By LISA AWAITEY
The Cornell field hockey team ended its strong season with an impressive win over Dartmouth this past weekend. Although it may have been Senior Day, the freshmen made the difference for the Red in the matchup. The final win leaves Cornell with an 11-5 record, tying the school record for wins in a single season. Cornell finished second in the Ivy League with a record of 5-2 in conference play.
Dartmouth got on the board quickly, putting pressure on the Red defense at the start of the game. Freshman midfielder Sam McILwrick converted a penalty shot from junior defensive back Marisa Siergiej into a goal less than five minutes later.
Siergiej and McILwrick repeated the play before the end of the half, giving Cornell a 2-1 lead. Tallying two assists on the day for Siergiej, McILwrick would be back to score another for the Red.
“My mindset was to win the game so we could finish off our season strong and send our seniors off on a high note,” McILwrick said.
Freshman forward Krysten Mayers contributed to the scoring as well, placing one into the top of the next to extend Cornell’s lead to 3-1 lead. Mayers scored off of a rebound, accounting for the only goal of the day not off of a penalty.
McILwrick scored a hat trick with less than 10 minutes left in the game with a hard hit shot off of a penalty.
“It felt nice to contribute to the score board, but the game was far from over and I still needed to focus,” McILwrick said.
The Cornell field hockey squad finished the season in fine form this past weekend, celebrating Senior Day as well as a 4-1 conquest over Ivy foe Dartmouth. (Chris Phare / Sun Staff Photographer).