Last week, securing a victory required a late effort from the Red in a tough overtime victory. Against Columbia, it was a different story.
Coming off a hard-fought overtime win against Colgate last week, Cornell women’s lacrosse (3-2, 1-1 Ivy) took down Columbia (2-5, 0-2 Ivy) in a 17-5 decision.
While last Wednesday saw the Red push past the Raiders in the last 13 seconds of double overtime to secure the win and end their two-game losing streak, Cornell’s victory against Columbia was a completely different story — with the Red definitively ahead after the first 15 minutes of the game.
“It was really good, especially to have that first big win in the Ivy League,” said senior captain Taylor Reed. “It was a game where we really felt the energy.”
Since 1997, the Lions and the Red have faced off 22 times, and all 22 have chalked up wins for Cornell. This game was the largest win margin for the Red since it beat Binghamton by 14 last April.
A reoccuring theme in previous games was the Red’s difficulty in taking advantage of scoring opportunities and putting up a strong offensive position. However, this match saw Cornell ramping up its effort with a total of 40 attempted shots, nearly 75 percent of which were on goal, compared to Colgate’s 22 attempted shots.
“We’ve really been focusing on getting our offense going as well, which is something we’ve been missing in the first couple games,” Reed said.
The first half of the game began in a deadlock, with both teams vying for the lead at three goals apiece until the 15th minute. It was then that Cornell started a 10-goal streak, bringing the score to 13-3 and running away with the game. Columbia didn’t back down easily, and answered with two more goals, but Cornell had the answer and closed the game with four more tallies.
Sophomore Caroline Allen led the offensive attack with four goals, followed closely by junior captain Sarah Phillips and senior Joey Coffy, who had three goals a piece.
“Coming off of our two-overtime win against Colgate, the team was really into it and it [brought] the energy. We started vibing at practice,” Reed said. “[The Columbia game] really showed that we’re definitely a good force and we figured out how to play together and put the goals in the back of the net.”
Cornell travels to Sparks, Maryland on March 17 for a noon contest against the University of Massachusetts.