ITHACA, N.Y. — Sophomore forward
Jessica Alessi recorded a goal and two assists as the Cornell women's soccer team scored its most goals in a match in 16 years, defeating Holy Cross 6-1 Tuesday afternoon at Berman Field.
Six different players found the net for the Big Red (5-5-2), who outshot the Crusaders (6-6-2) by a 16-3 margin and put 11 attempts on goal. Cornell's six goals were its most in a match since a 7-0 win over Delaware State on Sept. 5, 2010, and marked the program's first time scoring five or more since a 5-0 victory over VMI on Sept. 12, 2014.
"It was just a really good performance from front to back, on both sides of the ball," said Cornell head coach
Rob Ferguson. "Very controlled. We did the things that we wanted to do. Getting the goals relatively early in the first half allowed us to really control things and dictate the game."
The Big Red struck twice in a span of 2 minutes, 13 seconds midway through the first half. In the 16th minute, senior midfielder
Emily Gibbons slipped a through ball to Alessi, whose cross found senior forward
Brooke Brown for a left-footed finish inside the right post. Alessi set up the second goal in the 18th minute with a cross to the far post, where sophomore midfielder
Andrea Wilson one-touched the ball across for senior forward
Alanna Colbert to head home. The goal was Colbert's third of the season and stood as the game-winner.
Holy Cross pressed with a more direct approach after halftime and cut the deficit in half in the 63rd minute, when Charlotte Hanchar headed in a cross from Carina Liberatore at the near post.
Cornell's answer arrived less than four minutes later, when Brown's shot from the left side of the 18-yard box was saved by Holy Cross goalkeeper Meredith Zematis and Alessi buried the rebound in the 67th minute to restore Cornell's two-goal cushion. Gibbons followed in the 72nd minute, one-timing a loose ball inside the goal area after a Holy Cross header near the end line for her team-leading fifth goal of the season.
"In the past, a moment like that has perhaps created a mental problem in how we approach the game and how we play, but it really didn't today," Ferguson said. "We got back quickly to being calm and composed on the ball and as soon as we started passing the ball again, we were back to creating chances. The best way to defend is to have the ball and create chances."
Freshman forward
Sofía Menéndez pushed the lead to 5-1 in the 83rd minute, lofting a right-footed shot from outside the 18-yard box over Zematis off a feed from fellow freshman forward
Hayes Wheeler. Wheeler then capped the scoring with one second left in regulation with a right-footed back-heel finish at the right post after freshman forward
Dylan Steinberg's shot from the left side was saved. The goal, Wheeler's first collegiate marker, is the latest scored in regulation in program history, surpassing Tasha Fleury's game-winner with four seconds remaining at Princeton on Sept. 21, 1991.
Alessi's four-point afternoon made her Cornell's first player with multiple assists in a match since Laken Gallman '25 against Lehigh on Aug. 27, 2023.
"Jess [Alessi] has been standing out for two-plus weeks now," Ferguson said. "She's always worked really hard, but she's doubled down on that, and she's been really bright on a culture and human level. When all those things are happening with a player, don't be surprised when you see what you saw today. We know the quality and traits she has and now she's putting it all together at this level — and she's still a sophomore."
Brown, Gibbons and Wheeler each added a goal and an assist, while Wilson and Steinberg also picked up helpers. Cornell's seven assists Tuesday are tied for the second-most in program history and were its most since a program-record eight in a 6-0 win over Bucknell on Sept. 16, 1998. The Big Red's 19 total points tied for the fifth-most in a match in program history and were the most since the 19-point outing against Delaware State in 2010.
Twenty-one players saw action for Cornell, including senior goalkeeper
Naomi Glassberg, who made her first collegiate start and went the full 90 minutes in goal to earn the win. Zematis finished with five saves for Holy Cross.
"Naomi has been awesome for us for four years," Ferguson said. "She's probably the biggest single factor in evolving what our goalkeeper group looks like and how it acts, trains and talks. It's great for her to get the opportunity today and get the win under her belt. She deserves it and she did what she needed to do."
Cornell returns to Ivy League play on Saturday, Oct. 17, when it hosts Princeton (5-5-1, 1-2-0 Ivy) at Berman Field to continue the Big Red's three-match homestand. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m., with the match streamed on ESPN+.
"We played a good team today, one with a good record of beating good teams," Ferguson said. "We scored six goals and conceded one, and that in itself has to bring positivity. Now it's about going and doing the same things harder, faster, sharper and with more intention, because it's going to be a quicker, higher-level game."
