PHILADELPHIA – The University of Pennsylvania women's soccer team fell at Rhodes Field on Saturday afternoon, falling 2-1 to Cornell.
 
Though Penn struck first in the conference clash, two second half goals pushed Cornell to a 2-1 victory on the road.
 
Quaker Notemeal
*Abbey Cook netted the Quakers' sole goal in the match, scoring her fifth of the year.
 
*Cornell controlled the pace of the final 45 minutes, outscoring Penn 20-8 with 11 of the shots coming from the second half.
 
*Keeper Annabel Austen stopped a season-high nine shots in the match.
 
*Austen, Taylor Ferraro, Clare Robke, and Eden Veenema played the full 90 minutes on the pitch.
 
How It Happened
The Quakers tried making some noise in the first few minutes, as Veenema tried to head one in off a corner kick and Cooke slammed one towards Natalie Medugno, but Cornell's keeper made the early saves.
 
The Big Red tried to create some offense in the seventh minute, but Tanum Nelson's shot was blocked by a Quaker defender. Penn went striking down the field right after with junior Cook having the ball, but her shot went to the right before any damage could be done.
 
The Red and Blue made a statement with a cluster of shots in the 17th minute. Kylie Emanuel started the burst off with a blocked shot, allowing forward Cook to clean up off the shot and score to push Penn ahead 1-0. The Big Red tried to respond right off the kickoff as Nelson slammed one towards Austen, but the keeper made her first save of the day to hold them off the board.
 
Both offenses tried to muster up chances as Mia Fuss attempted one in the 22nd minute, followed by Cornell's Andrea Wilson trying in the 24th minute, but both keepers made saves to hold the deficit at one with less than half to go in the first. The Big Red continued their pace as Brooke Brown and Amanda Polyniak recorded shots two minutes later, but senior Austen and her defense worked to hold Cornell from scoring.
 
With a little over ten minutes left of the first, the Big Red tried another shot at keeper Austen, but the senior snatched the ball up. The final shots of the half came in the 40th minute off back-to-back corner kicks from Cornell, but Austen stood on her head to make the pair of saves heading into the break.
 
The Quakers opened the second half with back-to-back corners, with good shots that forced Cornell's defense to head away the shots before any additional goals could be scored. The Big Red evened the battle up in the 54th minute off a caused turnover from Abigail Bishara, who allowed Sydney Allen to find the back of the net.
 
Both teams tried to take the lead in the 59th minute as Cornell's Alanna Colbert and freshman Emanuel both tallied shots, but the defenses did the work to hold the game at one. Ultimately, Cornell's Brown snuck one past Austen to push the Big Red ahead 2-1 in the 63rd minute.
 
Cornell tried to double its lead in the 66th minute with two straight shots, but Austen and her defense handled them. Unfortunately, the Big Red controlled the pace of the remainder of the game, as they tallied five shots between the 73rd and 81st minutes, with two attempts on goal, to run down the clock and take the Ivy League battle 2-1.
 
Up Next
The Quakers (4-5-5, 0-3-2 Ivy League) head to New England next weekend, taking on Harvard on Saturday, Oct. 25, at 1 p.m.