ITHACA, N.Y. – Sergio Zapata, Lennon Harrington and Nate Hovan each found the back of the net in the first half as Cornell defeated Binghamton, 3-1, in a nonconference match Monday night at Berman Field.
The Big Red improved to 4-2-0 on the season, while the Bearcats dropped to 1-4-3. The win extended Cornell's win streak over Binghamton to eight straight matches dating back to 2017.
Cornell wasted little time getting on the board, as Zapata opened the scoring in the 11th minute off assists from Connor Miller and Liam May. The Big Red doubled their lead in the 30th minute when Harrington converted off a feed from Miller, and Hovan capped the first-half outburst in the 41st minute, finishing an assist from Calvin Momanyi and Andrew Miles to make it 3-0 heading into the break.
Cornell dominated the opening 45 minutes, out-shooting Binghamton 9-2 in the period while limiting the Bearcats to just two shots and forcing only one save out of goalkeeper Filip Versterre.
Binghamton got on the board in the 83rd minute when Ryan Conti buried a feed from Henry Topp to cut the deficit to 3-1, but the Big Red defense held firm the rest of the way to secure the victory.
Cornell finished with a commanding 19-5 advantage in total shots and an 8-3 edge in shots on goal. Miller and Harrington each factored into two goals on the afternoon, with Miller picking up assists on both of Cornell's first two tallies before adding two more shots on frame in the second half. Versterre made two saves in goal for the Big Red, while Binghamton's Natan Jemaneh Admassu turned aside five shots in a losing effort.
The Big Red also controlled the set-piece battle, winning the corner-kick count 13-3, though Binghamton held a 18-9 edge in fouls committed.
Cornell will look to carry its win streak forward into Ivy League opening weekend as they host Harvard on Saturday at 4 p.m.
