ITHACA, N.Y. — Senior midfielder Mariana Kessinger's first-half goal, paired with a strong second-half defense, helped the Cornell women's soccer team (2-0-1) secure a 1-0 clean sheet over La Salle (1-3-0) Thursday evening on Berman Field.

Freshman goalkeeper Samantha Qureshey benefited from the Big Red's defense, stopping all three shots she faced in the first half to record her second clean sheet of the season. Cornell did not yield a shot attempt during the second half.

"Good to get another win on the board," Cornell women's soccer head coach Rob Ferguson said. "That was the most complete performance we've put in. We controlled that game pretty much from start to finish. The disappointment on our end is not scoring more goals. La Salle were really solid defensively. We struggled to open them up and create high-quality chances, but we created enough half-chances and you've got to put many half-chances away at this level."

La Salle opened the match with the first three shots on goal within the initial 22 minutes. Qureshey successfully stopped each of the Explorers' attempts, which included a diving save at the near-side post to deny Justyce Hollenbach of a goal in the 11th minute.



The only goal of the match came from a failed clearing attempt by La Salle after a cross from the right flank by sophomore defender Amanda Polyniak. When the ball settled just outside the 18-yard box, Kessinger fired a one-touch, right-footed shot into the top corner out of reach of La Salle goalkeeper Mackenzie Yaracs for her first collegiate goal. Yaracs finished the match with three saves, matching Qureshey.



Although La Salle made a strong effort to level the match, Cornell's defense held the Explorers from getting a shot attempt off over the last 67:29 of play.

MATCH NOTES
• Thursday marked the third all-time meeting between Cornell and La Salle, as the Big Red cut the Explorers' lead in the series in half, 2-1-0.

• Cornell is unbeaten within its first three matches of a season for the third straight year and the 13th time in program history (1986, 1990, 1991, 1992, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2014, 2015, 2019, 2023, 2024). It marks the first time the Big Red has started three consecutive years without a loss in its first three games since 1990-92, when it posted 3-0-0 records each season.

• Cornell's has conceded just one goal across its first three matches, marking the fewest goals allowed through the first three contests since 2019, when it also yielded just one opposing goal. It is the program's ninth time allowing one goal or fewer over its first three matches (1990, 1992, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2014, 2015, 2019).

FEWEST GOALS CONCEDED THROUGH THREE MATCHES
Cornell Program History
• 0, 1992
• 0, 2004
• 0, 2014
• 0, 2015
• 1, 1990
• 1, 2001
• 1, 2002
• 1, 2019
• 1, 2025

• Sophomore midfielder Lauren DiPierri made her first collegiate start, registering 54 minutes of action.

NEXT UP
Cornell will finish its three-match homestand on Sunday afternoon by hosting Kent State (2-1-1) at Berman Field. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. and will be broadcast on ESPN+.

Kent State begins a five-match road trip on Sunday after a 5-1 win over Youngstown State at Zoeller Field at Dix Stadium on Thursday night. Five different Golden Flashes scored as Kent State after conceding a goal in the 11th minute.

Samantha Miller leads Kent State in points (two goals, one assist) and is tied with Isabelle Leofanti for the team lead in goals. Seven different players have combined to score the Golden Flashes' nine goals on the season.