Cornell had been here before. Down 1-0 for much of the game, the team had its back against the wall. Thrice this season it has faced late-game deficits, but only once has the Red mounted a comeback, dropping close games to UC Irvine early in the season and Princeton on Oct. 11.
Luckily for the Red (10-2-1, 3-3-1 Ivy), it found that spark from the Yale comeback a few weeks back, crawling its way from a 1-0 hole to win 2-1 against Syracuse (6-6-2, 3-1-0) on Tuesday night.
Coming off consecutive wins against Ivy League rival University of Pennsylvania and Colgate University, the Red was looking to extend its win streak to three games. Syracuse, on the other hand, was hoping to bounce back from its loss against Pittsburgh.
The game started off fast, with Cornell quickly countering and finding freshman forward Blake Donahue to put him through on goal, only for his low-driven effort to curl just wide of the left post.
It was a cagey affair for the first 25 minutes, with both teams unable to test the other’s keeper at all. The two sides played a defensively sound game, not giving up any big chances at the cost of failing to create some of their own.
In the 26th minute, the deadlock was broken. The Orange capitalized on a well-executed corner-kick routine through defender Tim Brdaric as he gave Syracuse the 1-0 lead with his second goal of the season.
The Orange remained on top as the first 45 minutes came to a close, with Cornell outshooting Syracuse 10-4 but failing to register a single shot on target. The Red knew that tactically, things needed to change. In response, head coach John Smith elected to bring on three players — including the hero from the Yale game, freshman striker Sergio Zapata — in hopes of turning the tide.
Cornell’s tactics proved fruitful in the 62nd minute, with sophomore fullback Aidan Martin drawing a penalty kick to give the Red its best chance of getting back into the match. As junior midfielder Connor Miller missed his last two penalties, senior midfielder Westin Carnevale stepped up and slotted home a goal to bring the Red on level terms.
The Ithaca side continued to pile on the pressure, creating chances and testing the Orange’s keeper. After just 15 more minutes, the Red found itself peppering the Syracuse net with shots, eventually leading to the ball finding Donahue, who tucked home what would be the game-winner.
Senior goalkeeper Ryan Friedberg didn’t have much work to do all game, facing only two shots on goal and making one save as Cornell picked up its 10th win of the season.
The Red has a full Ivy League slate to finish the season, facing Brown at home next Saturday and then traveling to Harvard and Columbia the following two weekends. Kickoff against Brown is at 4 p.m., and live coverage can be found on ESPN+.
