Maybe they were hungry, maybe they were vengeful. But regardless the women on the Cornell soccer team released their frustrations on Bucknell yesterday evening at Berman Field.
The Bison (7-8-1) came to the East Hill trying to win their first ever game against the Red. Last year, the two teams came to a 1-1 draw. This year, Cornell (3-12, 1-4 Ivy) clobbered Bucknell, 4-2 and increased its scoring differential at home against the Bison to 20-3, all-time.
Both freshman striker Emily Knight and sophomore midfielder Sarah Olsen scored twice for the Red. Olsen (6 goals, 12 points) now leads the team in scoring, followed by freshman striker Alicia Doolittle (5, 11) and Knight (5, 10).
One minute into play, Knight ran down the middle of the pitch through the Bucknell defense, shaking off all but one defender. She was unable to get a shot off, but set the tone for the Cornell offense in the first half.
Both teams were silent for the first quarter of the game, but the Red kept pressuring the Bison defense behind Knight. Cornell finally broke through at 27:47. Sophomore midfielder Stephanie Setyadi passed to an open Knight who beat Bucknell goaltender Laurie Purse. The Red had its first lead in four games.
Two and a half minutes later, Knight once again cut her way through the Bison and fired a shot to the left of Purse’s outstretched arms.
Knight dominated the first half as she drove down all parts of the field. Although her two goals were impressive, she could have easily had three more.
“Emily is a very special player,” head coach Berhane Andeberhan exclaimed. “She was a phenomenon.”
Olsen added to Knight’s tallies after Bucknell was charged with a handball at 39:00. She took the direct kick and rifled it into the center of the goal to put the Red up 3-0 at the half.
Bucknell entered the second half chanting “Score.” Less than three minutes later, it did. Anna Hall drew senior goalie Martha Shaughnessy out of the box. Meanwhile, Ali Chandler received Hall’s pass and tapped the ball into the open net.
Yet the Red quickly regained its control of the game. It kept the ball at the opposite end of the field, keeping Bucknell on the defensive. The Red’s patience paid off. Senior striker Erica Olson, who Andeberhan substituted for Knight after halftime, took a shot that found its way to Olsen. The midfielder notched the Red’s final goal and her second of the match with 36 minutes remaining.
The Bison staged a comeback highlighted by Savannah Rennels’ goal off of Kate Cramer’s direct kick. But the Cornell lead proved insurmountable. Although both teams continued their physical play into the final 30 seconds, neither side could capitalize.
Shaughnessy was solid in goal in her third start of the season. She tallied six saves for the Red, but Olsen and Knight were the evening’s stars. They accounted for 14 of the Red’s 20 shots. Bucknell only had 11.
After winning its third contest of the season, one would expect the team to be overjoyed with the victory. Rather, it was overly modest in its effort.
“It was a good game, but it wasn’t one of our best games,” Olsen said, adding, “But we pulled it off and we won, so we’re happy with [our effort].”
“I am pleased with [the team’s] reaction because it’s not excessively happy,” Andeberhan said. “They didn’t play as well as in some other games. We made a few mistakes. But they will be solved with experience.
“We obviously want to win every game, and we are happy with [the result].”
The victory ends Cornell’s four-game losing streak and hopefully will give the Red momentum going into Saturday’s game against Ivy League rival Princeton. Cornell’s lack of complacency will benefit it as it prepares for the first-placed Tigers.
Archived article by Amanda Angel