Despite failed attempts in its previous two games, the field hockey team has officially become the most successful Red squad in program history after a 3-0 win over Georgetown (3-13) yesterday. The victory was the 10th on the season for the Red (10-6, 4-2 Ivy), breaking the record previously held by four former Cornell squads (1978, 1995, 1997, 2002). Cornell tied the previous record of nine on Oct. 18 in a 4-3 victory over Colgate.
In only the second contest in history between the Hoyas and the Red, Cornell continued the strong play it displayed in its last game against Syracuse, dominating Georgetown from the very outset. As has been its trademark all year long, the Red maintained possession for the majority of the contest, collecting a 10-6 shot advantage and putting seven shots on goal compared to the Hoyas’ two.
On the defensive end, sophomore goalkeeper Lizzie Goldblatt – who lives just 15 minutes from Georgetown’s Kehoe Field – regained her spot in the net after sitting out the Syracuse game and made two big saves, while posting her third shutout on the year.
The Red jumped out to an early lead when junior Lindsey Moyer scored on an unassisted breakaway at the 16:30 minute mark – a lead the Red would never relinquish.
Although Cornell maintained possession of the ball and applied consistent pressure on the Georgetown defense, it was unable to extend its lead for the remainder of the first half. Finally, at the 54:04 mark, freshman Mandy Malzberg received a pass from classmate Helena Haas and scored her seventh goal on the year.
The last action of the game occurred just a minute before regulation ended, as senior co-captain Blair Corcoran placed a penalty corner in the Hoyas box. Fellow classmate and co-captain Natalie Serle deflected the pass to freshman Belen Martinez, who promptly deposited the ball into the net. Although the goal itself meant relatively little to the outcome of the game, the play represented a changing of the guards of sorts for the Red team.
Another standout performance was supplied by the stingy Red defense, which held Georgetown to only six total shots despite allowing eight Hoya penalty corners.
Cornell will play its last game of the season next Saturday against Ivy League rival Dartmouth, a contest that will in all likelihood, determine who will finish second to Princeton in the Ivy League standings.
Thus far, the team, under the tutelage of second year head coach Donna Hornibrook, has managed to more than triple its win total from a year ago, when it went 3-13 and finished in the cellar of the Ivy League.
Archived article by Lance Williams
Sun Staff Writer