By wpengine
The Cornell women’s soccer team played to another disappointing 1-1 tie yesterday at Berman Field against Stony Brook University. The game went to two overtimes, with both teams missing many chances to close the contest out. The first half of play was largely dominated by a patient possession game executed by the Red on both sides of the field. Ball control and opportunistic attacking created many opportunities for Cornell’s front line. However, the first half would be a sign of things to come for the booters as none of the opportunities translated into goals. “We dominated the entire game,” commented senior forward Erica Olson. “Our problem was finishing — we just couldn’t put the ball away.” The one time the Red did execute was off Olson’s foot 5:32 into the second half. She took a ball from junior Caitlin Rice from ten yards out and sent it into the upper right hand corner of the goal. It was Olson’s first goal of the year and Rice’s third assist. After Olson’s goal, the flow of play steadily turned in the Seawolves’ favor, as the Red seemed to lose its hold on the possession game. A few more missed opportunities saw a frustrated Red squad begin to lessen its attack and eventually Stony Brook was able to capitalize on Cornell’s complacency. With only 3:29 left in regulation, Stony Brook sophomore Brittany Norwood sent a cross into the box which junior Krisha Zagura was able to put away to tie the game at a goal apiece. The overtime was no better for a weary Red squad that has gone the full 120 minutes in its last two games. A few unlucky bounces and a handful of quality defensive stops for the Seawolves produced another tie for the Red and a resulting 2-1-2 overall record on the year. The story in regulation for the Red was the distinct improvement in its offensive pressure on its opponent’s side of the field. However, in the overtime periods, the story shifted to Cornell’s strength in the backfield and the brilliant play of impact freshman Katie Thomas in goal. “I had a lot of fun being tested like that,” said Thomas after her 17-save effort (a career high). “[Stony Brook] gave me a challenge and I was able to play up to it.” Thomas, who hails from Northridge, Calif., was also quick to tout the defensive effort displayed by the Red in the extra sessions. “I love playing behind our defense,” she said. “It was not out of lack of effort that we only got a tie out of this game. Sometimes things happen that you just can’t control.” Although the tie was less than what Cornell felt it could accomplish in Saturday’s contest, the Red is excited about its upcoming week. “We’re just going to keep playing our game, with the same mentality and good things will happen,” said Olson of this week’s games against Binghamton and Penn. The Red is now at a point in its season where this week’s results can turn the tables one way or the other in the long-run. But Thomas, who will be counted upon heavily in the coming days, remains optimistic. “We’re all ready to get over the frustration of these last two ties,” she assured. “We just need to finish [the games] off and win.” Seems like a simple formula, but somehow this team is starting to make a turnaround from last year’s letdown a very simple process of consistent effort and team togetherness. The Red takes its hunger for another win to Binghamton on Wednesday for a four o’clock match-up against another in-state rival. Archived article by Scott Jones
By wpengine
Cornell’s men’s and women’s cross country teams both finished third at the Paddy Doyle Iona Meet of Champions this Saturday at Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx. On the women’s side, Boston College placed first, followed by Boston University. For the men’s teams, Dartmouth and Princeton were the only teams to top the Red. Dartmouth’s Tom Mcardle won the men’s 8,000-meter race in a time of 24:42.9 with Cornell’s Max King following in second place with a time of 24:44.9. Bruce Hyde came in 16th in a time of 25:27.6, followed by Dan Dombroski (25:34.6) in 23rd, Andy Boone (25:43.1) in 26th, and Dan Meehan (25:49.6) in 34th to round out the Red’s top five. For the women, Cate Guiney of Boston College finished in first with a time of 20:05.2. She was followed by sister and teammate Megan Guiney with a time of 20:43.1. Lena Matthews led the way for Cornell, finishing eighth overall in a time of 21:02.8. Amber McGown placed 16th overall, with Carlan Gray and Kate Boyles finishing 23rd and 25th, respectively. Jessica Parrott was fifth for the Red, taking 46th place overall. Men’s coach Nathan Taylor had mixed words about his team’s results. “We had a solid performance,” he said. “It wasn’t exceptional, but it was solid. I don’t think anybody was fully pleased with how we ran, but it was still a good meet.” Taylor continued, “Max [King] ran very well. He really leads this team. He sets the example on this team, other kids follow his example, which is exceptional.” With the loss of senior Geoff Van Fleet for at least most of the season due to an Achilles’ injury, the Red have had to find runners to jump into his role. Taylor continued, “Losing Geoff has been huge, and other guys have stepped up to fill his shoes. The whole team has been part of that.” On the women’s side, head coach Lou Duesing was impressed with the team’s effort against such a tough field. “The team hasn’t run this well in a long time,” he said. “We were competing, taking risks and pushing limits in every respect. Every time we passed somebody, it ended up being huge. We beat Yale by one point. The effort was exceptional.” Speaking of individual accomplishments, Duesing said, “It’s easy to point to the top five and say how well they ran, but our whole team ran well today. It was to the point where I almost didn’t care what place we were in because we competed so well.” “We just ran a terrific race against a highly competitive field,” he continued. “The effort by Jessica Parrot and Kate Boyles to pass girls in the last 400 meters turned out to be huge. And from here, we just have to get hungrier and more determined.” Duesing added words of caution to praise. “Now is not the time to rest on our laurels,” he said, “We have to continue to have the determination and attitude that got us here. It was a good sign that we weren’t intimidated coming in here.” Both teams look to improve on their performances on October 13th when they attend the Pre-National Meet in Greenville, S.C. Duesing had parting words for his young team. “Mentally, they are focused on the end of the season, but we’re not there yet. This was a positive performance, but how they respond to it is up to them.” Archived article by Matt Nassr