ITHACA, N.Y. — Harvard (4-4-2, 2-1-0 Ivy) scored twice in less than three minutes midway through the second half, then held off a Cornell rally to defeat the Big Red (3-4-4, 1-2-0 Ivy) 2-1 on Saturday afternoon at Berman Field during Homecoming and Alumnae Weekend.

Írena Héðinsdóttir Gonzalez and Jasmine Leshnick combined on both Crimson goals. Héðinsdóttir Gonzalez scored in the 56th minute before assisting on Leshnick's game-winner three minutes later.

Senior midfielder Abigail Bishara cut Cornell's deficit in half in the 68th minute, but the Big Red were only able to manage three shot attempts over the final 22 minutes.

"We're all pretty gutted with the result," Cornell women's soccer head coach Rob Ferguson said. "We played incredibly well for almost all the game, and we've been undone by a couple of moments where we didn't get it right defensively against some really good players.

"Over the course of 90 minutes, I think we were the better team. We were better, more threatening going forward. We were incredibly good and well organized defensively."

After a scoreless first half, Héðinsdóttir Gonzalez opened the scoring by deposited a rebound off Leshnick's shot following a corner kick by Audey Francois.

Less than three minutes later, Leshnick fired a shot from outside the penalty area into the upper right corner off a pass from Héðinsdóttir Gonzalez. Cornell senior goalkeeper Natalie Medugno, who finished with three saves, was unable to get her mitt on the attempt.

Bishara trimmed the deficit nine minutes later when she caught Harvard goalkeeper Rhiannon Stewart out of position, one-touching a clearing attempt from 35 yards out.



Cornell controlled possession down the stretch, which included registering three shot attempts, but couldn't find the equalizer.

"Their response was tremendous," Ferguson said. "All day long, we needed to find the little bit of quality in and around the box. We didn't get the final ball right, that final touch or finish, with the exception of (Bishara's goal)."

MATCH NOTES
• Saturday marked the 43rd all-time meeting between the Big Red and Crimson. Harvard extended its unbeaten streak against Cornell to 31 matches (26-0-5).

• The match marked the first time a Cornell-Harvard contest was decided by one goal or fewer since a scoreless draw in 2016, at Jordan Field.

• Bishara's goal was her first since Cornell's season opener against Colgate on Aug. 25, 2024.

• Medugno's scoreless streak ended at 182 minutes, 11 seconds. She had not allowed a goal since Oct. 19, 2024.

NEXT UP
Cornell begins a three-match road Tuesday at Lafayette (3-4-5, 1-1-2 Patriot League). Kickoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. on ESPN+.

Cornell is 9-0-0 all-time against Lafayette and will be playing the Leopards for the first time since 2012.