ITHACA, N.Y. — Boston College's Nicollette Kiorpes scored the deciding goal in the 75th minute, and the Eagles added a penalty kick less than five minutes later to defeat the Cornell women's soccer team, 3-1, Sunday afternoon at Berman Field.
After inclement weather delayed the start of the match for over an hour, senior midfielder and co-captain
Emily Gibbons gave Cornell (1-1-0) the lead in the 11th minute with a right-footed, two-touch finish off a corner kick from sophomore defender
Raya Leikin. The goal extended Gibbons' goal-scoring streak to three consecutive games, dating back to last season's finale at Dartmouth.
Boston College (3-0-0) immediately answered Gibbons' go-ahead marker less than two minutes later when Kiorpes placed a left-footed shot at the left post past freshman goalkeeper
Sofia Kerrigan to level the match.
The Eagles shifted momentum after the break, outshooting Cornell 10-1 in the second half. Kerrigan saved a shot by Kiorpes in the 47th minute to preserve the tie, but Kiorpes later ran onto Addison Kalaw's through ball and finished into the bottom-left corner to put the Eagles ahead in the 75th minute. Amalia Dray tallied an insurance marker four minutes later, placing a right-footed penalty kick into the bottom-right corner.
Kerrigan finished the match with two saves, while Boston College goalkeeper Faith Fenwick made all four of her saves in the first half.
"It's kind of two different games," said Cornell head coach
Rob Ferguson. "In the first half, it was the game that we wanted it to be. We made it that way and that was excellent. I thought we were very positive, the quality was high, we connected very well. We pulled them apart at times, created chances, we scored and should have scored more.
"In the second half, we knew what was going to happen. We knew it was going to be more direct and we had to deal with that while still trying to put our stamp on the game. We couldn't afford for it to just become what they wanted, and it did. They just wanted to put the ball in behind us. They're very athletic, have pace and strength. We actually weathered 25-30 minutes of it and we were just starting to get to grips with it, then the goal came and the penalty obviously killed it. Disappointing results, lots of positives, but also areas where we have to fix and make sure it doesn't happen again."
The Big Red will continue their four-match homestand on Thursday, Aug. 27, when they return to the pitch to host Lafayette (0-1-2). Kickoff from Berman Field is scheduled for 7 p.m. and will be broadcast on ESPN+.
