Cornell’s men’s soccer team had much to celebrate during its post-match Senior Day recognitions at Saturday’s regular-season home finale.
The Rams clinched a berth in the Midwest Conference Tournament and stayed even with Knox atop the standings with a resounding 4-1 victory over postseason hopeful Lawrence.
Cornell scored four unanswered goals over the final 60 minutes and improved to 6-1 in MWC play with one match remaining next weekend at Beloit.
The Rams charged back from an early 1-0 deficit against the Vikings (7-9 overall, 4-2 MWC). Junior Cian McNamara converted a penalty kick in the 30th minute to tie it at 1-1, which stood going into halftime.
Cornell broke it open with three goals in the second half, two from Zach Miller who now has a team-high 11 on the season. Miller delivered the go-ahead score in the 48th minute, putting the Rams ahead 2-1.
Mardoche Ntonku stretched the margin to 3-1 on a penalty kick at the 80-minute mark. Miller capped the scoring with an assisted goal from Aria Dehshid with seven seconds left in regulation.
Goalkeeper Will Bickel earned the complete-game win, notching three saves.
Earlier in the week, Cornell lost to Knox in a 2-1 game at home. That concluded the longest men’s soccer winning streak at eight games.
Cornell overcame an early goal scored by the Prairie Fire in the fourth minute. The Rams evened the match at 1-1 on freshman George Archer’s team-high 10th goal of the season at the 30-minute mark. Galen Westervelt provided the assist, his fourth of the fall.
The score remained deadlocked until Knox cracked through Cornell’s back line with 16 minutes left in regulation. Raphael Adeyemi found the back of the net on a looping shot over Cornell’s charging goalkeeper Will Bickel for the decisive score.
The Rams made a strong offensive push late in regulation, although couldn’t convert on the opportunities. Five of Cornell’s eight shots came in the second half.
Bickel finished with two saves over the full 90 minutes, dropping his first decision since Sept. 18. Knox pressured him with 11 total shots and 11 corner kicks.
Gaurab Khadka led Cornell’s attack with three shots. Justin Howe and Archer had two attempts apiece.
The Rams play at Beloit at 1:30 p.m. Oct. 30. The MWC Tournament is Nov. 5-6 at the No. 1 seed.
Cornell mens socccer heading to Midwest Conference tourney
October 28, 2021