An early lead for the women’s soccer team once again went to waste, as the Red surrendered three answered goals and lost to Bucknell by a score of 3-1 last night in Ithaca.
Cornell (1-8-1, 0-2 Ivy) started off the scoring early with an unconventional goal when freshman Kathleen Bubrick took a shot that looked like it would be gobbled up easily by Bucknell keeper Katie Dry. Instead, the ball went right through the hands of Dry and landed in the back of the night, earning Bubrick the first goal of her career.
“She is an exciting little freshman,” said interim head coach Gretchen Zigante. “She really has a knack for getting her shot off.”
[img_assist|nid=18753|title=Muscling through|desc=Senior forward Alison McKeown (8) fights for the ball during the Red’s 1-0 loss to Penn last Saturday.|link=popup|align=left|width=100|height=52]
Bubrick was part of a multitude of young players who finally got their chances to play in this non-league game against the Bison (7-3-1, 1-0 Patriot). Zigante experimented with a lineup that was comprised of only two of the regular starters — junior co-captain Leslie Campbell and senior Jessica Snyder — and included numerous rookies.
“I really wanted to use this game to give a lot of players and opportunity,” Zigante said. “We have a lot of players that have been playing hard in practice and they deserved a chance to play.”
After Bubrick’s goal, the lineup chance looked like it might pay dividends until Bucknell evened the score with fifteen minutes left to play in the first half. The goal came after Cornell freshman goalie Carlyn Swensen saved an initial shot but was out of position, allowing Bucknell’s Jennifer Margolis to knock in the rebound.
After halftime, Bucknell used an quick corner kick to catch the Red off guard, scoring a second goal on a leaping header by Jennifer Dervarics.
The rest of the game played evenly, with both teams creating some scoring opportunities. For the Red, Bubrick remained the primary threat — in one five-minute span, she sent one shot barely over the crossbar and another just wide of the left post.
None of the opportunities would translate into goals however, and Bucknell would add an insurance goal with only a few minutes left in the match, delivering the Red its eighth-straight loss.
“We are a young team and we haven’t figured out how to win yet,” Campbell said. “We have been in every single game that we have played, but just haven’t done enough to win.”
As the team continues to develop and look to get back on track, Zigante may continue to play, and possibly start, some of the younger players who took the field for the first time last night.
“I felt like we dominated the attacking half of the field,” Zigante said. “A lot of these young players may be looked at to transition onto the first squad.”
Campbell was equally impressed with the way the Red youngsters played alongside her.
“It can sometimes be difficult to organize a new group of players in front of you,” she said. “But these girls really stepped it up tonight. You would have never thought that most of them were playing in their first collegiate game.”