Women's Soccer Wins Ivy Opener, Loses Heartbreaker to Colgate

The women's soccer team opened its Ivy League campaign with three points on Friday night, defeating Cornell 2-1 at Baker Field. The win was the Lions' first triumph over the Big Red since 2001.

Later that weekend, the Light Blue held Colgate without a shot on goal for 93 minutes before losing a 1-0 overtime game on Sunday. The weekend split left the women's soccer team with a 3-4-2 overall record.

After scoring just one goal in 200 minutes of play last weekend, the Columbia offense struck quickly in the opening minutes against Cornell. Senior midfielder Bailey Schroeder gave the Lions a 1-0 lead in the fourth minute off a well-executed set piece. After controlling a free kick from classmate Shannon Munoz near the penalty spot, Schroeder pivoted away from the Cornell defense and fired a low shot past Big Red goalkeeper Carlyn Swensen.

Just six minutes later, a lucky break doubled the Lions' lead. Senior midfielder Aubrey Medal corralled the ball near the left edge of the Cornell penalty area and fired a cross toward junior midfielder Lindsey Knowles. A Cornell defender jumped in front of Knowles and attempted to head the ball out of danger. Instead, she headed the ball off the crossbar and into the Cornell net for an own goal. Only nine minutes into the match, the Lions led 2-0.

The Light Blue midfield took over the game for the rest of the first half, controlling the ball and preventing Cornell from starting any kind of offensive attack. Only two Big Red shots made it anywhere near junior keeper Allison Vespa's goal, and neither of those shots were on target.

The second half opened with the Columbia midfield again dominating possession. Senior defender Emma Judkins nearly gave the Lions a 3-0 lead in the 59th minute when she headed a corner kick past Swensen. A Cornell defender headed the ball off the goal line to keep the Big Red within two.

Cornell came back from the defensive save with its best offensive play of the match. The Big Red earned their first shot on goal in the 61st minute off a corner kick, which Vespa saved. Five minutes later, Kara Lewis controlled a chip from the top of the Lions' box and beat Vespa from 10 yards out to halve Columbia's lead.

Following the goal, the Lions' midfield reestablished control of the ball and prevented Cornell from threatening to tie the game. Vespa sealed the win by punching a corner kick out of the penalty area with ten seconds remaining.

Head coach Kevin McCarthy was pleased with his team's performance. "It was great to get the two early goals so we could play with confidence."

The Lions played the same quality defense on Sunday as they did on Friday, but the offense was unable to finish scoring chances. Senior Jillian Raybould nearly gave the Lions a 1-0 lead in the 40th minute when she beat Colgate goalkeeper Carly Sousa with a high shot toward the upper-right corner of the net. However, the ball clanked off the corner of the crossbar and goalpost.

After several more attempts on goal during the second half, Munoz nearly put the Lions ahead again with a hard, high shot in the 89th minute. Sousa stopped the shot to force the match into overtime.

Four minutes into the extra period, the Red Raiders finally broke through the Light Blue defense for the victory. After a Colgate corner kick deflected into a crowd, Colgate's Jessica Bitsack came out of the scramble with the ball and tapped it home. It was the Red Raiders' first shot on goal in the entire match, but wound up being the only one they would need.

The Lions will return to action on Friday evening, when they travel to Providence for a crucial road contest with Brown.