After a 12-goal steamroll of Colgate last week, Cornell field hockey (8-3, 3-1 Ivy) proved that they are a force to be reckoned with after a 3-0 shutout of Yale (4-8, 1-3 Ivy) on Friday at home.
The Red defense stood strong, holding the Bulldogs to only three shots the whole game, compared to Cornell’s 21. Yale did not have a shot on goal until the final minute.
Sophomore forward Grace Leahy got the Red on the board first after scoring off the penalty corner in the 21st minute. With just about a minute left in the second quarter, junior forward Sarah Rogalski scored off a pass from sophomore midfielder Rease Coleman to give Cornell a 2-0 lead going into the second half.
Just a few minutes into the final quarter, senior defender/midfielder Caroline Ramsey scored on a penalty stroke, giving the Red the 3-0 lead until the clock ran out. This was Ramsey’s 18th goal of the season, tying her own record for the most goals in a single season. It was also her 41st point of the season, surpassing her own record for most points in a season in program history. She was subsequently named Ivy League Offensive Player of the Week for the third time so far in the season.
“In my opinion, right now, she’s probably the best player in the country,” said head coach Andy Smith. “More than that, she’s a really good person… and when you [have] people like that around you, it makes everybody better on the field and off the field. She demands a level from the team, she demands a level from the coaches, she’s earned that right… but she’s just pushing us forward every single day.”
At No. 18 in the national rankings, Smith isn’t letting the team get too far ahead of itself.
“Everybody around the team is getting really excited about the fact that we’re ranked and that we’ve got possibilities of a postseason… [but] first we’re just trying to keep our feet on the ground; take every game as it comes,” Smith said.
Cornell will face the Quakers (6-6, 4-0 Ivy) on Friday at 2 p.m. and No. 13 Syracuse (9-3, 1-2 ACC) on Sunday at 2 p.m. Both will be at home at Marsha Dodson Field and can be streamed on ESPN+.
“We’ve got this little mantra of ‘Not Done Yet.’ We’re preparing for Penn on Friday and that’s the next one — that’s the only one that matters right now,” Smith said. “We’re not looking too far ahead. We’re very happy with where we’ve been and very comfortable with what’s coming up on the horizon, but just take it a game at a time.”