April 19, 2008

ITHACA, N.Y. - Two teams looking for a win to build a case for an at-large berth in the NCAA tournament collided Saturday afternoon at Schoellkopf Field, and in the end No. 18 Cornell emerged with an 8-6 win over No. 14 Yale. Playing their final regular-season game, the Bulldogs held an early 3-1 lead but were outscored 7-1 in a span of just over 20 minutes from the end of the first half until late in the second half. Two goals by the Bulldogs in the final eight minutes were not enough to overcome the deficit.

Yale entered the day ranked fifth in the country in scoring defense, and this game was a defensive struggle from the outset -- neither team scored for the first eight minutes. Senior goalkeeper Ellen Cameron played a big role in that, making a pair of great saves on her way to nine for the day. On the first one, five minutes in, Courtney Farrell took a pass right in front of Cameron, turned around and fired the ball only to have Cameron get her crosse in perfect position to deny the shot. Two minutes later speedy Noelle Dowd got a step on her defender in the 8-meter fan and tried a side-arm shot that Cameron captured in her crosse.

Senior midfielder Kat Peetz finally broke the drought, curling around from behind the cage and putting in her 27th goal of the year at 21:43.

Cameron made another big save right after that, going high to deny Kathryn Dewey's shot from point-blank range. The Big Red finally got on the board when Katherine Simmons came off a screen and had just enough room to send in her 27th goal of the year.

Yale (11-5, 4-3 Ivy League) went back in front on a free-position goal by junior midfielder Taylor Fragapane at 14:54. Sophomore attacker Jessica Sturgill increased the lead to 3-1 with another free-position goal nine minutes later.

The 3-1 lead could have been bigger, but the Bulldogs were hurt by 10 turnovers in the half and failed on four of 10 clears while Cornell was a perfect five-for-five. Libby Johnson got the Big Red back within one with a free-position goal at 3:19.

Sophomore defender Michele Fiorentino helped keep the Big Red from doing any further damage by knocking the ball loose from a Cornell attacker deep in Yale territory and grabbing the ground ball while avoiding going out of bounds with two minutes left in the half. The Bulldogs held a 3-2 lead at halftime.

With the temperature closing in on 80 degrees and the hot sun reflecting off the Astroturf, it was clear that endurance would be a factor in the second half. Cornell (9-4, 4-2 Ivy League) opened with a four-goal run. Courtney Farrell started it with a goal at 28:36. Farrell, one of seven Big Red seniors honored in the Senior Day ceremony before the game, became Cornell's all-time leading point scorer with that goal. She finished the day with 206 career points.

A minute after Farrell's goal Tissy O'Connor scored on a free position attempt. When O'Connor scored again on a pass in front from Kathryn Dewey, the Bulldogs called timeout.

Dewey's free-position goal at 23:19 extended the Cornell lead to 6-3, but senior defender Jess Champion got the draw control and senior midfielder Lauren Taylor scored on a free-position shot at 22:42 to bring Yale back within two.

Cameron came up with a key save on a Simmons free-position shot with 20 minutes to play. But fouls continued to be an issue for the Bulldogs in the second half. After there were just six whistles in the first half (four on Yale), the second half saw 22 fouls called -- 15 on the Bulldogs. Farrell's free-position goal at 14:24 extended Cornell's lead to 7-4, and Johnson scored two minutes later to give the Big Red a four-goal lead.

Big Red goalkeeper Kristen Reese had one of the biggest of her eight saves on the day as the clock ticked to less than 11 minutes remaining. She denied a Yale free-position shot after the Big Red was whistled for a three-second violation.

The Bulldogs got a much-needed goal with 7:43 remaining when sophomore attacker Jenna Block passed to Taylor right in front of the cage for Taylor's 41st goal of the year. After a Big Red turnover Yale had a chance to close within two, but junior midfielder Jenn Warden's shot off a nice pass from Fragapane sailed just high with six minutes remaining.

After senior attacker Meredith Callahan hit the post with a shot, the Big Red got the ball and tried to run down the clock. Freshman midfielder Logan Greer broke up a Cornell pass and got the ground ball to keep Yale's hopes alive. Block eventually drew a foul and scored a free-position goal with 1:30 to play that made the score 8-6.

Yale called a timeout to set up for the draw control. The Big Red won it, but turned the ball over to give the Bulldogs another chance. Warden's shot with a minute to play was high, and a Yale turnover enabled the Big Red to run out the game's final seconds.

While the Bulldogs utilized a senior-laden lineup throughout the 2008 season (Callahan, Cameron, Champion, Peetz, Taylor and defender Katie Wiacek), they did wind up with three sophomores (Block, Sturgill and defender Claire Eliasberg) and two freshmen (Greer and defender Fielding Kidd) on the field for the last draw of their regular season finale.

report by Sam Rubin '95 (sam.rubin@yale.edu), Yale Sports Publicity