Only one year ago, Cornell’s field hockey team suffered a tough, 2-1 loss in overtime against Penn. This year, however, things were different for the Red. The women claimed their third consecutive win this season with a 3-1 victory over the Quakers on Saturday at Franklin Field.
This latest win brings the women’s record to 4-1, with a perfect 2-0 record against Ivy League opponents. Coming off a shutout against Columbia and a record-breaking 9-1 victory over St. Francis (Pa.), the women went into this game with a lot of confidence for such a young team.
“Overall, we have a team confidence, a real composure and belief in what we can accomplish together,” said head coach Donna Hornibrook. “Everyday we focus on going out and getting better.”
The Red took the lead at the beginning and set the tone for the rest of the game. Despite being outshot 14-6 throughout the game, the women put forth a strong defensive effort to bring home a victory.
Sophomore goalkeeper Lizzie Goldblatt made five saves, holding the Quakers to only one goal off of 14 shots. Goldblatt recorded her third victory as goalkeeper this season.
“I was really pleased with the team’s performance. [The women] played exceptionally well as a unit,” Hornibrook said.
Freshman Brenna Gulotta got the team out to an early lead after scoring the first goal just over five minutes into play. Senior Blair Corcoran was credited with the assist. Even though the Red scored early, the lead would not last for long.
“Theoretically [the 1-0 lead] should have helped us, but we only had it for four minutes before Penn scored,” Hornibrook said. “It was good to get on the scoreboard, but [Penn’s goal] really nullified the edge.”
After trailing 1-0, Penn answered quickly with Cara Calahan scoring the Quakers’ first and only goal of the game. But the Red remained calm and poised under the pressure.
Gulotta went on to score her second goal of the game with 29:35 on the clock. Freshman Alyssa DePaola assisted Gulotta with the goal that would put the Red in the lead before halftime.
In the second half, the teams played evenly until freshman Katlyn Donoghue sealed the game for the Red with an unassisted goal with 12 minutes left to play. With Donoghue’s goal, the Red has totaled 21 goals in five games, the same number of goals the team scored in all of last season.
“Every week someone new steps up,” Hornibrook said. “We were under some pressure, and Katlyn stepped up to score a key goal which put the game away.”
With the combined leadership from the returning players and strong effort put forth by the team’s rookies, the Red improved its record to 8-20-2 against last year’s Ivy League co-champion.
On Friday, the team will return to play on the road against Yale.
Archived article by Kristina Kovach
Sun Staff Writer