ITHACA, N.Y. — The Cornell women’s polo team held off a furious rally by Central New York Polo Club to claim a 10-9 shootout victory on Friday evening at Oxley Equestrian Center. The Big Red won its third straight match to improve to 13-5 on the season.
Cornell led 7-0 at halftime on the strength of five goals by Naomi Marlough, but CNY rallied with four goals in the third chukker and five more in the fourth to send it to the shootout. The visitors scored the game’s final four goals, but the Big Red regained momentum and won 2-0 in the shootout.
Marlough led the Big Red with five goals, while Isabelle Braden scored twice after entering the contest at halftime, with Ava Ramachandran also tallying twice in her first-half times.
“I’m really proud of our grit and determination in this game. It was a scrappy, low-scoring, defensive battle,” said Anthony Condo, the Peter B. Orthwein `68 Head Coach of Polo. “I’m very proud of our women for toughing this one out and coming away with the win after a 2-0 tally in penalty shots to secure the victory.”
Ingrid Donnan ’20 scored five times and Olivia Barton scored twice, including the game-tying score.
Cornell returns to action when it hosts the D2 Intercollegiate National Championship beginning on Wednesday, April 9 at 4:30 p.m. at Oxley. The Big Red will play its first match in the semifinals against either Kentucky or UC Davis on Friday, April 11 at 11:30 a.m.