Cornell claimed the Williams S. Field Invitational title on Sunday after defeating the defending national champion Virginia, 18-10. The Red made its way into the finals after topping Skidmore, 23-6, last Wednesday and Kentucky, 15-11, on Saturday.

After defeating Skidmore without any complications, the only thing between the Red and the finals was an experienced Kentucky team that played very well in its final game against Cornell last season (a contest that the Red won by only two goals).

Just like head coach David Eldredge expected, the game was not an easy victory for the Red. After holding the lead for the entire game against Skidmore, Cornell only managed to tie Kentucky at three goals apiece after the end of the first chukker.

“They [Kentucky] came out as tough, as we expected,” Eldredge said. “We saw some improvements that caught us off guard, but we made the appropriate adjustments between the chukkers to boost our game.”

Kentucky shocked the Red by gaining a two-point lead in the beginning of the second chukker after scoring off a penalty shot. The rest of the second chukker was highlighted by solid defensive performances from both teams, and it seemed that the score was not going to change.

Suddenly, both teams scored goals and the match was 6-4 in favor of the Wildcats. Cornell fought its way back into the game and took advantage of a three-goal run to regain the lead by one goal going into halftime.

The third chukker was very competitive, and by the end of regulation, both teams were able to add goals to their scores, with Cornell outscoring Kentucky three goals to two, thus ending the third chukker in favor of the Red, 10-8.

In the last chukker, the Red scored three unanswered goals while Kentucky was only able to score one. Cornell held a four-goal lead in the last period of regulation until the Wildcats made two goals to make it a two-goal game.

The Red answered back with another two goals and kept its lead until time expired, earning a hard-fought win over Kentucky. Junior captain Lizzie Wisner led Cornell in scoring with eight goals, senior Erin Bold scored four and junior Jessica Cross had two.

“We were not as sharp as we could have been in the game [against Kentucky], which worked against us,” Eldredge said. “It was one of those games that you win … but that you are not playing at you full potential.”

After the close victory over the Wildcats, the Red secured a spot in the finals against the winner of the other bracket, which was composed of Connecticut, Texas A&M and Virginia.

As expected, the defending national champions won the bracket to earn the title match berth and a rematch against a Cornell team that defeated UVA, 17-14, at its home in Charlottesville.

“After we heard that UVA had made it to the finals we knew that we were going to have a tough game ahead,” said senior captain Lizzie Wisner.

“They had just beaten both Texas A&M and UConn, two top quality teams, and they had won the UConn game without one of their starters. We knew that we would have to come out strong and play our style of polo to win the game,” Wisner said.

During the first chukker, Bold, Cross and Wisner tallied four goals while the Cavaliers were only able to answer with two. The first chukker finished 6-2 in favor of the Red.

Cornell continued to capitalize on chances and kept its lead by the end of the second chukker, 12-3. After the end of the third chukker, the Red increased its lead to 10 goals, with a score of 15-5.

Although the Cavaliers were able to outscore Cornell in the fourth chukker, 5-3, the Red’s advantage was big enough to win the Invitational, 18-10.

Junior sensation Lizzie Wisner had another dominant performance with 12 goals and with the help of senior Erin Bold, junior Jessica Cross and sophomore Ali Hoffman, the Red was able to make an important statement to the defending national champions.

Cornell is undefeated with 10 victories in as many games, and is one win away from finishing the semester with an undefeated record.

The Red will host Skidmore College –– a team that Cornell easily defeated in the Invitational –– on Dec. 5 for the final match of the semester.

The Red women’s polo team has been quite dominant during the first half of its season, demonstrating to every other polo team in the collegiate world that Cornell is a serious contender for the national title.

“We have defeated every major team that there is to beat,” Eldredge said. “But the season is not over because those teams are going to continue improving. Right now we are No. 1, but if we do not keep with our game, teams like Kentucky can take advantage of it.”