HAMILTON, N.Y. — Freshman goalkeeper
Sofia Kerrigan made two saves in the final five minutes to secure her second clean sheet of the season as the Cornell women's soccer team played Colgate to a scoreless draw Thursday evening at Beyer-Small '76 Field.
Kerrigan finished with four saves, splitting them evenly across each half, as Cornell moved to 2-2-1 on the season. Colgate, which has now played to consecutive scoreless draws, dropped to 1-3-2.
Cornell got the game's first shot on goal in the 12th minute when senior forward
Alanna Colbert had her attempt saved by Colgate goalkeeper Ella Poppinga. The Raiders immediately responded with two close scoring chances in the 13th and 14th minutes, with both attempts going wide. Kerrigan made her first save of the night in the 23rd minute, turning away a Lydia Thornton attempt from near the top of the penalty area. Junior midfielder
Ivy Tolbert forced Poppinga's second save of the half in the 35th minute.
Colgate threatened again in the 41st minute, when an in-swinging corner kick was knocked down inside the goal area and Darby Campbell's shot was met by Kerrigan, who dove to her right to keep the match scoreless.
Cornell's back line held firm throughout, with junior defenders
Jane Offit and
Amanda Polyniak and freshman defender
Camryn Savig each playing all 90 minutes without allowing a goal. Senior defender
Kayla Ristianto (64 minutes) and sophomore defender
Raya Leikin (36 minutes) also split time aiding the Big Red back line to the clean sheet.
"That was possibly one of the best 0-0 games you'll see, as a neutral at least," Cornell women's soccer head coach
Rob Ferguson said. "I thought we were okay in the first half, growing into it over the first 30 minutes, and then they had the better of it for the last 10 or 15 [minutes]. We needed to be a little cleaner in possession and threaten them more on the front line."
Cornell put together its best sustained attacking stretch after the break through junior midfielder
Lauren DiPierri, who tested Poppinga with both of her shots on goal in the 71st and 76th minutes. Poppinga also finished the night with a four-save clean sheet.
"Going into the second half, we wanted to be more threatening and test the back line in behind, which I thought we did very well — we controlled probably the first 25 or 30 minutes of that half," Ferguson said. "Jess [
Jessica Alessi], Alanna and Brooke [
Brooke Brown] were a real handful for them, and Lauren and Dre [
Andrea Wilson] had some good moments offensively also. We created some decent opportunities, just couldn't find the moment to go in front."
Colgate held a 14-8 edge in total shots and a 4-2 advantage in corner kicks, though both teams finished with four shots on goal. The Raiders produced their clearest chances of the night in a late push as Kerrigan denied Thornton twice, making a highlight-reel deflection on a header off a lofted pass in the 86th minute before making another diving stop a minute later.
"I thought in the last 10 or 15 minutes of the second half they got the better of the momentum and put us under a lot of pressure," Ferguson said. "Sofia made some incredible stops, which ultimately earned us what is probably a good tie on reflection. The whole back line and team showed great commitment and resilience tonight, and I'm very proud of them for that."
Cornell continues its four-match road trip Sunday, Sept. 6, at Kent State (1-3-1). Kickoff from Zoeller Field at Dix Stadium is set for 1 p.m., and match action will be streamed live on Boxcast. Kent State's scheduled Thursday match against Oakland was canceled due to severe weather and high winds.
