece as Heather MacNab sent her left-footed ball near the goal area, deflecting off Toomey's head and past Fox.
Just under three minutes later, Princeton doubled its lead on a tally by Garces. Fox cleared the ball outside the 18-yard box and was one-touched by Toomey in the attacking midfield, lofting into the penalty area. Garces created separation following a header, sending a dribbling right-footed shot into an open Cornell net.
The Tigers' lead was further solidified early in the 32nd minute as a Cornell defender blocked a Lily Bryant shot attempt, leading to Barry right-footing the ball past Fox after pirouetting around a Cornell defender.
Neither team found the back of the net or registered a shot on goal during the second half despite the teams combining for 17 shot attempts.
MATCH NOTES
• Saturday was the 42nd all-time meeting between Cornell and Princeton. The Tigers increased its lead in the series to 30-8-4 as Princeton has won 28 of the last 29 meetings, dating back to 1996.
• The Big Red was held without a goal in a home match for the first time since Oct. 15, 2022, when it played to a scoreless draw with Yale, halting the already-established program record for consecutive home matches with a goal at 14.
• Cornell has been held without a goal over its last three matches, the first time it has failed to score in three consecutive contests since going four straight fixtures without scoring during the 2021 campaign (Oct. 9 to Oct. 30), all of which were Ivy League contests.
• Since elevating the Big Red women's soccer program to varsity status in 1982, Cornell is now 19-22-2 all-time in its first Ancient Eight contest of a season.
• Sophomore midfielder Ava Jung made her season debut for the Big Red, registering 33 minutes of action.
UP NEXT
Cornell will return to action on Berman Field next Saturday, Oct. 5, when it hosts Dartmouth (6-2-1) for a 1 p.m. first touch. Match action between the Big Red and Big Green will be broadcast on ESPN+.
Dartmouth owns the series lead over Cornell, 28-10-5, dating back to the first meeting on Nov. 6, 1982. The Big Red has won three of its last four meetings with the Big Green on Berman Field, logging a 1-0 victory on Nov. 8, 2014, a 4-1 triumph on Nov. 5, 2016, and a 1-0 win in the last time Dartmouth paid a visit to the Big Red's home pitch on Nov. 5, 2022.
The Big Red will be opening Ivy League play with two home contests for the fifth time in program history, joining the other instances that came during the 1984 (Princeton and Dartmouth), 1985 (Dartmouth and Harvard), 1994 (Penn and Princeton), and 1998 (Princeton and Penn) campaigns.
