CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Ólöf Kristinsdóttir broke a halftime tie in the 50th minute, and No. 24 Harvard scored twice more in a 1:34 span to defeat the Cornell women's soccer team 4-1 on Saturday afternoon at Jordan Field.
The Big Red (4-4-2) answered Harvard's opening goal but could not match the Crimson's three-goal second half. Harvard (8-2-1) improved to 2-0-0 in Ivy League play, while Cornell fell to 1-1-0.
Brooke Huleatt opened the scoring in the 17th minute after Jasmine Leshnick lofted a ball into the attacking third and junior defender
Jane Offit attempted a clearance. Huleatt's one-touch finish hit freshman goalkeeper
Sofia Kerrigan and trickled into the net, snapping Cornell's shutout streak at 197:56.
Cornell equalized just over four minutes later when junior defender
Amanda Polyniak's quick throw-in set up sophomore forward
Jessica Alessi's cross from the right flank. Senior forward
Alanna Colbert headed it into the top middle of the net beyond an outstretched Olivia Busby for her second goal of the season.
Kerrigan made four of her five saves on the day in the first half, helping the Big Red reach halftime tied despite being outshot 9-3 in the opening 45 minutes.
"After a slow start, I thought we really got to grips with them in the last 30 minutes of the first half," Cornell head coach
Rob Ferguson said. "Alanna scored a great goal after an excellent ball in from Jess."
Kristinsdóttir restored Harvard's lead in the 50th minute, taking Anya Van Den Einde's pass and firing from just outside the penalty area inside the left post. Anna Rayhill made it 3-1 in the 64th minute, putting away the rebound after Kerrigan saved Lou Ruffien's shot. Huleatt completed the scoring in the 65th minute, finishing from the left flank off a pass from Elsa Santos Lopez for her second goal of the afternoon. The freshman now leads the Ivy League with 25 points and shares the goals lead with Kristinsdóttir at nine apiece.
"We conceded in a couple of poor moments in the second half, and the game got away from us," Ferguson said. "They are a very good team, and ultimately I don't think we can complain about the result, as I don't think we did enough today."
Colbert led Cornell with three shot attempts, all of which were on target. Busby stopped her first attempt in the 12th minute, and second-half goalkeeper Nicole Bidun saved her final effort — Cornell's lone second-half shot on goal — in the 79th minute. Harvard held advantages of 15-6 in shots and 9-3 in shots on goal, while Cornell had a slight 5-4 edge in corner kicks.
"It's important we move on and learn as we head into another important week," Ferguson said.
The Big Red will return to action next Saturday, Oct. 10, when it travels to New York City for an Ivy League contest against fellow Empire State foe Columbia (1-6-3, 0-1-0 Ivy). First touch between the Big Red and Lions at Rocco B. Commisso Soccer Stadium is scheduled for 1 p.m., with match action streamed live on ESPN+.
