ITHACA, N.Y. – The University of Pennsylvania football team took down Cornell on Saturday afternoon at Schoellkopf Stadium in the Battle for the Trustees' Cup.
Penn (4-4, 2-2 Ivy League) started slow as Cornell (3-5, 1-4 Ivy League) took an early 10-0 lead in the first half. The Quakers got their offense going late in the first half, putting points on the board when
Ronan Johannson caught a six-yard touchdown from
Karson Siqueiros-Lasky.
Cornell added a field goal midway through the third quarter, but Penn responded by getting in the end zone before the conclusion of the frame, going on a 10-play, 77-yard drive capped off with a Sean Williams Jr. touchdown run.
The defense held the Big Red off the board the rest of the way to earn a hard-fought 14-13 win.
Karson Siqueiros-Lasky started at quarterback, finishing 24-38 for 220 yards and a touchdown. Sean Williams Jr., again carried the load at running back, toting the ball 18Â times for 55 yards and a score.
Penn had 264 total yards compared to 239 for Cornell.
Ty Cortes, Cole Olszytn and
Luke Flowers all led the defense with six tackles.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Cornell got the ball first and drove down the field in a methodical 17-play, 75-yard drive that ended with a one yard touchdown run. The drive took over nine minutes.
Penn went three and out on its first drive before punting back to Cornell. After holding the Big Red to a three and out of their own, the Quakers got the ball back and had their best drive of the half, going 52 yards across 13 plays.
Mason Walters would miss a 51-yard field goal wide left to end the possession.
Cornell had another long drive in response, going 57 yards over 12 plays before taking a 10-0 lead on a 27-yard field goal.
Penn ended the half with another strong drive, highlighted by a 38-yard strike from Siqueiros-Lasky to
Isaac Lee to get the Quakers into the red zone. The visitors would cap of the drive with a touchdown pass from KSL to
Ronan Johannson.
After a quick three and out for Cornell, Penn got the ball back at the end of the half and made a push to tie the game. However, a Walters 47-yard field goal hit the right upright.
The Quakers would go into halftime trailing 10-7.
Penn and Cornell exchanged punts in the first couple drives of the third quarter. A muffed handling of a punt deep in Penn territory by
Mason Walters led to great field position for the Big Red. The Quakers defense stood strong, however, holding the home team to -2 yards in four plays on the drive. Cornell settled for a 34-yard field goal to go up 13-7.
Penn's next drive was its best of the day as KSL led the offense down the field in a 10-play, 77-yard possession that lasted just 3:05. The highlight of the drive was a 20-yard strike from Siqueiros-Lasky to
Isaac Lee. Sean Williams Jr., punched in a two-yard rushing score and the Quakers took a 14-13 lead into the fourth.
Neither team had much going offensively in the fourth quarter until Cornell's penultimate drive. They drove down to the Penn 35 yard line with just under three minutes to play.
Senior linebacker
Cole Olsztyn shut the drive down with a third and 6 sack that pushed the Big Red out of field goal range. Their fourth and 15 play was a pass broken up by
Luke Flowers.
Cornell had one more chance to get points late in the game, but Penn's defense shut it down, refusing to allow them past midfield.
QUAKER NOTEMEAL
*After the 132nd version of the Penn vs. Cornell matchup, Penn leads the series 80-47-5, and leads at Cornell, 18-12-1. Penn has won nine straight games in Ithaca.
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Connor Martin, the Ivy League leader in tackles for loss, recorded his 10th of the season.
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Ronan Johannson caught his first career touchdown on Saturday.
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Mason Walters missed a pair of field goals. He was four of his last five coming into the game.
*Sean Williams rushed for his second touchdown of the season. Penn is 2-0 when he scores this year.
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Isaac Lee led the team with nine catches for 106 yards, continuing his strong play. It was his second 100+yard outing of the season.
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Jayden Drayton had 78 kick return yards and 23 punt return yards for a total of 101 on the day.
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Liam Forster returned from injury after a two-game absence and tallied a sack.
*Penn held Cornell to just 81 passing yards. It was the third time this season the Quakers have held an opponent under 100.
UP NEXT
Penn hosts Harvard on Senior Day on Saturday, Nov. 14. The game starts at 1 p.m. on ESPN+.
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