The opening weekend for the field hockey team was a mixed bag that included a stunning 4-1 win over Stanford on Friday and a painful 4-3 overtime loss to Lafayette yesterday.
Cornell (1-1) came on strong early in the game with a goal by senior attacker Annie O’Rourke, but then fizzled during the first half of the match-up against the Stanford Cardinal. Outshot 7-2, the teams went into the second half tied at one.
Cornell was able to turn it on in the second half, using a lethal penalty corner connection, as sophomore attacker Stephanie Maher scored on passes from junior attacker Carissa Mirasol and senior back Sarah Nordstrom.
Maher would find the back of the net again, as she converted another corner eight minutes later to put Cornell ahead 3-1.
“Being on the left side, you are more offensively minded,” said Maher.
Originally scripted to defend Stanford’s Noor Dawood, Maher commented that her unexpected offensive success came from the speed of Cornell’s corners.
Cornell scored on an additional corner as Nordstrom found junior back Kimmy Gardner with 9:16 remaining in the second half.
Cornell maintained it’s pre-game goal of keeping the ball away from Stanford’s midfielders. Though Stanford was able to open up a few opportunities, the defense was able to shut them down. When the Cardinal did get through junior goalkeeper Kaitlin Tierney was waiting for them, making 11 stops during the game.
Yesterday didn’t just bring a change in the weather, but it also brought a change in focus. Sloppy passing and an overall weak performance allowed the Lafayette Leopards to hand Cornell a 4-3 overtime loss.
“I can’t pinpoint one player,” said head coach Michelle Tambroni. “Our breakdowns were as a team.”
The Leopards scored first as they turned a Cornell penalty corner into a breakaway by co-captains Megan Monahan and Meredith Hahn. Cornell did not answer until the second half when junior Karleigh Burns knocked in a penalty stroke. From this point on, both offenses seemed to heat up.
Lafayette’s duo of Monahan and Hahn would again carry the team as it notched the next goal, setting the score at 2-1. Lafayette looked like it would go up 3-1 as it broke away with 10 minutes left in the second, but junior midfielder Ali Winsky killed the play. Seconds later Carissa Mirasol connected with an errant pass, took the ball up the field, and scored — evening the game at 2-2.
With 8:40 left to play, Lafayette retook the lead. Deflecting a shot by Hahn, Monahan easily slid one up and over a downed Kaitlin Tierney. Cornell then blew two consecutive corners in what seemed like its last chance to tie the game.
With 1:16 to go, Cornell converted its last possession into points as Mirasol assisted sophomore attacker Sara Weiner in traffic to send the game into overtime. Unfortunately for the Red, the Leopards struck first and lined up a penalty corner within the first two minutes. The Monahan-Hahn duo proved to be too much for Cornell as the pair scored and gave Lafayette the hard-fought win.
Cornell’s toughest challenge of the extended weekend will be today when it takes on No.19 Kent St. at 1 p.m. on Schoellkopf Field.
Archived article by Matt Janiga