ITHACA, N.Y. -- No. 4 Harvard scored in each half and held off a furious late rally by Cornell to earn a 2-1 win in Ivy League field hockey action on Saturday afternoon at Marsha Dodson Field. The Crimson remained unbeaten (11-0, 4-0 Ivy), while the Big Red slipped to 8-2 (2-2 Ivy).
Cornell cut a two-goal deficit to one just over two minutes into the fourth quarter when Uma Käding slammed home a penalty corner from
Rease Coleman and
Julia Ramsey. The Big Red generated seven shots and earned six corners in the final five minutes, saved a penalty stroke and did everything but find the equalizer against the Crimson defense.
Harvard opened the scoring with 58 seconds left in the first quarter when Martha le Huray converted a rebound off a penalty corner. After a back-and-forth second period, Harvard extended its lead to 2-0 late in the third when Bronte-May Brough finished off a corner sequence assisted by Rosa Kooijmans and Kate Oliver.
Harvard held a 14-10 edge in shots, though Cornell's fourth quarter flurry gave it a 7-6 advantage in penalty corners. Senior goalkeeper
Jane McNally made seven saves for Cornell, including a stop on a penalty stroke in the fourth quarter. Linde Burger had two saves in goal for Harvard.
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"I thought we played incredibly well against what is clearly one of the best teams in the country - we put more shots on goal and out-cornered them and, in my mind, should have won. I give our team a lot of credit, but we have to start finishing those opportunities and turning performances like this into results." -- Andy Smith, Head Coach of Cornell Field Hockey
GAME NOTES
• Junior Julia Ramsey posted her 31st career assist, good for third in program history. She is now two assists behind former All-American Cari Hills '98 (33) for second place.
• Sophomore Uma Käding posted her team-high ninth goal of the season and 15th of her career. She moved into the school's top 20 list for a career, matching Beth Chagrasulis '80, Sam McILwrick '18 and Grace Royer '20 at No. 20.
• Senior Rease Coleman upped her career assist total to 12 and is two shy from joining the top 20 list at Cornell.
• Senior Jane McNally tied her career high with seven saves, including six in the second half.
• All seven of Cornell's penalty corners, including its penalty corner goal, came in the fourth quarter.
• Cornell opponents are now just 1-for-3 on penalty stroke attempts following McNally's save on Tilly Butterworth.
NEXT UP
• Cornell continues a stretch of six home games in its last seven regular season contests when it hosts Lehigh on Sunday, Oct. 12 at 2 p.m.
• The game will feature Senior Day, as the Big Red will honor its seven seniors prior to the contest.
• Cornell and Lehigh will be meeting for the 30th time, with the Big Red holding a dominant 27-1-1 edge and sporting a 25-game win streak in the series.
