After dropping your first two regular season games and you’re facing the number one ranked team in your conference, what is the best thing you can do? Win, of course.
After losing to Southwest Missouri and perennial powerhouse Kent State in a round robin competition last weekend, the Cornell field hockey team was looking for its first win as it traveled down to New York City to take on Columbia this past Saturday.
In a bad case of deja vu, the Red once again found itself deciding the game in overtime, for the third year in a row. Proving that history does repeat itself, the Red left New York victorious, defeating the Lions by a score of 3-2.
Cornell entered the game with a 4-0 record against the Lions and appeared to carry a slight edge. However, in its best start in years, Columbia entered the game with a 3-0 record and the number one ranking in the Ivy League.
In the first half, the Red did something it had been unable to do last weekend: find the back of the cage. Wasting no time, freshman Carissa Marisol proved that the youth of Cornell could outpower the youth of Columbia by scoring 4:47 into the game off a rebound of a corner taken by sophomore Anna Starkey.
Starkey herself would not be denied this weekend, scoring just before the close of the first half at 30:53 off a double assist from senior co-captain Kate McMahon and sophomore Sarah Nordstrom.
The Red entered the half with a 2-0 lead, but the advantage would not hold, with Columbia outshooting Cornell 9-0 after intermission.
It was Columbia player Sarah Campbell who first beat senior goalkeeper Maureen Sullivan twenty minutes into the second half. Teammate Melissa Macomber followed up with a goal of her own with just three minutes remaining to send the game into extra time.
Not wasting any time, Starkey once again found the back of the net, this time just a minute and a half into the OT, ending the game and giving the Red its first win of the season.
Defensively, the Red dominated in the first half, although it lost some focus and was unable to deal with the Lions’ unending offensive outbursts in the second half. However, Sarah Nordstrom, having the job of marking superstar sophomore Florence Battalina shined.
“She frustrated her early on, and [Battalina] was not threatening after the first half. Sarah did a wonderful job,” head coach Michelle Tambroni acknowledged.
Overall, the Red was ecstatic to open conference play with a win.
“It was great to pick up our first Ivy win. We were very excited,” commented McMahon.
Cornell, however, now has the job of continuing its winning streak as it finishes its road trip at Colgate on Wednesday. The Red Raiders are 1-6 on the year, with their sole win coming against Lehigh this past weekend.
Archived article by Kristen Haunss