Freshman forward Jackie Stromberg scored the first goal of her collegiate career early in the first half, giving the Red (4-5-2, 1-2 Ivy) a 1-0 lead. The goal was scored just 22 seconds after the match began, as Stromberg managed to beat goalkeeper Shannon Myers, and net the unassisted goal.
But Syracuse (7-5-2, 1-4-1 Big East) was able to recover, with all the scoring courtesy of the Orange’s experienced seniors.
Senior Nina Scalzo scored in the 26th minute after a Syracuse corner kick. The goal placed her third on the Orange’s all-time goals scored list.
The teams went into halftime tied, 1-1. Senior Helen Fox broke the stalemate with an unassisted goal, eight minutes after the break. She then added some insurance for the Orange, scoring off a pass from senior Stephanie Sybert, in the final minutes of the match. Despite the loss, head coach Berhane Andeberhan was happy with the way his team played.
“We really generated a lot of offense. We had tremendous scoring chances,” he said, noting a number of offensive opportunities, including one courtesy of midfielder Jessica Snyder. “With a little luck those should have been goals.”
The Red first played Syracuse in 1997, and since then the Orange has dominated the series. Cornell came closest to a win in 2002, when the Red tied Syracuse, 0-0. This year, the Orange has played some of the nation’s best schools, including No. 2 Notre Dame. The Irish defeated Syracuse 2-1.
“This is a good team,” Andeberhan said of the Orange. “I’ve got to give them credit.”
The Red was without junior forward Shannon Fraser for the game. Fraser — who has battled injury all season long — may have reinjured her hamstring during warm-ups, and did not play last night. Fraser has scored one goal this year, and taken twelve shots, despite having played in just half of the Red’s games.
Although the game did not turn out as Cornell would have hoped, there were some standout performances from the Red, according to Andeberhan.
“[Junior midfielder] Kara Ishikawa was very dominant,” Andeberhan said. “[Senior] Katie Thomas had an excellent game in goal. [Freshman defender] Leslie Campbell and [senior defender] Natalie Dew were phenomenal.”
Andeberhan is optimistic in his team’s chances for victory down the line, especially, he said, “if we duplicate this effort against our next couple of opponents.”
Cornell will have a chance to do just that Saturday, when the Red welcomes Yale to Berman Field for a noon contest.
The Red lost to the Elis 2-1 last year in overtime. This year, Yale is 7-4 overall, and 1-2 in the Ivy League after dropping Dartmouth,1-0, in Hanover, N.H. Sunday.
Archived article by Ted Nyman
Sun Staff Writer