Adam Schaban scored the go-ahead goal in the 75th minute as Cornell men’s soccer rallied from an early deficit to defeat Brown 2-1 on Saturday afternoon at Stevenson-Pincince Field.
The Big Red improved to 6-2 overall and 2-0 in Ivy League play, while Brown fell to 4-3-1 and opened conference play with a loss.
Brown struck first just over three minutes into the match after Cornell goalkeeper Filip Versterre was shown a yellow card in the penalty area. Mathias Hille converted the resulting penalty kick to give the Bears an early advantage.
Cornell entered halftime trailing 1-0 despite holding a slight 4-3 edge in shots during the opening 45 minutes.
The Big Red changed the momentum after halftime, generating 12 shots in the second half compared with seven for Brown. Ashton Wray pulled Cornell even in the 57th minute, finishing a pass from Aidan Martin for his goal of the season.
Schaban then completed the comeback 18 minutes later. Calvin Momanyi set up the senior, who scored his fourth goal of the season to put Cornell ahead.
It marked the second time Schaban has scored a game-winning goal against Brown. His previous game-winner came in the 88th minute during Cornell’s Senior Day victory over the Bears last season.
Versterre protected the lead with four second-half saves, including stops on Lorenzo Amaral, Carlo Brown and James Snaith. Cornell finished with a 16-10 advantage in shots and earned seven corner kicks to Brown’s four.
Cornell returns home Tuesday, October 6, to host Massachusetts at 7 p.m.
Kyle leads sports coverage and hosts the Concrete Jungle podcast. Have a lead or question? Send it to kyle@fingerlakes1.com.