ITHACA, N.Y. — Pittsburgh's Sofia Doheny scored the deciding goal in the 67th minute as the Panthers erased a halftime deficit to defeat the Cornell women's soccer team 2-1 Sunday afternoon at Berman Field.
The Panthers (4-1-1) scored twice in the second half after senior midfielder and co-captain
Emily Gibbons gave the Big Red (2-2-0) an early lead.
Gibbons opened the scoring in the 12th minute, sending a left-footed shot from the top of the goal area into the net off an assist from senior forward
Alanna Colbert. Junior midfielder
Lauren DiPierri intercepted a Pittsburgh pass at midfield, setting up a quick attacking sequence that Cornell head coach
Rob Ferguson praised for its composure.
"It was cool, calm, it was collected," Ferguson said. "We didn't panic."
The goal was Gibbons' third of the season and marked the fourth time she has scored in her last five appearances dating to last season's regular-season finale.
Cornell carried its 1-0 lead into halftime before Pittsburgh's Katie Ellermeyer sent a penalty kick into the bottom-left corner in the 51st minute. The goal ended freshman goalkeeper
Sofia Kerrigan's shutout streak at 151 minutes, 11 seconds.
"We've given away three PKs in four games. We can't do that," Ferguson said. "It just gives so much momentum to the other teams. We've got to be smarter with how we defend in those moments."
Pittsburgh moved ahead in the 67th minute when Sage Stelzer's cross from the far flank found Lola Abraham, whose one-touch flick set up Doheny's left-footed two-touch finish past Kerrigan.
Junior midfielder
Ella Koschineg tested Pittsburgh goalkeeper Elli Johnson with a direct free kick in the 76th minute, but Johnson hauled in the attempt to cap a four-save performance.
Cornell earned its only corner kick in the 87th minute during a late push, but Pittsburgh held on to close out the match, finishing with advantages of 14-8 in shot attempts, 8-5 in shots on goal and 6-1 in corner kicks.
Kerrigan recorded a season-high six saves, including several stops that kept Cornell within one goal during Pittsburgh's nine-shot second half.
Ferguson said Cornell's pressure and defensive organization dropped after halftime, but was encouraged by the response after the Panthers took the lead.
"[Sofia] did keep us in the game, and we need to protect her a little bit more than that in those moments," Ferguson said. "I thought the way we responded when we were 2-1 down was excellent. We went back to causing problems and created chances."
Cornell opens a four-match road stretch on Thursday, Sept. 3, when it travels to Central New York rival Colgate. Kickoff from Beyer-Small '76 Field in Hamilton, N.Y., is scheduled for 6 p.m., with match action streamed on ESPN+.
"We're going to go on the road and try to win games," Ferguson said. "Simple as that."
