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The Bulldogs earned their second win of the season on Saturday in a 1–0 matchup against Ivy League opponent Cornell. This marks the Elis’ first Ivy conference win as they look to keep their momentum when they face Penn on Oct. 23. 

The Bulldogs (2–11–0, 1–3–0 Ivy) faced the Big Red (3–8–2, 1–3–0 Ivy) at Reese Stadium for Yale’s fourth Ivy conference game and one of its last home matchups of the season. The Yale women’s soccer team was strong on both sides of the field and outshot Cornell 13–11.  

Our group has gotten better every single day of this season,” head coach Sarah Martinez said. “It has been a tough go for us to not get results we maybe have deserved, but I couldn’t be happier for our women to get a well deserved win today. We stayed consistent to our game plan and earned a late goal off some quality soccer.”

Cornell entered the matchup off a 4–0 loss to Harvard on Oct. 9 and a 2–0 loss to Penn on Oct. 2. The only Ivy League win for the Big Red this season came against Columbia. Cornell also defeated Colgate on Oct. 5, where it set its season high marks for shot attempts and shots on target, 17 and nine, respectively.

The Bulldogs started off the game with a high shot by midfielder Chloe Laureano ’24 in the seventh minute. This was followed by a corner kick and a second shot by Laureano that went wide. In minute 15, Laureano again took a shot that was blocked by Cornell. Two offside calls were made against Yale in the 24th and 26th minutes. 

In the 28th minute, forward Alanna Butcher’s ’25 shot was blocked by a Cornell defender, and shortly after the Bulldogs were called offside twice. At this point, the Elis subbed in defender Molly Fallek ’24, forward Emily Yin ’22 and defender Emily Clorite ’23. Shortly after the changes, defender Emily St. John took Cornell’s first shot in the 39th minute, which was ultimately blocked. 

Butcher took Yale’s first shot on goal in the 40th minute, which was saved by Big Red goalkeeper Miranda Iannone. After a Fallek corner kick, Bulldog defender Kristen Enriquez ’22 was issued a yellow card. To close out the half, Yin took a shot on goal that was saved by Iannone. 

“The team is very happy about the first Ivy League win of the season, but now we are focusing on our next game and to get another win on Saturday,” midfielder Rebeka Roth ’25 said. “We know there is still a lot to improve, and will do everything we can to win the next games.”

The Bulldogs started out the second half with Butcher taking a wide shot, which Cornell followed up three minutes later with two shots of their own — one by midfielder Reinna Gabriel and the other by defender Naomi Jaffe — that were both saved by goalkeeper Marisa Shorrock ’24. 

In the 57th minute, Shorrock saved another shot by midfielder Evanthia Spyredes, and a minute later, an attempt by Gabriel was blocked by the Yale defense. Midfielder Ellie Rappole ’25 took a high shot in the 59th minute, which was followed by an offsides call against Yale — their sixth up to this point in the game. Forward Tina Teik ’25 then sent another shot wide in the 62nd. 

Shorrock saved a shot by defender Mofoluke Obiri in the 63rd minute and Ellery Winkler ’23 made an attempt on goal in the 70th, which Iannone denied. A Big Red corner kick led to a high shot by defender Jadyn Matthews and in the 77th minute Laureano took a corner for Yale.

In the 79th minute, defender Nana Yang ’25 sent a through ball to Roth, who then dribbled the ball 20 feet and around Iannone to fire a left-footer low right inside the goalpost, scoring the only goal of the game and marking her first tally of the season. 

For Rebeka to get her first career goal is so awesome,” Martinez said. “She has worked tirelessly since she set foot on campus, and I am thrilled for her to get rewarded today.”

In the 80th minute, Roppole made a head shot that went wide. This was followed by two Cornell substitutions and another wide shot by Winkler in the 82nd. In the 86th minute, a Big Red corner kick resulted in a header shot by Spyredes that hit the post. In the final three seconds of the game, forward Ashley Durik made a shot that went wide which left Cornell scoreless and granted Yale its second win. 

By the end of the game, both teams took four corners, and Shorrock made a total of five saves, to Cornell’s three. 

After consecutive losses in Ivy conference play, the Elis’ win against Cornell sets the tone for the remainder of their season, including matchups against Penn, Columbia and Brown in the coming weeks. 

Yale will face Penn on Oct. 23 at Rhodes Field in Philadelphia for its next Ivy matchup.

AMELIA LOWER
Amelia Lower covers football, men's ice hockey and men's lacrosse. She is a senior in Jonathan Edwards College from Rye, New York, double-majoring in Spanish and the History of Science, Medicine and Public Health.