ITHACA, N.Y. – The nationally ranked University of Pennsylvania women's lacrosse team rounded out regular season road action on Saturday afternoon, topping Cornell 8-7 in overtime at Schoellkopf Field.
 
Catherine Berkery netted the game-winner less than two minutes into overtime to push #25 Penn to a 5-1 Ivy League record and to the 2026 Ivy League Tournament off the 8-7 victory.
 
Quaker Notemeal
*With the win today, the Quakers' secured the #2 seed in the Ivy League Tournament and will take on #3 Princeton in the semifinals hosted at Yale.
 
*Berkery led the offense in the battle with five points (3G, 2A). Eden Welch (2G), Emma Hrzich, Patricia Columbia-Walsh, and Avery Le accounted for Penn's other goal scorers in the win.
 
*Goalkeeper Orly Sedransk was lights out for the Quakers' stopping 11 of 17 shots faced.
 
*Maggie Bankowski continued to dominate at the X in the win, tallying a field-high eight draw controls.
 
*Natasha Yajadda was a defensive force for the Red and Blue, causing a team-high four turnovers in the conference clash.
 
How It Happened
The Quaker offense exploded to open the battle, with Welch, Columbia-Walsh, and Le all finding the back of the net within the first three minutes of action to create an early 3-0 lead. The Big Red retaliated with back-to-back goals to cut the deficit to one with 8:52 left of the first. Not even a minute later, the Big Red's Ella Wilmot evened the game at three. A few minutes later, Cornell took its first lead with 3:13 remaining. Lilly Whaling knocked in her second of the period to push the game to 5-3 to close out the opening 15 minutes of action.
 
The second quarter was a far cry from the heavy offensive first quarter, as both offenses were held scoreless in the first ten minutes of the period. Freshman Hrzich broke the scoring drought with 4:32 left of the half. Less than a minute later, junior Welch tallied her second goal of the day to tie the battle at five. Back-to-back cards on Cornell allowed junior Berkery to find the back of keeper Mackenzie Clark's cage to push the Quakers ahead 6-5 to end the half. Keeper Sedransk was busy in the second quarter, making five stops to keep the Big Red off the board in the quarter.
 
Penn came out of the break with another player-up opportunity, with Quinny Handley starting off the power play with an eight-meter shot that Clark saved. Shortly later, the Bid Red were awarded another card, allowing Berkery to net another goal on the player advantage to bump the Quakers' lead to 7-5 with 10:35 left of the third. Ultimately, Berkery's goal was the sole one scored in the quarter, keeping the deficit at two heading into the final 15 minutes of regulation. Sophomore Sedransk saved two more shots to continue to keep the Big Red off the board.
 
Cornell opened the fourth, slashing its goal scoring-drought, as Whaling tallied a hat trick to cut the lead to 7-6 with 14 minutes remaining. The next goal in the tense battle didn't come until the final two minutes of regulation, with Ellie Bergin evening the score at seven to force overtime.
 
The Quakers had a point to prove heading into overtime, as defender Bankowski won the draw, allowing the offense to settle itself, while Regan O'Brien dished up a pass to Berkery, who netted the game-winner in to secure the 8-7 win and postseason spot for Penn.
 
Up Next
The Quakers (7-6, 5-1 Ivy League) return to University City on Wednesday, April 22, closing out non-conference action with Towson. First draw is set for 5 p.m. at Rhodes Field.