For the second time in as many years, the Cornell women’s soccer team went into overtime against Princeton, and for the second time in as many years, the Red came up short to the Tigers, this time by a score of 2-1.

Princeton forward Kalie Bartholomew’s score in the overtime period sealed what was another heartbreaking loss for the Red on Saturday. On Halloween last year, Cornell fell victim to a Princeton goal with a mere 24 seconds left in overtime. Princeton did not wait as long this time around to notch the game-ending goal. Six minutes into overtime, Princeton collected a loose ball off of an offensive corner kick. With the ball deep inside Cornell’s defensive half, Princeton freshmen Erika Hoglund slipped a pass to Bartholomew, who knocked the ball by the diving Red goalkeeper Megan Bartlett. 

“It was a hard fought. [The result] was really disappointing given our work rate and execution of our game plan,” Bartlett said.

The goal given up by Cornell was the first goal a Red opponent has scored against Bartlett in over seven halves worth of game time. This is because a Princeton player did not score the first goal of the game against Bartlett; instead, it was an own goal.

A ricocheted tip off the foot of a Cornell defender had the unfortunate fate of sneaking behind Bartlett to level the score at 1-1 with but 50-some odd seconds left in the first half.

The own goal came after the Red initially took a 1-0 lead with a late first-half goal by Cornell forward Maneesha Chitanvis. Chitanvis’ goal was a great individual feat. Dribbling deep into the Princeton defensive half, Chitanvis took the ball right at two of Princeton’s last defenders. When neither defender stepped forward, she rifled a shot that snuck by the Tigers’ goalkeeper. The goal was the sophomore forward’s fifth scoring strike of the season. Immediately after the goal, head coach Danielle LaRoche substituted Chitanvis from the game.

However, the Red could not maintain this lead into halftime, yielding the own goal less than two minutes later. Own goals often tend to be a product of bad luck: a bad bounce of the ball or an unfortunate placement between the goalkeeper and the defensemen. Bad luck is something Cornell would not have minded avoiding on Saturday afternoon. 

A shot from the foot of Red sophomore Moonie Mancho sailed inches over the crossbar with under 20 seconds left in the first half. The near miss took Cornell into halftime with a 1-1 tie.

The second half featured Cornell outshooting Princeton, 6-5, though both teams had equal amounts of good scoring opportunities. One of the Red’s best scoring chances of the second frame came from a breakaway run by senior Lene Russomagno. Russomagno’s shot careened off Princeton goalkeeper Kristen Watson’s leg, and the scoring threat was lost. For the game, Princeton outshot Cornell, 17-11. Bartlett added six saves to her season tally while her rival goalkeeper, Watson, made five saves for the visiting victors from Princeton, N.J.

Within the first two minutes of overtime, Bartlett made a pair of point-blank saves a mere six seconds apart of each other to help extend the game. Bartlett made one save too few, however, and the Red’s record fell to 6-7-1 overall, with a 1-4-1 record against members of the Ivy League. 

“It’s always hard to play well and not come away with the win, and this one was definitely a heartbreaker,” said Cornell captain Abigail Apistolas. “We just have to use this game to help us get a win in our last game.” 

The last game for the team’s 2010 campaign will be this upcoming Saturday, as the Red hosts Dartmouth at Berman Field. Cornell will try for its second Ivy League win of the season –– an accomplishment it has not matched since 2002.