W. Lax Defeats Harvard

It was a weekend of mixed feelings for the women’s lacrosse team, as they earned a decisive 17-8 victory over Harvard on Friday, but then blew a half-time lead and the opportunity for a big upset to lose to Vanderbilt 16-10. The Red are now 4-10 for the season, including a 3-4 mark in Ivy play.
The Harvard win ended another two-game losing streak for Cornell, and was a welcomed boost to the team’s Ivy record.
“Winning the Harvard game was awesome,” said senior tri-captain Margaux Viola. “The team really played together. It felt really good.”
The margin of victory also gave th[img_assist|nid=23274|title=Can’t touch this.|desc=Junior attack Courtney Farrell (11) — who had four goals and three assists against Harvard — looks to get past a Crimson defender in the Red’s 17-8 win on Friday afternoon.|link=node|align=left|width=100|height=79]e team and head coach Jenny Graap ’86 a chance to showcase its young talent. Freshman Kathryn Dewey finished the game with a career-high three goals, midfielder Lindsey Kane scored her first goal of the season, Kristen Reese took a turn in the cage for the last ten minute of the game and midfielder Tissy O’Connor had an impressive night repelling the Crimson’s attacks.
The starters also had a stellar night, with junior midfielder and tri-captain Katherine Simmons and attacker Courtney Farrell scoring a total of nine goals between them. Even defender Viola got in on the action, scoring a goal with two assists.
Cornell scored five of the first six goals of the contest, jumping out to an early lead in the first half. Harvard attempted a comeback, drawing within two goals at 6-4, before the Red took over and controlled the rest of the game. In an impressive drive spanning the first and second halves, the team scored the next ten goals unanswered by the Crimson, and never let its lead to dip below nine.
Stats from the game were an indicator of Cornell’s dominance, as they held the advantage in shots (36-19), ground balls (19-14) and also draw controls (13-12).
Yesterday’s opponent proved to be more of a match for Cornell. A more experienced Vanderbilt squad was not daunted by their half-time deficit, and roared back in the second half, holding Cornell to just four goals while scoring eleven.
“Vanderbilt is a ranked team,” Viola said. “They are a lot better than Harvard. We made mistakes and they were able to capitalize on them.”
Early in the game it looked as if Cornell might succeed in pulling off an impressive upset as they dominated Vanderbilt in the beginning of the first half, scoring four unanswered goals in the first ten minutes.
The Red offense had a lot to do with Vanderbilt’s scoring woes as well, containing the Commodore’s high-powered offense by maintaining possession.
But Vanderbilt would not go away, and in fact went into the locker rooms at half time with a semblance of the momentum, having scored their last goal with four seconds left on the clock.
The second half started with a 5-0 scoring drive by the Commodores, who effectively kept Cornell scoreless until there were only 12 minutes remaining in the match.
Sunday’s game was also a chance to honor the team’s six seniors at Senior Day, which took place before the game started. It was the last home game for those graduating, and there was a sense that the end was finally near.
“[It was] obviously really emotional,” Viola said. “It’s crazy to think that was our last game at Shoelkopff. We talked a little before the game. And by that time, you don’t even need to say anything.
The Red’s season is not yet over, however. They have one more game, an away match at Loyola next Saturday.
“We’re still really focused on [the Loyola] game,” Viola said. “We’re still trying to learn from everything and get better. It’s always good to end our season on a win and go out with a positive feeling. We take every game seriously.”
Coach Graap echoed the feelings of her captain. “We’re definitely focused on doing the best that we can,” she said. “It’s important we finish the season with pride.”