Cornell’s polo program saw mixed results over the weekend at Oxley Equestrian Center after the women’s team defeated the Cornell Polo Club, 22-11, and defending national champion Virginia topped the men’s squad, 22-15.
With the victory, the No.1 women’s side kept its undefeated record alive and added another victory to improve its overall record to 12-0.
“We were definitely disappointed [not playing the Cavaliers] because Virginia is one of our tougher opponents,” said senior Erin Bold. “But I’m still glad we played because they [Cornell Polo Club] have a very talented team and made us get a lot out of this game.”
The Red won the first chukker against CPC, 8-2, guided by the experienced trio of junior Jessica Cross, junior captain Lizzie Wisner and senior Erin Bold. Both squads scored three goals during the second chukker to make the score 11-5 entering halftime.
Cornell outscored the Polo Club 7-4 during the third chukker to expand its lead to nine goals and make the score 18-9. In the last period of regulation the Red found the net four more times –– two more than its opposition –– to make the final score 22-11.
Unlike the women’s side, the No. 4 men’s squad was able to host the No.1 Cavaliers on Saturday and play them for the second time this season.
Virginia came out strong during the first chukker, but Cornell was able to limit the Cavaliers’ lead. The first period of the match finished in a 6-4 advantage for the defending national champions.
During the second chukker the Red’s offensive performance, especially from the foul line, was not strong enough to match that of Virginia’s. The Cavaliers secured a 12-7 lead going into the half.
“I was having trouble with my penalty shots, which is very uncharacteristic of me,” said junior captain Max Constant. “If I could have managed to stay effective with the penalty shots the game would have been closer because they had about 19 fouls, compared only to our eight.”
Cornell netted a total of seven goals during the third chukker –– the same number it scored during the first two periods combined –– and reduced Virginia’s lead to three goals to start the last chukker with a 17-14 disadvantage.
The Cavaliers’ defense held the Red to only one goal and its offense tallied five more goals in the fourth chukker to finish the game with a seven-goal advantage –– the lowest margin of victory for Virginia this season.
The loss saw the end of Cornell’s four-game winning streak and undefeated record for the second half of the season. The Red’s overall record now stands at 10-3, two of those defeats coming at the hands of UVa.
“We are not really too down about the loss to Virginia because we figured out a lot about their team and our team,” Constant said. “We need to perfect our consistency and learn how to exploit their weaknesses.”
Original Author: AJ Ortiz