HAMILTON – Despite a tying goal by junior
Meghan Minturn, the Colgate Field Hockey program fell to in-state rival Cornell by a 4-1 score on Tyler's Field.
HOW IT HAPPENED
It was a quick start to the game with a pair of goals in under five minutes. Cornell was first to get on the board as it redirected a shot to center cage just 2:30 into the game for a 1-0 advantage. The Raiders responded just minutes later as
Taylor Casamassa spun past a defender at the 25 yard line and fed the ball into the circle to
Meghan Minturn. Her quick shot found the low right corner of the goal to even the scoreboard.
In the final minutes of the opening quarter, Cornell picked up a rebound and swerved past the Colgate defenders for a 2-1 edge. Although
Nora Mulroy marked a scoring chance with a high ball out front of the goal, the nonconference foes would enter halftime with the one-goal game.
Cornell came out of halftime with a strong third quarter, and a feed from the right side to out front of the cage crossed low to the goal for a 3-1 advantage midway through the session. In the final minute of the quarter, a deflection soared high over the keeper to the back of the cage as Cornell improved to a 4-1 advantage heading into the final 15:00.
Colgate's best offense came out in the fourth quarter as the looked to come back against the in-state rival, while the Raiders looked to convert on their first penalty corner chances of the game. Another quality swing by Mulroy was snuffed by the Cornell keeper on Colgate's first corner opportunity. Another shot was fired high on the keeper by Casamassa midway through the keeper, but was again stopped to keep it a three-goal differential. In the final two minutes of regulation, the Raiders had their third penalty corner stroke, and Minturn was able to swerve past the defenders but the ball was again kept out of the goal by Cornell's keeper for the 4-1 final.
STATISTICAL STANDOUTS
• With the lone Colgate goal, junior
Meghan Minturn scored her second of the year and first since scoring against Lock Haven (Sept. 6).
• Sophomore goalkeeper
Anna Unger tallied seven saves for the second-straight game. The mark is her second-best on the year, only trailing her career-high of 12 against Syracuse (Sept. 22).
• With her assist on Minturn's goal, junior
Taylor Casamassa continues to top the Colgate squad with 10 total points on the year.
• Colgate's six shots on goal are the most since notching six against Rider (Sept. 15).
• Minturn's three shots on goal tie her season-high earned against Albany (Sept. 17).
• Colgate played a clean game, allowing their fewest defensive penalty corners of the season by sacrificing just four to Cornell.
THE BOTTOM LINE
• Cornell 4, Colgate 1
RECORD UPDATES
• Colgate holds a 2-8 overall record, along with a 0-2 mark in the Patriot League.
• Cornell improves to a 4-2 record, with a 0-1 mark in the Ivy League.
COACH APRIL CORNELL'S TAKE
"Scoring the tying goal early was important for our team's confidence, because last week we weren't happy with our Lafayette game in having two quick goals scored us and then not being able to come back and get on the board. This game we played more of our style of game and took our free hits really quickly and created great opportunities and played through a ton of fouls. It was strong character-building on our team's part, and not playing into the physical side of the game.
"We worked a lot on our offensive movements and talked through a lot of stuff yesterday on film on ways to create more attacking opportunities and how to maintain our attack. I think we just moved the ball a lot quicker today in general and it gave us great opportunities to find open shots on goal.
"This was a great game for us to come together mentally and make some connections between our midfield and attack. For Holy Cross, I think if we play like we did today we'll have a great opportunity to win the game. We connected so well, we found opportunities, and we were smart in our attacking third."
UP NEXT
The Raiders return to Patriot League action on Saturday when they travel to Worcester, Massachusetts, to take on Holy Cross. Game time is slated for a noon start.
FOLLOW THE RAIDERS
For more information on the Colgate field hockey program, follow the Raiders on Twitter @ColgateFH and on Instagram at Colgate_FH.
