ITHACA, N.Y. -- A pair of rapid-succession third-quarter goals powered Cornell to a 2-1 comeback win over Colgate in its season opener on Saturday afternoon inside historic Barton Hall. The Big Red improved to 1-0, while the Raiders slipped to 1-2.
Annabel Cheveley and Blake Wilks netted scores 56 seconds apart four minutes after the visitors took the lead and held on the rest of the way. Cornell carried play throughout, outshooting Colgate 24-6 and generating nine corners to the Raiders' six. Colgate goalkeeper Claire van Kempen kept her team within striking distance, turning aside 10 shots, but the Raiders couldn't find the equalizer once Cornell broke through.
The Raiders converted one of their six penalty corners when Anna Lochhead buried a shot off a feed from Ahria Dhillon in the 39th minute.
The lead didn't last long.
Exactly four minutes later, the Big Red drew even when Cheveley finished a corner play set up by Julia Ramsey and Emma Poplyk. Just 56 seconds after that, Cornell struck again as Wilks redirected a Uma Käding tip in front of the cage for what proved to be the game-winner.
Big Red keeper Jane McNally stopped two shots to earn the victory in her first collegiate start.
QUOTABLE
"We found the way to get the job done against a spirited Colgate team. We had a lot of chances. I'm happy that we managed to dig ourselves out of a hole and find a way to win, but we've got a lot to learn from video and a lot of changes and improvements to make for Friday if this team is going to realize its potential." -- Andy Smith, Head Coach of Cornell Field Hockey
GAME NOTES
• The Big Red won its ninth consecutive contest against the Raiders.
• Dating back to last season, Cornell is 5-1 over its last six contests.
• The win was the first collegiate victory for senior goalkeeper Jane McNally, who made two stops.
• With her 22nd career assist, junior Julia Ramsey moved into a tie for fifth on the school's all-time list alongside Catie DeStio '11 and former teammate Claire Wolfe '25.
• Sophomore Blake Wilks tallied her third career score and her first game-winner.
• The team's 24 shots were tied for the most since sending 38 shots toward Colgate's goalkeeper during the 2023 season.
The victory was head coach Andy Smith's 47th on the Big Red sidelines (41-28).
NEXT UP
• Cornell will play its final non-league games before the start of Ivy play when it hosts Mercyhurst on Friday, Sept. 12 at 6 p.m., then visits La Salle on Sunday, Sept. 14 at 2 p.m. in Philadelphia.
• It will be the Big Red's first-ever matchup with the Lakers, and its second contest with the Explorers.
• Cornell and La Salle first met up a year ago in Ithaca with the home team escaping with a 1-0 victory despite a 22-0 edge in shots.
• The Big Red's Grace Leahy scored the game's only goal in the third quarter.
