The women’s soccer team will look to earn its second conference win of the year, and maybe earn a little revenge, when the Red travels to face Brown in Providence, R.I. tomorrow.
“It would be nice to get that second Ivy win,” said head coach Berhane Andeberhan. “[Brown] is a really rugged team. They’re a tough team to play against.”
Cornell (4-7-2, 1-3-0 Ivy) is coming off a close 2-1 loss at Army Wednesday. The Black Knights scored first, but junior midfielder Kara Ishikawa was able to even things up with a header in the 21st minute. Unfortunately for the Red, Army’s Delaney Brown scored the game-winner with less than five minutes remaining in regulation.
Brown (5-8-0, 1-3-0 Ivy) is coming off a 3-1 win over Holy Cross. The victory ended a four-game losing streak for the Bears. Brown had dropped games to Big East powers Boston College and Connecticut, as well as Ivy League foes Harvard and Princeton.
Last year, the Bears defeated Cornell, 3-2, in a hard-fought overtime match at Berman Field. Then-freshman Kathryn Moos scored all three goals for Brown, on a cold and windy Senior Day.
The Bears are 5-1 at home this year. The team’s only home loss this year was a 1-0 double-overtime defeat against the Crimson.
Brown’s lone Ivy League win came against Columbia — a 4-2 victory in Providence. The Red also defeated the Lions, 2-1, in New York.
Against Army Wednesday, Cornell took 20 shots, and sophomore goalie Katrina Matlin earned four saves. Sophomore Jessica Schindler had an assist on Ishikawa’s goal.
“I was really pleased [with the team],” Andeberhan said. “Ishi scored a great goal. We got really consistent play from Katrina. Our goalkeepers have really been working hard.”
Ishikawa, who leads the team in goals, suffered a slight injury during the game. She should play tomorrow against Brown, however, according to Andeberhan.
The Bears have had some difficulty scoring this year, a problem the young Cornell squad has also faced. Before defeating Holy Cross Wednesday, Brown had not scored in any of its four consecutive loses. However, the Bears had played some very strong competition during that stretch, including nationally-ranked Princeton.
Junior Hillary Wilson will be in net for the home team. Wilson had seven saves against Holy Cross, and 15 against Harvard. She has an impressive 122 saves for the year.
Cornell will be looking to end a six-game losing streak tomorrow, and Andeberhan believes the team is focused on getting the win.
“The attitude of the team has been great. Very positive, optimistic,” he said.
After the team’s strong effort against Army Wednesday, the Red had yesterday off, in order to rest for tomorrow’s game.
“More than anything, we need some rest,” Andeberhan said. “[Tomorrow] we need some energy, and that same quality play.”
Archived article by Ted Nyman
Sun Staff Writer