The women’s soccer team had only 24 seconds remaining in double overtime to hold off Princeton before ending in a draw. The Tigers used these final seconds to net the game-winning goal, giving the Red a 1-0 loss on Saturday afternoon in Princeton, N.J.

“Overall, it was a hard fought game and we played well and it was a heartbreaker to lose in double overtime,” said sophomore defender Sidra Bonner.

Despite being out-shot 20-4 for the majority of the game, the Red (1-12-1, 0-6 Ivy) maintained its defensive strategy as the underdog. Coming into this weekend’s matches, Princeton (7-6-3, 3-2-1 Ivy) was still in contention for the Ivy League’s NCAA bid, but Harvard’s victory over Dartmouth earned the bid for the Crimson and knocked Princeton out of the running.

Adding to Cornell’s misfortunes, senior midfielder Kala Neilson was given a red card by officials just 26 minutes into the first half, allowing the Tigers a one-man advantage for the rest of the game. Luckily, the Red was still able to maintain its composure and prevent Princeton from picking up an easy goal during the contest. Bear hug: Midfielder Hannah Labadie (7) gets a comforting hug from a teammate.

“When Kala got the red card, we knew it was going to be very hard for us to score in the game because Princeton is a good team. It definitely was the hardest loss we have had this season,” Bonner said.

Down a player, the Red worked extremely hard defensively to shut down the Tiger’s offensive attacks. Sophomore goalie Megan Bartlett was outstanding in goal, making eight saves before taking the loss.

“It would have been nice to have more of an attack when we went a player down. It’s hard because when you are a player down for almost the entire game, you get more tired as the game progresses so we couldn’t generate an attack and focused on defense,” Bonner said.

Seconds from the Red’s second draw of the season, Princeton junior Alexandra Valerio kicked the ball of the goalpost and into the net, ending the match in a heartbreak.

“We really wanted to hold them off; we wanted especially a tie to get a point for the Ivy League. We just wanted to shut down their attack but unfortunately it did not turn out the way we wanted,” Bonner said.

This loss marked the Red’s fifth Ivy League loss by one goal out of the six conference games so far this season. With one remaining game to close out its season, Cornell is hoping to demonstrate its capabilities and talents.

“We are going to go into the game as we have all season. Go in and generate some attack, keep being strong. It’s quite unfortunate … so next week we are looking to get the result we finally deserve,” Bonner said.