A surging Big Red offense in the second half eliminated a ten year Red and Blue undefeated streak as Cornell defeated Penn 2-1 on Alumni Day.
Penn women’s soccer (4-4-5, 0-3-2 Ivy) fell to Cornell (5-5-4, 2-3 Ivy) in a tightly-contested match, which featured a halftime ceremony recognizing the 2010 Penn women’s soccer team, which won the Ivy League championship. Despite a strong defensive performance in the first half led by senior goalkeeper Annabel Austen, Penn could not hold off the Big Red in the second half.
“You have to be a 90-minute team,” coach Krissy Turner said. “It has to be from start to finish, and that’s been a challenge that we face all season long. Today was just an example of being a first-half team but not being a 90-minute team.”
In the first five minutes of the game, Penn made early advances into Cornell’s zone, controlling the ball and possession. However, these opportunities did not materialize into goals.
The teams went on to trade possessions back and forth, but no squad took control of the game. Penn and Cornell remained in a competitive stalemate with pressing attacks from Cornell and strong defense from the Quakers.
But 16 minutes in, junior forward Abbey Cook pushed past the deadlock assisted by freshman midfielder Kylie Emanuel and scored Penn the first goal of the game.
Emanuel set up Cook for the score with an initial ball that went off the shoulder of a Cornell defender, where it then rebounded off for a centering pass to her teammate. Cook, with a great box out, shielded her defender from the ball lofting it over the Cornell goalkeeper’s outstretched hands. Cook finished the job with a right-footed kick to the bottom center of the goal, marking her fifth goal this season.
“Honestly, that goal just entirely came from [Emanuel] pressing on the center back, winning that ball and then getting that cross off,” Cook said. “I just have to be in the right spot, right time. I think that was just our effort to close down on the defense and get anything off on offense that we can.”
The Quakers used this score to gain momentum, playing vigorously on both offense and defense until the end of the first half and overcoming a late Cornell push.
The Bears responded to Penn’s play with pressure and corner kicks. Although Cornell’s early crosses weren’t finding the back of the net, it was clear the Big Red were not going down without a fight. Cornell’s powerful deliveries consistently tested Penn’s back line, forcing the Quakers to stay organized and disciplined.
That defensive intensity would need to hold for another 45 minutes — a task that would soon prove difficult.
Coming out of the locker room, the Quakers needed to continue their stellar defense, but Cornell was relentless in its pursuit of the goal. Cornell dominated time of possession in the last 45 minutes, an aggressive approach that resulted in a goal by Cornell forward Sydney Allen eight minutes into the second half to tie the game 1-1. Cornell’s offensive momentum continued, as it doubled the lead at the 63rd minute with a goal from midfielder Brooke Brown.
Cornell ended the second half holding Penn to just two shots and one shot on goal. By comparison, the Quakers allowed the Bears 11 shots and five shots on goal.
Cornell notched its first win over Penn in over a decade. Although the Quakers pushed hard to turn the game around in the final moments, unfortunately, victory wasn’t in store.
“I think we stopped competing and we weren’t winning first or second balls, and we got out-worked,” Turner said on limiting Cornell’s offense. “Credit to them, they came out and responded really well. They deserved the two goals that they got, and it’s very disappointing from our end.”
With the loss, the team was eliminated from contention for the Ivy League tournament. The Quakers currently rank eighth in the conference with only two games left. The Red and Blue are looking to finish their season on a high note next week against Harvard.
“We’ll have to really show up and compete for 90 minutes,” Turner said. “And when we do that, we’re really, really good.”
