Cornell’s impressive stretch without allowing a goal was snapped in the closing moments of Saturday’s 1-0 women’s soccer loss to Midwest Conference leader Lake Forest at Mohr Field.
Lake Forest knocked in the lone score of the day off a corner kick with 5:20 remaining. The late strike kept the Foresters (10-3-3 overall) unbeaten in league play at 6-0..
Lake Forest’s goal was the first scored on the Cornell defense in 274 minutes of field time, dating back to the Oct. 5 contest at Grinnell.
Freshman Sabrina Ibanez worked the entire 90 minutes in goal and recorded four saves. The Rams fended off seven corner-kick chances before Lake Forest netted the winner.
Sam O’Brien led Cornell’s attack with two shots on goal, followed by Sydney Hancox and Sanne Croes with one apiece. The Foresters held a 10-5 edge in total shots.
Earlier in the week, the Rams took a 4-0 win against Illinois College at home.
Cornell registered its second consecutive shutout and climbed to fourth place in the MWC standings with seven points halfway through the league schedule.
Fifth-year Sam O’Brien set the tone early for the Rams, booting a feed from Elise Hermiston into the left corner of the net at the six-minute mark.
The score stood 1-0 midway through the second half, when Cornell quickly broke away from the Lady Blues (0-11-1, 0-4) with three goals during a 10-minute stretch.
Sanne Croes connected on a penalty kick – her team-high fourth goal of the season – in the 64th minute to push Cornell ahead 2-0. Elissafe Moreno fire a goal at the 67-minute mark, and then assisted Maddalin Doran for the team’s final tally in the 74th minute.
O’Brien paced Cornell’s attack with four shots, followed by Croes with three. The Rams outshot the visitors by a 12-7 margin.
Ibanez had two saves over 76 minutes. Krystin Kamrath came on to complete the shutout.