Second-Half Surge Aids #21 Men’s Soccer to Victory Over Binghamton
ITHACA, N.Y. – Noel Ortega, Connor Drought, and Henry Hylbert all scored second-half goals for the No. 21-ranked Cornell men’s soccer team, aiding the Big Red to a 3-1 victory over its Central New York foe Binghamton at a brisk Berman Field on Tuesday night.
Brandon Morales also was a key factor for the Big Red (10-3-0), assisting on the final two tallies of the night.
Ethan Homler scored the lone goal for Binghamton (3-7-4), who saw its five-game unbeaten streak come to an end on Tuesday. The Bearcats’ goalkeeper, Mats Roorda, made six saves in the contest.
On the other side of the result, Cornell’s victory snapped its two-game losing skid and gave the program its 10th victory of the season, extending the already established program record for consecutive 10-win seasons to four.
“That was an incredibly gutsy performance, particularly in the second half,” said John Smith, the Dr. Daniel P. Wood Head Coach of Men’s Soccer. “To come off the back of two tight losses, then go in at halftime 1-nil down, to perform the way we did in that second half was incredible. Credit to the group, particularly when you consider we’re down six starters right now. You bring a bunch of guys in, they were phenomenal, an impressive performance.”
After conceding the first goal of the game in the 41st minute on Homler’s goal, the Big Red regrouped at halftime, peppering Roorda with 13 shot attempts, seven of which were on target.
“From the first whistle, we just need to fly forward and do it in numbers,” Smith said regarding what was said during the halftime break. “We did and took risks going forward. When we went, we broke lines of pace, which is what we want guys to do. I think it was hard for [Binghamton] to control that.”
Ortega leveled the game in the 56th minute as an aggressive throw-in by Nick Allen found the feet of Danny Lokko in the right flank just outside the 18-yard box. Lokko played a pass to Kisa Kiingi, who immediately sent a cross to the left post where Ortega one-timed his shot into the far bottom corner of the goal.
Drought gave the Big Red the lead in the 68th minute when Morales chipped a pass to the senior defender, who sent a left-footed shot into the bottom right corner of the goal. Matthew Hutchison was also credited with an assist on the play.
In the waning moments of the match, as Binghamton was trying to level the match, Morales had a pair of shot attempts blocked before Hylbert entered the 18-yard box, capitalizing on a rebound attempt to give the Big Red an insurance marker.
Hylbert, who was appearing in his first match in nearly a full calendar year (Oct. 30, 2021, at Princeton), was a spark plug for the Cornell offense, being on the field for the final two tallies of the night.
“Henry’s been unfortunate with injuries,” Smith said. “Watching him in training this week, he’s been a high performer. He deserved to get that 24 minutes [of action]. He won virtually every ball in the air and was an absolute handful. That’s super exciting as we move into the final four games of regular season.”
Game Notes
• Tuesday was the 22nd all-time meeting between the two Central New York programs. Cornell improved to 15-5-2 all-time over Binghamton and is 8-1-1 over its last 10 against the Bearcats.
• With the victory, Cornell improved to 10-1-1 over its last 12 non-conference matches at Berman Field, dating back to the beginning of 2018. The Big Red is also unbeaten in 18 of its last 20 home matches, posting a 15-2-3 record.
• Cornell conceded the first goal of the game for just the third time this season. It was the Big Red’s first victory of the year when allowing the game’s opening tally.
• The Big Red is now 40-4-2 when scoring multiple goals in a game under John Smith. This season, Cornell has an 8-1-0 record when doing so.
• Freshman goalkeeper Ryan Friedberg extended his single-season record for most wins by a freshman, recording his 10th victory of the season. Friedberg is the third goalkeeper over the last four years of competition to log 10-plus wins, joining Ryan Shellow (2018) and Brady McSwain (2021).
• Winning 10 games as a Cornell goalkeeper is not an easy feat, only having been accomplished six times prior since 1978. The others to do it were Quinn O’Sullivan (1995), Hemant Sharma (1996), Rick Pflasterer (2012), Zach Zagorski (2014), Shellow, and McSwain.
Looking Ahead
• Cornell will shift its focus to Ivy League play as the Big Red concludes its regular-season slate with its final four Ivy League matches of the season. The Big Red will travel to the Garden State to face Princeton on Saturday with a slated 4 p.m. first touch from the newly-renovated Myslik Field at Roberts Stadium. Game action will be broadcast on ESPN+.
