No. 16 Men’s soccer (12-2-2, 5-2 Ivy) closed out its regular season schedule with a convincing 4-1 senior night victory over Columbia (1-12-1, 1-5-1 Ivy) on Saturday at Berman Field.
In the 13th minute, sophomore forward Alex Harris opened the scoring. A ball on the ground from junior midfielder Daniel Samways came all the way through the box, untouched by Columbia defenders. Harris took a one-time shot and found the corner to give Cornell a lead it would maintain for the rest of the game.
With a pass from sophomore midfielder Connor Miller, senior forward Danny Lokko found himself completely alone with the ball on the top of the box in the 27th minute. Lokko took his time and placed the ball just inside the left post to get his senior night tally.
Just following Lokko’s goal, fifth-year defender Kisa Kiingi came off the bench for the second straight game. The Cornell captain is returning from an injury that had kept him out since the Syracuse game on Sept. 24.
Cornell has been ramping Kiingi up, and with him playing 30 minutes against Havard and 63 against Columbia, he should be ready to go a full 90 the rest of the way. If the Red is going to make a splash in the playoffs, there is no doubt that Kiingi will play a key role in the team’s success going forward.
In the 32nd minute, senior forward Alioune Ka played a beautiful looping ball to the back post. Miller was there all alone and powered a one-touch finish into the back of the net.
Eight minutes into the second half, Harris collected a rebound in front of the penalty spot and scored with his left foot to make it 4-0. This goal marked the 28th of his career and ties him with Adalberto Stratta ‘59 and Daniel Haber ‘13 for fourth in career goals for Cornell as just a sophomore. Alone in first place with 40 career goals is Victor Huerta ‘73.
Columbia got its goal in the 58th minute with a tap squeaking by junior goalkeeper Ryan Friedberg, breaking up his bid for a third straight shutout.
Holding a healthy lead for most of the game, the Red was able to get seven of its 10 seniors into the game for senior night.
“The upperclassmen are people I’ve looked up to,” said freshman defender Justin Melly.
Cornell’s victory will take it into its first-ever Ivy League Tournament appearance. This year’s edition will be hosted by the top-seeded No. 12 University of Pennsylvania. The second-seeded Red will take on Princeton while Brown will face Penn, rounding out the four-team field.
“We’re all excited for our upcoming game against Princeton,” Melly said. “We’re lucky to play against a good opponent with the Ivy League final on the line.”
In its regular season bout with the Tigers, the Red won a tightly contested game, 1-0, on a late goal from junior forward Giorgos Diakos.
Following the regular season, the Red also find themselves in prime position to grab an at-large bid and a home game for the NCAA Tournament if it fails to claim the Ivy League’s automatic qualification. Cornell’s rating percentage index –– a mathematical formula that is the primary factor in determining the men’s soccer field –– sits at 19th in the nation, a good spot to be in to grab one of the 26 at-large bids given out.
Cornell will face Princeton in the Ivy League Tournament at 6:30 p.m. on Friday in Philadelphia. If the Red can top the Tigers, they will face either Penn or Brown in the final at 1 p.m. on Sunday.
Adam Vasserman is a Sun Contributor and can be reached at [email protected].