Coming off of a strong non-conference campaign to start the year, the men’s soccer team stayed at Berman Field for the third straight game to face its first Ivy foe of the season, Yale.
Despite an early goal from the Bulldogs (0-6-2), the Red (5-1-0) were able to close its homestand with a dominant win — and add a victory against Yale for the first time in 10 years.
The game started with an even run of play, with neither team generating much in terms of scoring chances until the 27th minute, when Yale won a corner and Andrew Myerson put a strong header past senior goalkeeper Ryan Friedberg.
At this point, the game began to feel eerily reminiscent of last year’s Ivy League opener against Yale, which ended in a 1-0 upset in favor of the Bulldogs. Despite the momentum shift, the Red completely took over after the Yale goal.
Less than 10 minutes after the Yale tally, freshman forward Blake Donahue beat the keeper with a low shot, but it was cleared off the line by a Yale defender. However, Donahue was right on the spot to gather his own rebound and tie the game up with his first career goal.
Less than two minutes later, sophomore midfielder Adam Schaban weaved through the Yale defense and played a through ball for freshman forward Sergio Zapata who put the Red on top with his first career goal.
With halftime looming, Zapata was brought down in the box, earning a penalty kick for the Red. But, junior midfielder Connor Miller failed to find the corner and had his attempt from the spot saved.
The Red started the second half by continuing to dominate offensive play. Miller dribbled into the box, and, along with the keeper, calmly played a ball across the six yard box. Zapata was there to tuck home the shot off of the post, bringing the Cornell lead to 3-1 with all three goals coming from freshman.
Cornell would continue to dominate the rest of the way, finishing with 26 shots — ten of which were on goal. The Red squashed Yale’s attacks and held possession to kill the last of the clock.
Goals from Zapata and Donahue should quell concerns about the production from the Cornell forwards, with both freshmen playing an excellent game. Miller was also fantastic for the Red despite missing from the spot, creating tons of chances for Cornell and collecting an assist.
Senior defender Andrew Johnson was a rock on the back line, getting in the way of many Yale shots and crosses. Senior midfielder Giorgos Diakos was also everywhere for Cornell, but struggled to finish his chances, ringing a post and sending a few shots wide.
Cornell now has a quick turnaround as they travel an hour south to face Binghamton on Tuesday at 7 p.m.. Live coverage will be available on ESPN+.
