Men’s soccer had a pair of wins last week, including a 5-2 win over Binghamton on Tuesday, Oct. 1 and a 3-0 win over Dartmouth on Saturday, Oct. 5.
Cornell (5-1-2, 0-1-0 Ivy) faced Binghamton (6-3-1, 0-1-0 America East) on Tuesday, Oct. 1. The Red looked to bounce back from their 1-0 defeat at the hands of Yale.
The Red (5-1-2, 0-1-0 Ivy) dominated the Bearcats (6-3-1, 0-1-0 America East) early. In the third minute, sophomore midfielders Liam May and Connor Miller forced a double save from the Binghamton keeper Dylan McDermott. Just seven minutes later, sophomore forward Alex Harris and junior midfielder Daniel Samways put shots on frame that McDermott countered with another back-to-back save sequence.
In the 12th minute, Harris found himself all alone behind the defense. He put his head down and went for power, but his shot rang off the bar. However, Harris found himself in on goal yet again five minutes later, this time going for finesse. He chipped the ball just over the right hand of McDermott to give Cornell the lead.
However, Binghamton leveled the score with a goal against the run of play in the 26th minute when a long throw-in bounced onto a Bearcat boot in the box, hitting the back of the net.
With just over a minute to go in the half, Binghamton took the lead when a beautiful ball over the Cornell defense was tapped past Friedberg. This sent Cornell into halftime rattled as its dominance in possession and chances did not translate to the scoreboard.
Junior defender Andrew Johnson explained the two goals conceded against Binghamton were due to “momentary lapses of focus, one being a throw-in and another being a big long ball.” Johnson noted that at halftime, the team focused on staying sharp defensively while continuing to create offensive chances.
“We knew we were the better team and we were stunned to be 2-1 down,” May said.
It took Cornell until the 71st minute to tie the game, when senior forward Danny Lokko placed a header out of the reach of the Binghamton keeper. This was followed up by a Miller goal seven minutes later that brought the lead back into Cornell’s hands.
From there, Cornell broke the game open. In the 84th minute, senior forward Alioune Ka volleyed a loose ball past the Binghamton keeper. Freshman forward Nate Hovan added on two minutes later, scoring his first collegiate goal and Cornell’s fourth goal in 15 minutes.
The 5-2 win was a high-scoring affair for Cornell who have not scored more than five in over two years.
“We have a lot of great goal scorers on our team,” said May, who assisted Hovan’s goal.
Cornell followed up its victory over Binghamton with an impressive 3-0 win over Dartmouth, marking back-to-back wins at Berman Field and improving to 1-1 in the Ivy League standings.
Johnson credited the team’s preparation against Dartmouth, stating, “Our coaches prepared us very well for Dartmouth’s threats. ... We knew that whatever Dartmouth gave to us, we would be able to match.”
A first-half hat trick from Harris and assists from Miller and senior midfielder Sam Latona led the Big Red to take a commanding 3-0 lead at half-time. This was the first hat trick for Harris, whose goals were scored in quick fashion, occurring in the span of roughly 20 minutes.
“After the first half against Dartmouth, we knew they were going to make changes. They wouldn’t just give up after the first 45 minutes didn’t go their way,” May said. “We expected them to come out aggressively, desperate for goals. We remained solid defensively, continued to dictate a lot of the flow of the game and maintained the shutout.”
Cornell’s defense withstood the Big Green’s test, as that 3-0 score held until the 90th minute passed.
As the Red look to continue its win streak, May expressed his confidence in the team: “I think this is a fantastic group of people. We have great players and great coaches and we all have the same goal. We want to win the Ivy League and we believe that we can.”
Johnson also expressed similar confidence.
“We have a tremendous group of guys — … a true brotherhood off the field,” Johnson said, emphasizing the team’s unity and determination on and off the pitch.
Up next, the Red take on Princeton on Friday, Oct. 12 in Princeton, New Jersey, looking to improve its record to 2-1 in the Ivy League and continue the strong run.
Adam Vasserman and Will Cawley are Sun Contributors and can be reached at amv79@cornell.edu and wdc65@cornell.edu, respectively.
