KALAMAZOO, Mich. – Lennon Harrington converted a first-half penalty kick and Connor Miller added an insurance goal in the second half as No. 17 Cornell defeated Western Michigan, 2-0, in a nonconference match Saturday at WMU Soccer Complex.
The win was also a historic one for Cornell head coach John Smith, whose 92nd career victory moved him past Jack Writer (1976-88) for sole possession of first place on the program's all-time wins list, making Smith the winningest head coach in Cornell men's soccer history.
The Big Red improved to 3-2-0 on the season, while the Broncos fell to 1-6-1.
Harrington opened the scoring in the 31st minute, burying a penalty kick after a foul on Dan McHale to give Cornell a 1-0 lead heading into the break. The Big Red controlled much of the first 45 minutes, out-shooting Western Michigan 7-3 in the period and forcing goalkeeper Alex Lindewirth into work throughout.
Cornell doubled its advantage in the 63rd minute when Miller found the back of the net to make it 2-0. The midfielder finished with a team-high three shots on the afternoon.
The Big Red controlled play for most of the match, out-shooting the Broncos 17-6 overall and 8-1 on goal. Kasper Wollstein led Cornell with four shots, while Miller and Harrington each added two shots on frame.
At the other end, goalkeeper Filip Versterre was rarely tested, needed just one save to preserve the shutout — his lone stop coming in the first half. Versterre and the Cornell defense limited Western Michigan to a single shot on target across the full 90 minutes.
Cornell was also efficient at set pieces, earning 10 corner kicks to Western Michigan's four, and continued to apply pressure throughout the second half with scoring chances from Wollstein, Miller and Calvin Momanyi down the stretch, though the Big Red could not add to their tally.
With his 92nd career win now in the books, Smith and the Big Red will look to build on the milestone as the season continues, while Western Michigan continues to search for its first multi-win stretch of the year.
