Sprint Football Opens Season at Rival Penn

By wpengine | September 20, 2002

The sprint football team kicks off its 2002 campaign tonight when it travels to resume its rivalry with Ancient Eight brethren Penn.

The Red opens the season hoping to improve over last season’s lackluster 2-4 record, which included two losses to the Quakers. After opening last season with a respectable showing in a 19-17 home loss to Penn, the Red completely fell apart in last season’s visit to Franklin Field, falling 41-3.

The Red will host Penn later this season, with a game on the evening of Oct. 25. Cornell will also play against Navy, Army, and twice against Princeton, which represent the other members of the Collegiate Sprint Football League.

This year’s team sports an experienced veteran roster, headlined by senior tailback Charlie Tam, who led the team in rushing yards last season. Cornell also welcomes 14 freshmen to this year’s squad.

Sprint football is a unique sport that affords smaller athletes the chance to play intercollegiate football. The sport follows the same rules as NCAA football, but requires that all players weigh no more than 165.9 pounds the Wednesday before each game.

Archived article by Owen Bochner

W. Soccer Loses 2-1 Thriller

By wpengine September 23, 2002

For 75 minutes on a damp afternoon at Berman Field, the women’s soccer team (3-1. 1-1 Ivy) gave the defending Ivy League champions a run for their money. A marvelous equalizer from junior Emily Knight had canceled out a first half strike from Penn’s All-American Katie Cross, and the game looked poised to swing in either direction. However, with only 14 minutes to go, Cross latched on to a Devon Sibole through-ball before slotting the ball past Red sophomore keeper Katie Thomas for the game-winning goal. “It was a good game,” observed Cornell coach Berhane Andeberhan. “I think they put us under a little bit of pressure in the first half. We didn’t find our rhythm right away. But partly, you have to give credit to Penn. We had good chances, we had one that hit the post in the first half, with our goal, maybe we relaxed, but that’s football.” Penn (4-2, 1-0) had the brighter of the opening exchanges, keeping the Red camped in its half with some fluid short passing. Cross gave a warning of what was to come with a surging run down the left wing, only to be denied by a timely challenge from junior Karne Hukee. The battle in the middle area of the field was won by a Penn midfield that was doing its best to disrupt the Red’s buildup play. With the Quakers quickly closing down any open players, Cornell began to resort to simply thumping the ball upfield. It was one such hopeful ball that nearly turned the game on its head. As Penn’s defense failed to deal adequately with a long pass over the top, Whitney Cale closed in on goal. The junior midfielder’s left-foot shot had keeper Vanessa Scotto beaten, but the woodwork came to Penn’s rescue, as the ball bounced off the inside of the post and into the arms of Scotto. Just two minutes later, Cale would rue her missed opportunity. As the ball fell for Cross in the area, two Cornell defenders appeared to go for the ball. In the ensuing mix-up, Cross muscled her way into position before shooting past Thomas to break the scoreless tie. “We had confusion between the first and second defender,” observed Andeberhan. “Both went for the same thing instead of one of them putting pressure and the other supporting and she [Cross] took advantage of that.” Having secured the all-important opening goal, the Quakers continued to play with confidence, and Cross nearly doubled her tally at the half hour mark. Another quick counter-attack released the All-American, who took on two defenders before her shot was well saved by Thomas. As the players trudged off at halftime, the momentum was clearly on the Quakers’ side. Yet, within 49 seconds of the restart, the two sides were on level terms. Knight had not been included in the starting eleven, but she made her presence felt with her first two touches of the second half. After winning the ball in midfield, she fed a streaking Cale down the left flank. Cale steadied herself before delivering an inch-perfect delivery onto the head of the onrushing Knight, who thundered a powerful header into the Penn net. The goal clearly rattled the Quakers, and Cornell began to knock the ball around with greater assurance. Freshman Phela Townsend was doing an excellent job in a defensive midfield role, using her strength and ball-winning abilities to disrupt Penn’s passing movements. Cross was having a relatively quiet second half by her standards, but she kept Cornell’s defense on its feet with her pace and aerial ability. With 17 minutes to go, Devon Sibole’s cross from the right found Cross unmarked at the far post. Cross’s effort had Thomas beaten, but the upright came to Cornell’s rescue on this occasion. The sophomore, Cross, didn’t have to wait long to redeem herself. At the 75 minute mark, Sibole threaded a ball into the path of Cross, who slid the ball into Thomas’ right hand corner. The flag stayed down, as Penn celebrated what would be the game-winning goal. “We lost the ball in midfield and got ourselves unbalanced,” said Andeberhan. “It looked close to be an offside, but I’m from an angle so I’m biased, so I have to accept the referee’s decision.” While the Red’s unbeaten start to the season came to an end, Andeberhan was delighted with the performance of his squad. “I’m very proud of our kids, absolutely proud. I couldn’t ask any more of them. Their effort, their intelligence, their commitment, I couldn’t ask for anything more. Congratulations to Penn, they did a good job. Gretchen [Zigante] and I have been telling the team, we can play with anybody, we can beat anybody. I think now we can point to this and say do you see what I mean?” Archived article by Soo Kim
Men's Soccer Beats Heat, Adelphi With Strong Second-Half Effort

By wpengine September 23, 2002

Make that two… In above 80 degree heat, the men’s soccer team (2-1-1) notched its second victory in as many games with a 1-0 win over New York state foe, Adelphi University (1-6) on Saturday. The hero of the day was freshman Andrew George, who tallied his first career goal and Cornell’s only point of the game. From the onset, the Red was sluggish, unable to get into any type of rhythm, which seniors Doug Allan and Liam Hoban partially attributed to the weather. “It was difficult because the weather was hot and humid,” explained Allan. “We’re not used to that being in Ithaca, so we weren’t used to that humidity, and it was kind of windy. The first half we just kind of had to fight the elements, bear down. We did a good job of fending off their attacks and fending off the weather and the heat and the humidity.” Head coach Bryan Scales agreed with his upperclassman that the team was not playing its best soccer during the opening part of the day. “The first half was very boring,” stated Scales. “We didn’t play particularly well. It was just sluggish, and it wasn’t fun to watch, and I’m sure it wasn’t fun to play in.” After being outshot 9-4 by the Panthers during the first period, Cornell entered the second half with a changed lineup and a resurgence of energy. “The second half was a completely different story,” explained Scales. “We were more dynamic, we had more energy, we were running off the ball, and we were playing faster. We had five or six great scoring opportunities, and it was just better soccer, it was exciting. It was good soccer, and it was fun to watch.” Hoban, the team captain, agreed with his coach. “The first 30 minutes of the second half we dominated. We played well, got a lot of chances and scored,” he said. “The goal came in the first ten minutes, and then the next twenty minutes we kept going at them. It was a good game.” The lone goal came from George who found the back of the net at 50:29, beating Adelphi keeper Igor Yatsenko on the far post. A team effort, the drive started with sophomore Steve Reuter who pressured the Panther defense, forcing the turnover to George who headed it to freshman Pape Seye. Seye found junior Doug Charton open, who in turn sent it to junior Arturo Solis. Solis then crossed the ball back to George who dribbled by two Adelphi defenders and fired a shot into the lower corner. Scales praised his attackers. “It was good defense that forced them to give the ball up in a bad area of the field, and then we just played faster than they could react and then the ball was in the back of the net,” he said. “It was a really good goal, and it was great for Andrew. We are pretty pleased, pretty proud of him that he got his first goal, and now, he’s off to a good start.” George who has been playing well beyond his rookie status couldn’t have been more excited by the tally. “It was great, especially the game winner in a big game like that,” he said of his goal. “[Hopefully] it will be easier to get my next one now.” “I’m sure he is pleased about it,” commented Scales. “It’s always good to get a goal when you are a freshman, especially the game winner. We have different guys step up in different games, and he was the guy [Saturday] who stepped up and popped a goal in for us.” Of the rest of the team, Scales complimented the group. “Liam held the defense together back there and Pape played well. He came in, in the middle of the midfield and did really well, and Ian Pilarski had a good game in the midfield. After the game was over, I think we had a good feeling about how we finished the game, so we were happy to get a result that was good. We enjoyed it.” In net, Allan earned his first shutout of the year recording 11 saves. “It took a little bit of time and effort, but it was rewarding,” he said of the shut out. “The whole defense had to kind of buckle down in the last ten minutes to earn the shutout. We all got it, and we all deserve it, and we’ll see where we can go from there.” From there, the Red will head to Hamilton, NY to take on Colgate tomorrow at 7 p.m. The team then returns to Berman Field Saturday the 28th for a 7 p.m. match up.Archived article by Kristen Haunss