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Cornell Men 21 - Columbia Men 5

Cornell Men A Side Cornell Men 21 - Columbia Men 5 1:00pm
Saturday, 10/17/09
Cornell finally got their first Ivy league win in front of a large group of supporters and alumni. Cornell defeats Columbia in the last home match of the season.

Photos by Patti Harrington-Keagle, Ithaca NY

Cornell finally got the victory it has been working hard for all season with a convincing win over Columbia. Cornell came out fired and determined to put on a good show. A good show it was indeed.

Cornell quickly put some nerves to rest with a penalty by Matt Mullery and then continued to push for Columbia's try line only to be held up or tackled just short time and time again. Cornell did a good job getting the ball wide to its wings and moving the ball quickly from one side of the field to another. Eventually Cornell was able to get the try that had been eluding them all half when scrumhalf Adam pulled the ball out of a ruck on 25 meters from Columbia's try line, spun it out to flyhalf Matt Mullery who got past two Columbia players, spun it wide to inside center Benjamin Davies who drew Columbia's wing before spinning it out to Julius Simonelli who touched down in the far left corner.

Cornell continued to dominate and push to extend it's lead however it was Columbia who was the next to score when their fullback broke Cornell's line on Columbia's 10 meter line and ran the try in against the run of play. The score remained 8-5 until the half.

The second half was all Cornell. Columbia did have its chances but good goal line defense by Cornell held them off. Nevertheless, Cornell took advantage of Mullery's boot to continue to pull the score away from Columbia. About half way through the second half a dummy pass by Mullery ended up with him behind Columbia's try line and he converted his own try to make the score 18-5. Cornell continued to press for the bonus point but Columbia did a good job holding Cornell. Cornell eventually had to settle for another penalty by Mullery to finish the scoring and see out the last few minutes as winners.

Overall Cornell was delighted with the win but realize they still have a long way to go before they can contend for the Ivy League title. However, this is a team that is willing to put in the hard work and have the drive that is necessary to take Cornell back to its glory days.

Next week Cornell travels down to New York City to take on Columbia in a play-off match knowing they will be facing a Columbia team that is eager to get back a win against Cornell. Cornell will work hard this week on running the ball North-South and avoid drifting to make more room for the wings.

location: Cornell University Home Pitch

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