MOUNT VERNON, Iowa – The Ripon men's soccer program scored the final two goals of the match on Saturday, picking up a key 2-1 win over Cornell at the Cornell Soccer Field.
 
The offenses were both active early, but it was Cornell (4-9-1, 2-2-1 MWC) that drew first blood. George Archer scored in the 37th minute, giving the Rams a 1-0 lead.
 
However, the deficit was extremely short-lived. Ripon (11-5, 2-3 MWC) countered just before half – Jackson Zielinski found the back of the net on a pass from Gustavo Herrera for the freshman's second goal of the season. The teams headed into the locker room deadlocked at one after a spirited first half that included 15 total shots.
 
It only took 12 minutes for Ripon to take the lead in the second half. In the 57th minute, Finley Manning notched his seventh goal of the season on a feed from Ian Martinez, giving the Red Hawks a 2-1 edge.
 
Both teams had chances to score in the final 30+ minutes, but the Red Hawks held strong defensively to pick up the critical league victory.
 
Andre Robertson had a team-high four shots for Ripon, while Manning, Ivan Barrientos, Nick Bellisle, Tim Geocaris, Herrera, Zielinski and Seth Schroeder also recorded shots.
 
Christian Hernandez started the game in goal for Ripon, playing 28 minutes and recording two saves. Sam Jahnke played the final 61+ minutes, tallying two saves.
 
Cornell had a 14-11 edge in total shots, and a 5-3 advantage in shots on goal. There were 19 fouls, two yellow cards and a pair of red cards in the match.
 
UP NEXT: Ripon plays its final non-conference match of the season on Monday, October 21 as the Red Hawks host Edgewood at 6 p.m.
 
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