Ithaca, N.Y. - The UMBC men's soccer team gave unbeaten Cornell all they could handle but came up just short against the Big Red on Saturday night at Berman Field.
The Retrievers held a 21-16 advantage in shots and had several terrific scoring opportunities but could not get one past Cornell goalkeeper Ryan Friedburg. In addition, they attempted seven of the 10 corner kicks in the match.
After a scoreless first half, the Big Red (4-0-2) struck just 2:43 into the second stanza on a free kick from the right sideline. UMBC sophomore defender Jojo Ocran took down Sam Latana at the 25-yard line, and then Aidan Martin left-footed a perfect delivery along the back post to Andrew Johnson. Johnson was all alone and managed to tap the cross past UMBC junior goalie Emigdio Tormo Lopez (nine saves) while sliding to the ground. Tormo Lopez had little chance on the play as Johnson put the ball past him into the lower left corner of the net from point-blank range.
UMBC (3-3-2) had a golden opportunity to answer back in the 56th minute after senior midfielder Ismailcan Usta snuck a gorgeous through ball to the foot of graduate student defender Giuseppe Indelicato, who was free inside the box. Indelicato sent a blast on target to the right corner of the goal, but Friedberg made the save of the night and managed to deflect the shot off the post after diving to his right.
The Retrievers dodged a bullet when Cornell's Westin Carnivale hit the upper right corner of the crossbar with 22:15 left from 15-yards out, allowing the visitors to remain within striking distance.
UMBC's final dangerous scoring threat came with 18:32 left in the contest as fifth-year senior striker Alek Wroblewski (team-high five shots)made a hard push into the box, but the forward had two consecutive shots blocked by the stingy Big Red back line.
The Retrievers also had the first two chances of the game as graduate student defender Hans Nesheim misfired from the right side after taking another great feed by Usta in the 13th minute. Just seven minutes later, senior midfielder Ty Stroud delivered a perfect service into the box for defender Lasse Kelp, but the junior's header from seven yards out was just high over the center of the crossbar.
UMBC will open America East Conference play at Binghamton next Saturday evening at 6:00 p.m.
