Field Hockey Falls to Danes

Mile High Stadium, Fenway Park, and The Big House at Michigan are perhaps three of the most intimidating venues to play in as a visiting team. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for Schoellkopf Field.
The Red (6-5, 3-2 Ivy) extended its Schoellkopf slump Saturday night as they fell to the No. 17 Albany Great Danes, 5-1. Saturday’s loss marks the third straight loss at home for the Red and drops its record to a disappointing 1-4 at Schoellkopf.
Albany (12-3, 2-0 America East) junior defender Michele Polizois broke the scoring drought with a pair of goals in the first half after 29:09 and 32:42 of play.
The Great Danes striked again in the second half when sophomore midfielder Nicole Savage scored via a penalty corner at the 47:00 to increase Albany’s lead to 3-0.
Three minutes later, Albany freshman forward Joanna Irey deposited a pass from sophomore midfielder Michelle Simpson into the back of the goal, increasing the lead to 4-0.
“We were a little strained for preparation time coming off a game Wednesday night,” said junior defender Stephanie Brownstein. “But I thought as a team, we were very composed. They just had extremely skilled corners and were able to put the ball in the goal, but I don’t think anyone came out of that game thinking we played poorly. We’re ready to move on from what we learned from Albany.”
The lone Cornell goal was netted by freshman forward Catie De Stio at the 65:40 mark.
Albany answered when freshman midfielder Anouk Vandenberg weaved through the Red defense and launched a shot past Shannon Prescott.
“I don’t think the score showed exactly how well we played against them,” said junior midfielder Katlyn Donoghue. “At halftime, we were only down, 2-0, and that was the score when we played Princeton. But we came back to win. I thought we played really well and composed in the first half. Their passes were just unbelievable and their skills were just unbelievable. I think we learned a lot from the game. Now we know what its like to play against a top-15 team.”
The Great Danes led the Red 15-10 in shots and 7-5 in penalty corners.
Prescott blocked five shots and Albany junior goaltender Ashley Ross denied four attempts.
Cornell must reverse this trend quickly as it prepares for another home contest tonight against the Bucknell Bisons (6-7, 0-3 Patriot) with a 6 p.m. face-off.
“We’re definitely excited to get back out there and play,” Donoghue said. “I think the best way to get over a loss is just coming out and getting a win [tonight]. We haven’t had too much time to prepare, but I’m sure a lot of teams are like this as the season is dwindling down. If we play well, we can definitely win.”
Unlike the Great Danes, the Bisons may be a tastier prey for the Red to feast on as Cornell is 3-1 against Patriot League opponents this season.
Perhaps Brownstein phrased it best when asked about tonight’s contest.
“We are ready for a win,” Brownstein said.