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SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Senior Hansen Woodruff’s penalty kick in the 61st minute proved to be the difference as Syracuse recorded a 2-1 victory against Cornell on Saturday, Sept. 5. It marked the fifth straight season the Orange won its home opener and the victory improved its overall record to 1-1-0. Cornell now stands at 0-1-0.
Woodruff provided the offense, scoring both of SU’s goals, and redshirt freshman Ryan Jones made three saves in the second half of his collegiate debut to secure the victory.
A crowd of 1,418 gathered at the SU Soccer Stadium to watch the matchup between the Central New York foes. It is the second-largest crowd in the history of the program and marks the second time Syracuse has drawn more than 1,400 fans since 1996.
The fans saw Cornell take the early lead off a corner kick in the 18th minute as Brett Sumpio headed the serve into the goal to give the Big Red a 1-0 advantage. Woodruff netted the equalizer in the 27th minute, when he scored on a header off an assist from Pete Hill.
The score remained tied until the 61st minute when Woodruff was awarded a penalty kick after senior Tom Perevegyencev was taken down in the box by Cornell’s Matt Devitt. Woodruff placed his shot in the left corner of the goal for the game-winner. It was the second multiple-goal game of his career as he tied his single-game career high with four points. Woodruff leads the team in scoring this season with six points.
The Orange outshot Cornell, 11-7, and held a 7-4 advantage in corner kicks. Redshirt freshman Evan Johnson started in goal for Syracuse and recorded three saves in the first half before being relieved by Jones. Scott Brody made three saves for Cornell.
Syracuse is back in action on Monday when it plays at Colgate at 7 p.m.
Match Notes: Hill made his 42nd straight start in the contest ... Freshman Mawuena Agbossoumonde made his collegiate debut Saturday ... Woodruff now has 24 career goals, one short of tying Jamie Shannon and Jeff Knittel for ninth on the school's career list.