NEW YORK — Evelyn Javers had a goal and an assist as Columbia (3-6-3, 2-1-0 Ivy) struck three times in the second half to beat the Cornell women's soccer team (4-5-2, 1-2-0 Ivy) 3-0 Saturday afternoon at Rocco B. Commisso Soccer Stadium.
The two New York-based Ivy programs came into the day in a four-way tie for third place in the league standings.
Cornell had the better of a scoreless first half, outshooting the Lions 6-4 and holding a 5-1 edge in shots on goal, but Columbia goalkeeper Samantha Mahoney stopped all five Big Red attempts. Her saves included a second-minute try from junior midfielder
Ella Koschineg and a 38th-minute chance from senior midfielder and co-captain
Emily Gibbons. At the other end, freshman goalkeeper
Sofia Kerrigan made her only first-half save in the 41st minute.
"The first half was pretty even, and we probably just shaded it with the opportunities we created," head coach
Rob Ferguson said. "However, we didn't get close enough to them at times defensively, especially in the middle third, and we needed to be better in the defensive transition moments."
The Big Red nearly broke the deadlock in the 48th minute. Senior forward
Brooke Brown worked in near the left post and found Gibbons at the penalty spot, but Mahoney made a leaping save on Gibbons' left-footed shot, pushing it off the crossbar before a Columbia defender cleared it out of the box.
"We started the second half with the right energy, as we did in the first half, and created our best chance of the game," Ferguson said. "The keeper made a great save to tip it onto the bar and keep it at nil-nil."
Columbia broke through in the 54th minute, netting the first of three goals across 26 minutes. After Angie Cao headed a corner kick wide, Gabby Chan won the ball off Cornell's ensuing goal kick and fed Javers for a one-touch shot. Kerrigan made the initial save, but Javers knocked in the rebound.
The goal turned the match as Columbia outshot Cornell 9-4 after halftime and had a 6-2 edge in shots on goal. Chan made it 2-0 in the 63rd minute off a Javers assist, and Krystal Medina finished a feed from Alexa Lee in the 80th minute.
Gibbons led the Big Red with four shot attempts, three of which were on goal, during her 57 minutes off the bench. Mahoney denied her a third time in the 81st minute to finish with a season-high seven saves and her fourth shutout. Kerrigan made four saves, including an 82nd-minute stop on Javers. Columbia finished with a 13-10 edge in total shots, and each side put seven on goal.
"The momentum shifted when they got in front," Ferguson said. "We know that to win games in this league, we need to take our chances and not gift the opponent goals. The rest of the games will come down to being clinical in both 18-yard boxes, and we need to win that battle moving forward."
Columbia is unbeaten in its last five meetings with Cornell (4-0-1). The Lions have won 10 straight home matches in the series and are 16-3-1 over the last 20 meetings overall.
Cornell opens a three-match homestand Tuesday, Oct. 13, against Holy Cross (6-5-2, 2-2-1 Patriot) at Berman Field. Kickoff has been moved up from 7 p.m. to 1 p.m., and the match will stream on ESPN+.
