Raphino’s Pair of Goals Lead No. 24 Women’s Soccer Past Cornell, 2-0

Saturday, October 26

Ithaca, NY

1:30 PM

Brown University

12-1-1, 5-0-0

Cornell University

4-8-1, 0-5-0

Brown

Cornell

Raphino’s Pair of Goals Lead No. 24 Women’s Soccer Past Cornell, 2-0

10/26/2019 5:44:00 PM | Women's Soccer

Box Score

ITHACA, N.Y. – Freshman Brittany Raphino scored a pair of goals, and the Bears posted their 10^th team shutout of the season as No. 24 Brown University women's soccer defeated Cornell University, 2-0, on Saturday afternoon at Berman Field.

Continuing their best season since 1984 and best Ivy League start since 1994, the Bears (12-1-1, 5-0-0 Ivy) scored in the 2^nd and 60^th minutes to top the host Big Red (4-8-1, 0-5-0 Ivy) and remain unbeaten in conference play.

"It's always good to get three points on the road, especially late in the season," Brown head coach Kia McNeill said. "Despite its record, Cornell is a good team and made it difficult for us today. I don't think we ever found our rhythm as a team, but it's important to grind out wins any way you can."

Brown – ranked No. 5 in the NCAA RPI, No. 14 in the Top Drawer Soccer poll, and No. 24 in the United Soccer Coaches Poll – has now posted 12 or more wins in a season for the sixth time in program history and for the first time since 2000 when the Bears finished 13-4-0.

Raphino (Randolph, Mass.) netted her seventh and eighth goals of the season and tallied two or more goals in a game for the second time in 2019 alongside her hat trick against Fairfield. She has now registered three game-winning goals on the year and has scored in four of her last five matches, including in her last three outings.

In Ivy play, Raphino leads the conference in points (nine) and goals (four). For the season, she paces Brown in points (19) and goals (eight).

Junior center back Sydney Cummings (Millstone Township, N.J.) recorded her team-high fifth assist of the season and went the full 90 minutes in the shutout. She has played all 1,280 minutes on the season and has helped Brown post 21 clean sheets over her career.

Junior goalkeeper Kayla Thompson (Austin, Texas) – who ranks 10^th in the NCAA in goals-against average – made four saves in her seventh shutout of the season.

Brown's 10 clean sheets in 2019 stand in a tie for the second-most in a single season in program history. The Bears – ranked fourth in the NCAA in fewest goals allowed – have now posted double-figure shutouts in two of the last four years.

"Brittany and Kayla came up big to help us secure the win and the shutout," McNeill said. "We are looking forward to getting some rest the next couple days and then preparing for Penn next weekend."

Raphino opened the game's scoring just over a minute into the contest, giving the Bears a 1-0 lead at the 1:08 mark. After Cummings played a long ball out of the back and over the top of the Big Red's back line, Raphino ran onto the ball and chipped a shot over the goalkeeper.

Raphino extended the advantage to 2-0 at 59:23, converting the Bears' first penalty kick opportunity of the season. After freshman Ava Seelenfreund (Truckee, Calif.) drew a foul in the box, Raphino stepped to the penalty spot and slotted a shot into the right side of the goal.

Junior back Cameron Brown (Portsmouth, Va.) and freshman back Rachyl Francisco (San Jose, Calif.) each played the full 90 minutes in contributing to the shutout. Sophomore Zoe Maxwell (Irvington, N.Y.) stood as the only attacking player to remain on the field for the full 90 minutes for the second straight game.

For the match, Brown held edges in shots (15-10), shots on goal (5-4), and corner kicks (11-9). Raphino led all players with five shots and three shots on goal.

Cornell goalkeeper Chrissy Mayer made two saves in the first half while Nicole Shulman stopped one shot in the second half.

Next, Brown hosts Penn for Senior Night in its final Ivy home game of the year on Saturday, Nov. 2 at 7:00 p.m. (ESPN+).

Video of all Brown women's soccer home contests and all Ivy League games, home and away, will be broadcast live on ESPN+.

Tickets for all Brown women's soccer games can be purchased online, by calling the Brown Athletics Ticket Office at (401) 863-2773, or by walking up to the box office located in the Pizzitola Sports Center, open Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.