On a crisp, windy Saturday afternoon at Stevenson-Pincince Field, the women’s soccer team (10-3-2, 4-1-1 Ivy) closed out its regular season home schedule in dominant fashion, cruising past Cornell (5-7-3, 1-4-1) 4-0 on Senior Day.
Coming off a 1-0 victory against Harvard (9-4-2, 3-2-1) last Saturday, the Bears entered the contest against the Big Red sitting second in the Ivy League. Honoring eight seniors this Saturday, Bruno leapt to first place in the conference and earned a berth to the Ivy League Tournament for the fourth year in a row.
Brown finished its regular-season home slate with a perfect 9-0-0 record, outscoring opponents 32-3 across those nine games. The win marked the program’s 20th 10-win season and its sixth under Head Coach Kia McNeill.
Despite Cornell taking possession during kickoff, Brown wasted little time creating its first offensive opportunities. Less than a minute into the contest, forward Corine Gregory ’27 fired a low shot toward the net, but her attempt was saved by the Cornell goalkeeper. Just before the five-minute mark, defender Kyra Treanor ’28 almost scored off a corner.
Brown’s early pressure paid off in the 17th minute.
Forward Claire Silverman ’27 threw the ball in to Gregory on the left side of the field, who maneuvered around two Cornell defenders before laying the ball off to midfielder Joy Okonye ’27. Okonye quickly dribbled past another defender inside the penalty area and sent a cross toward the middle of the box, where forward Angelina Vargas ’27 was waiting to tap the ball into the back of the net.
“I saw that Joy was running in line. So I was like, someone needs to make the near post,” Vargas told The Herald in a post-game interview, explaining that the team had emphasized making runs into the box throughout practice last week. “I saw that spot open, and I just went for it.”
Vargas’ scoring push was not yet finished. Just seven minutes later, she received the ball from midfield and dished a pass to Gregory outside the penalty area. Gregory spun away from a Cornell defender inside the box before sending the ball back to Vargas, who cut inside onto her left foot and slotted a low shot that clipped the right post on its way in.
The goal doubled Brown’s advantage to 2-0 in the 24th minute.
“I saw that they were overplaying the outside. So I cut in and just took my chance,” Vargas explained.
Despite more pressure on Brown’s defense in the final 10 minutes of the first half, the Big Red continued to struggle to contain Bruno’s relentless offense.
With less than four minutes before halftime, Silverman once again initiated an attack with a throw-in from the left sideline. This time, she found Okonye, who dribbled past one Cornell defender before firing a shot past another into the bottom-left corner of the net.
The goal extended Brown’s lead to 3-0, capping off a commanding first-half performance. At the whistle, the Bears had registered 13 shots without allowing Cornell to shoot one.
After halftime, the Big Red came out chasing possession with renewed urgency. Cornell increased its off-ball pressure, but the visitors continued to struggle to generate meaningful offensive opportunities. Despite Cornell’s adjustments, Bruno continued finding ways to break through.
In the 62nd minute, forward and midfielder Maja Cenanovic ’30 collected a deflected ball in the air and calmly turned to thread a pass between two Cornell defenders to Gregory. With a clear look at the goal, Gregory drilled a low shot into the bottom-right corner, extending the Bears’ advantage to 4-0.
“I was itching in the first half to try and get a goal,” Gregory told The Herald in a post-game interview. “I knew the moment would come.”
With just over 15 minutes remaining in the contest, Cornell finally recorded its first shot on goal with a free kick just outside the penalty area. But the attempt posed little trouble for Brown goalkeeper Addison Etter ’29, who comfortably made the save to preserve Bruno’s clean sheet.
The Big Red ultimately had no answer for the Bears, who held on to secure a commanding 4-0 victory.
“Angelina and Corine and really the whole senior class were playing like true seniors. You could see it with the fire, the energy that they played with,” McNeill told The Herald in a post-game interview. “They’ve left everything on the field all season long.”
“I’m just happy that they could reward themselves on such a special night,” McNeill added.
Saturday marked the sixth time this season that Bruno netted four or more goals at home.
Bruno’s berth in the Ivy League Tournament was confirmed later on Saturday after Harvard drew with Penn (6-5-4, 1-2-3). The tournament, hosted by the conference’s top seed, is scheduled for Nov. 12 and 15.
“We knew that we’re in a position where we can compete for a championship,” McNeill said. “And we just wanted to live up to that standard that we hold ourselves accountable to.”
Brown will face one final regular-season challenge when it travels to Princeton (7-5-2, 3-2-1) next Saturday.
“We’re the same team at home as we are away, so we just got to bring our grit and our determination,” Vargas said.
Harry Guo is a senior staff writer and on the vertical video and design teams. He is from Andover, Massachusetts, and plans on concentrating in Business Economics and International and Public Affairs. In his free time, he enjoys writing poetry and playing poker.
