The Cornell women’s soccer team snapped out of its six-game losing streak by earning a 1-1 tie with Brown this past Saturday. The high-intensity Ivy League game saw Cornell come back from a one-goal second half deficit to earn a point in the league standings.
For the fifth consecutive contest, the Red (2-5-3, 1-2-1 Ivy) allowed the opponent to strike first. After a scoreless first half, the Bears (3-7-1, 0-3-1) opened the scoring just seven and a half minutes into the second frame. Brown sophomore Michaela Sewall sent a dangerous corner kick into the penalty area that the Cornell defenders were unable to clear.
Sewall’s classmate, Molly Cahan, somehow collected the ball amidst a sea of bodies and tipped the ball into the lower right corner past freshman
keeper Katie Thomas at 52:26.
The Red coach, Berhane Andeberhan felt that the goal was “questionable at
best”.
“At halftime, we told the referees that Katie was being pushed in the back
[on corner kicks] and to watch for it. Sure enough, somebody shoved her out of the way on the goal.”
The resilient Cornell bunch seemed to get stronger after the Brown goal,
and got the equalizer just ten minutes later. Battle-tested seniors, Ellen
Daly and co-captain Julie DeMichele, combined for the goal at 63:05. After a
Bears’ foul, DeMichele sent a free kick across the box to the left of the
net. Daly, using all of her 5’10” frame, elevated over the Brown defenders
and headed the ball into the upper right corner.
“We feel that was a great goal,” Andeberhan noted.
The Red had a chance to score in the closing moments of the game, but was
denied by a magnificent defensive play by Brown sophomore midfielder
Kristin Ferrell. After a collision in front of the Brown net, the ball
trickled to the feet of junior midfielder Cailin Rice, who unwound a shot
from 10 yards out. The ball seemed destined for the lower left corner of
the net, until Ferrell redirected the ball just in front of her goal line.
Despite earning the tough point at home, Andeberhan and his troops were
disappointed in the result.
“We deserved to win the game,” he said.
The stats seem to support his claim, as Cornell dominated by outshooting
Brown 25-16. As another sign of offensive aggression, the Red won eight
corner kicks, compared to just six for the Bears.
Other than the final score, the Red had plenty to be proud of. After
battling injuries and mental lapses the past few weeks, Cornell put
together a great game for a full 120 minutes. Andeberhan gleamed about his
team’s performance, afterwards.
“I was very pleased with their effort. We showed some weaknesses in the
back line the past few games but we shored that up. I was proud of the
team’s concentration and effort from beginning to end.”
Still, one must remember that the team is still rebuilding, and there are
several issue areas in which the team needs to improve.
“We had some very good chances but we couldn’t score,” Andeberhan said. “They were missed opportunities. Part of it is luck, but part of it is inexperience.”
The young Cornell team has taken its fair share of bumps and bruises
along the ride. However, it continues to improve. The next logical step should be a victory.
Archived article by Alex Ip