W. Soccer Looking for First Win Of Year

After starting its season with a tie and a loss, the women’s soccer team will split its time this weekend: traveling to Lehigh on Friday before returning to face Manhattan College at home on Sunday.
“We feel pretty confident coming into the weekend and think we can come away with a few wins,” said junior forward Lena Russomagno. “A lot of us are frustrated after some of the results last weekend and we are just looking to beat some teams and end on a good note.”
The Mountain Hawks (1-1-0) started their season with a 3-1 victory over Nebraska, followed by a 1-0 loss to Virginia Tech.
“I think Lehigh is definitely beatable for us,” said sophomore defender Sam Wright.
This weekend’s game will mark the second meeting of these two teams. In their last meeting, Lehigh took the win after a goal in the last 20 minutes of the game, making the score 1-0.
“We played Lehigh last year … it was a game we should’ve won,” said Russomagno. “I know going into this game, we are going to get them back and we’re ready to play better than we did last year.”
Coming off a split weekend, Manhattan College (2-2-0) will prove a tough competitor this weekend. The Jaspers fell to Holy Cross, 2-1, before defeating Fairleigh Dickinson, 3-2. This game will mark the Red’s first encounter with the squad. [img_assist|nid=37943|title=In charge|desc=Sophomore defender Sidra Bonner (11) is the only Red player with a goal this season. The team has been working on its attacking techniques in hopes of boosting its scoring.|link=node|align=left|width=336|height=317]
Coming into the game without personal experience against Manhattan College, Cornell knows it will face some difficulties, but the Red hopes to match the Jasper’s own offensive might. Jasper junior forward Caroline Morse factored into three of the teams goals against Fairleigh Dickinson, setting up two before netting one herself.
In addition, the Jaspers don’t fall short on defense either, which could prove a challenge to the Red. Knowing that defense is going to play a crucial role in the game, the Red has practiced various defensive drills this week with the team so that Jaspers have little chance of getting close to the goal.
“We’ve been working on different attacking techniques to score some goals,” said Russomagno. “We only had one goal this past weekend and it was from a defender off the corner so we know the forwards need to pick up the attack and get some points as long as the defense can keep a shutout, and then we will definitely see results.”
With new young players to complement the returning letter-winners, the Red’s strategy is to keep possession of the ball while maintaining its endurance. These next two games will prove a chance for this young team to continue getting to know each other’s style of play.
“Two games in a week in soccer is rough … I think if we can beat Lehigh, then that momentum can carry us over and we should come out 2-0 for the weekend,” Wright said.