MOUNT VERNON – In their final regular season game Wednesday, the Rams battled hard for 60 minutes against NACC runner-up Aurora at Ash Park Field at Ash Park, before falling 7-6.
The Rams got on the board first, when senior
Sabrina Ibanez found the back of the net on a nifty pass from
Cassie Clay at the midway point of the first period. Aurora (10-7, 8-1 NACC) followed up with four consecutive goals to take a 4-1 lead three minutes into the third quarter.
Cornell (5-10, 4-5 NACC) scored twice in the third period. Clay scored at the 9:51 mark on an assist from
Hailey Sieler and
Brynn Miroslavich scored her team high 24
th goal of the season with 2:25 to go in the period on an assist from
Ava Ferencz. Ferencz's assist tied her with Clay for team high in assists at 11.
Aurora scored two quick goals to start the fourth period, to take a 7-3 lead. Cornell then rolled off three straight goals before time ran out. Clay added two goals during the stretch and Ibanez netted her second goal of the game, along with an assist on Clay's final goal.
Cornell held a 42-34 advantage on ground balls, with
Ilsa Jeffery leading the way with seven. Ibanez, Miroslavich and Ferencz each grabbed six ground balls.
The Rams caused 19 turnovers, with
Natalie Hudgins and Jeffery each causing five. Hudgins finished with three draw controls to lead Cornell.
Goalie
Hannah Miech played the complete game in the net, finishing with eight saves on Aurora's 15 shots on goal. Miech also picked up five ground balls.
Coming up – The Rams open the conference tournament on the road Saturday against either MSOE or Edgewood.
