RIPON, Wis. -- The Ripon College men's soccer team rallied for a 3-2 victory over Cornell College Tuesday night at Hopp Stadium, scoring twice in the second half to secure the Midwest Conference win.
The Red Hawks wasted little time getting on the scoreboard, as sophomore Moaye Yao (Oregon, Wis., Vel Phillips Memorial HS) found the back of the net just 1:08 into the contest to give Ripon an early 1-0 advantage. Yao finished the night with four shots, including three on goal.
Cornell answered in the 25th minute, sending the teams into halftime tied at 1-1. The visitors then took their first lead of the night in the 58th minute, putting Ripon in a 2-1 hole early in the second half.
The Red Hawks quickly responded. In the 62nd minute, junior Seth Schroeder (Iron Ridge, Wis., Winnebago Lutheran Academy) converted a penalty kick to even the score at 2-2. Schroeder finished with four shots, all of which were on target, while also recording an assist.
Just over 10 minutes later, Ripon completed the comeback. Schroeder played a ball to freshman Sebastian Lopez (Palatine, Ill., Palatine HS), who found the back of the net in the 73rd minute to put the Red Hawks ahead 3-2. The goal marked Lopez's first of the season and proved to be the game-winner.
Ripon held off the visitors over the final 17 minutes to preserve the victory. Freshman Sebastian Covarrubias (Madison, Wis., Madison West HS) played all 90 minutes in goal and made two saves as the Red Hawks improved to 5-4-1 overall and 3-2 in MWC play.
Ripon finished the night with 11 shots, putting eight on target, while earning four corner kicks.
The Red Hawks return to action Saturday, Oct 10, at Hopp Stadium, hosting Luther College at 5pm as part of Homecoming.
