The field hockey team fell to 7-3 on the season last night after a hard-fought 2-0 loss to the Syracuse Orangewomen on Schoellkopf Field. The game also snapped Cornell’s record setting, six-game win streak.
The Red held pace with Syracuse as both earned equal opportunities in the opening minutes of the first half. Senior Orangewoman Kristen Aronowicz struck first at 5:09 with assists from junior Jackie Sheaffer and sophomore Ann-Marie Guglieri.
Despite Syracuse’s early goal, Cornell controlled the ball for the majority of the half. The Red also outshot the Orangewomen 11-2, and was able to force five penalty corners.
At one point it looked like things might be evened up when sophomore attacker Stephanie Maher broke up a Syracuse play and tore away with the ball. She was followed closely by junior attacker Carissa Mirasol and junior midfielder Lindsay Grace. Still, Syracuse traded a foul for the breakaway, forcing Cornell to eventually settle for a penalty corner.
All the kinks from this past week seemed to be ironed out as junior back Kimmy Gardner was able to find the back of the net on the corner in the ninth minute. However, the controversial goal was ruled a “high shot,” leaving the Red scoreless as they ended the first half.
Cornell continued its offensive efforts well into the second half, until Syracuse was able to notch a second contested goal. Aronowicz scored on a penalty corner with 21 minutes remaining. The Red never recovered.
Those few fans who did attend last night’s game remained vocally active till the bitter end, cheering on the team and challenging referee decisions. Most of the coaches followed suit, especially when it came to the officiating.
Assistant coach Gus Reed was thrown out of the game when he received a red card with roughly eight minutes to go. Reed commented that his biggest issue had been with the second Syracuse goal, which appeared high as it entered the circle according to him.
Head coach Michelle Tambroni was disappointed that her team could not generate points despite a strong offensive presence during the first 50 minutes. She attributed the loss of momentum to the second Syracuse goal.
“I think that if we had the second goal disqualified we could have come back,” said Tambroni. The call was not her main focus, though.
“Syracuse did a nice job of reading our offense and stopping us from transferring the ball laterally,” said Tambroni in reference to the second half. She also noted that Cornell could not keep the Orangewomen from running the ball up the middle.
When Syracuse did get through, Cornell was only able to make one defensive stop. Junior goalkeeper Kaitlin Tierney added five saves on the night.
Though disappointed with the outcome, both Tambroni and Reed agreed that the game provided a much needed taste of things to come. Cornell will travel to Massachusetts this weekend as it takes on No. 20 Harvard, Saturday at noon.
Archived article by Matt Janiga