In 80-degree heat, the Red faced St. John’s University 238 miles away from its home turf on Saturday in Queens, New York.
A key player for Cornell in the matchup was senior goalkeeper Chrissy Mayer, who secured an impressive six saves over the course of the game.
However, those saves weren’t enough to keep St. John’s powerful junior forward Zsani Kajan at bay. Kajan scored both goals for St. John’s to mark the final score 2-0.
This result brought the Red’s overall record to 4-2-1.
During the game, Cornell showed great defensive effort when St. John’s attacked vigorously in the first half. Senior forward Kennedy Yearby and junior midfielder Shelby Wray also managed two shots, with Yearby’s being a shot on goal.
The Red played 21 of its 29 player roster.
Cornell played a 4-3-3 system, with nine freshmen taking the field over the course of the match. St. John’s was the first of five Cornell games that freshman goalkeeper Nicole Shulman is scheduled to miss as she competes for the Israeli team in the UEFA Women’s Under-19 Championship.
Shulman is one of Cornell’s three current team members listed as having National Duty keeping her from playing. Even so, the Red has plenty of talent and cohesion despite missing players due to National Duty and injuries.
Even despite the loss to St. John’s, the Red is in a good position entering Ivy play. Cornell heads into playing the Ivies with a 3-0-1 home record for the first time since 2007. But this metric isn’t the only significant improvement for the Red — already, the team has quadrupled its win total from 2018.
This coming Saturday, Sept. 28, the Red plays Columbia at home at Berman Field. Columbia, like Cornell, boasts an overall record of 4-2-1. However, Columbia’s 2-1-1 away results suggest the team doesn’t require a home-field advantage in order to secure its wins.
Cornell vs. Columbia should shape up to be an exciting match after the Red’s final Ivy Tune-Up loss to St. John’s, and fans can show their support at Berman Field as the Red takes on Columbia this coming Saturday to start their Ivy League play.