Next Game:
Brown University
10/25/2025 | 1:00 PM
ESPN+
Oct. 25 (Sat) / 1:00 PM
 Brown University
PHILADELPHIA — The Cornell women’s soccer team (5-5-4, 2-3-0 Ivy League) overcame a halftime deficit Saturday afternoon, as junior forwards Sydney Allen and Brooke Brown each scored in the second half to lift the Big Red to a 2-1 victory over Penn at Rhodes Field.
Penn (4-4-5, 0-3-2 Ivy League) struck first in the 17th minute when Abbey Cook found the back of the net. Cornell responded after the break, ramping up its attack until Allen drew the match even in the 54th minute with an 18-yard strike from the right corner of the penalty area.
Ten minutes later, Brown buried the go-ahead goal, capitalizing on a rebound after freshman Raya Leikin’s shot off a service from junior forward Alanna Colbert struck the right post.
Cornell controlled play throughout the second half, outshooting the Quakers 11-2 after the break and 20-8 overall.
“Proud of the team,” Cornell women’s soccer head coach Rob Ferguson said. “They put in an excellent performance when on the road under must-win pressure and executed the game plan really well. Even in the first half, we felt we controlled the flow of the game – we just needed to be a bit sharper in the final third.”
At halftime, Cornell adjusted its midfield shape by bringing sophomore Ivy Tolbert as a second holding midfielder, a move that helped the Big Red limit Penn’s counterattacking threat and maintain more possession.
“That adjustment allowed Ella Koschineg and Raya to get forward more and increase our threat in the final third,” Ferguson said. “The team executed the adjustments well and we felt in control throughout the second half.”
Ferguson praised both second-half goals as “excellent,” with Allen’s equalizer as a “wonderful strike,” and described the buildup to Brown’s game-winner as “terrific – great patience and movement from our attack.”
“After going in front, we defended very well, locked the game in their half and possessed the ball cleanly,” Ferguson said. “We created some chances and we need to continue to work on being more clinical, as a third goal would have been nice.”
Senior goalkeeper Natalie Medugno anchored the win with four saves, matching her season high. She improved to 3-2-0 overall and 2-2-0 in Ivy League play.
Ferguson also praised the defensive efforts of seniors Izzy Scott and Gaby Gonzalez at center back, along with senior midfielder Abigail Bishara and Tolbert in the holding midfield roles, noting that all players “won everything at the back.”
MATCH NOTES
• Saturday marked the 34th all-time meeting between Cornell and Penn. The Big Red ended a nine-match winless streak and claimed its first road win over the Quakers since Sept. 16, 1995. The win marked Cornell’s fifth of the season, its highest total since the 2016 campaign.
• Allen became the first Cornell player to record four goals in a season since Laken Gallman netted five in 2022.
• With the win, Cornell has recorded three road victories this season, the most since the 2016 squad also won three road matches.
• The Big Red snapped its 23-match winless streak when allowing the first goal of a match. It was also Cornell’s first time recording a victory under Ferguson when it had trailed going into halftime.
• Cornell improved to 11-5-3 all-time under Ferguson when scoring multiple goals in a match, which includes having a perfect 3-0-0 record this season. Defensively, the Big Red upped its record to 5-0-4 on the year when allowing one goal or fewer, and is 4-2 in one-goal matches on the season.
NEXT UP
Cornell returns to Berman Field next Saturday, Oct. 25, to host Brown (8-2-3, 2-1-1 Ivy League) on Senior Day. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. on ESPN+.
Brown enters next weekend’s match unbeaten in the last 15 meetings with Cornell (14-0-1), having won each of the past 13 contests. The Big Red’s most recent victory over the Bears came on Oct. 26, 2008, at Berman Field.
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