Though the women’s soccer team held its own during the early-going of its season finale at No. 25 Dartmouth yesterday, the Red could not get its offense on track against a stingy Green defense, eventually succumbing 5-0 in its final game of the season.
The loss dropped Cornell (7-7-1) to 1-5-1 in conference play – the third-straight year it has matched that record.
Meanwhile, Dartmouth (12-4-1, 5-2-0 Ivy) clinched second place in the league and now must wait to see if it will gain an at-large bid into the NCAA tournament field, which will be announced today.
The Green opened up the scoring yesterday, receiving an early boost from Roxy Davis, as she recorded her first goal of the season just 8:24 into the contest. Taking a pass from senior Megan Wijas, the junior sent her shot into the upper left corner of the net from 20 yards out to give the Green a 1-0 lead.
Following the initial score, though, the Red kept within striking distance for the rest of the first half, holding Dartmouth scoreless until the break.
However, in the second half, the Green attack began to find its stride.
Junior Emily Tracy doubled the Dartmouth lead at the 48:05, knocking in a loose ball in front of the Cornell net after a corner kick from classmate Sarah Johnson.
The assist marked Johnson’s team-leading 25th point on the season.
The Green went up 3-0 just 20 minutes later, as Wijas picked up her second assist on the day, setting up senior Christina Ferraris for a 25-yard strike.
Senior Allison Green and Davis rounded out the Dartmouth scoring on the day, each tallying goals in the last 10 minutes of play.
Impressively, the Green defense, which has been dominant throughout the season, played to its usual high standards.
In shutting down the Cornell attack, Dartmouth enjoyed a whopping 26-4 advantage in total shots, with the Red only managing to get two of those attempts on net.
Sophomore goalkeeper Amanda Webb played the majority of the contest for Dartmouth, making two saves en route to the Green’s seventh shutout on the season.
On an emotional note, the game marked the close to the collegiate careers of Cornell senior co-captains Shannon Fraser and Kara Ishikawa as well as classmate Kelly Bowen. Both Ishikawa and Fraser will leave big voids for the Red’s younger players to fill, having been the catalysts for the Cornell attack this season. The duo finished the campaign as the top-2 in both goals and points on the team.
Further, with her seven-goal, 17-point effort this fall, Ishikawa led the team for the second straight year in both those categories.
Meanwhile, Bowen has been a valuable substitute and part-time starter for the Red, recording a goal and three points of her own during this past season.
Archived article by Scott Reich
Sun Staff Writer