NEW HAVEN, Conn. – It wasn’t because of lack of opportunities, but the Yale men’s soccer team couldn’t quite duplicate the magic of the last two Saturday’s at Reese Stadium. Still, the Bulldogs did manage to earn an important Ivy League point by playing a scoreless tie with defending champion Cornell.

Yale (3-7-1, 2-0-1 Ivy) remains atop the league standings but is now tied with Princeton, who beat Columbia 2-1. Penn, who is playing Dartmouth later Saturday night, can also get to 2-0-1 with a victory.

“This is how Ivy games go,” said Yale head coach Brian Tompkins. “It’s a tooth and nail environment.”

Nevertheless, Yale did have a slight edge in play. The Bulldogs outshot the Big Red 16-10 and had an 8-1 edge in corner kicks.

“I thought our guys played really well,” Tompkins said. “Our passing created a lot of chances. Their goalkeeper was excellent so credit to him. We seem to be bringing out the best in [opposing] goalkeepers lately.”

Zach Zagorski made seven saves in goal for the Big Red. The biggest and best came with 10 minutes left in the second half when he guessed right on Nick Alers’ penalty kick, diving to his left to stop it. The rebound went right back to Alers, who got off another good shot, but Zagorski recovered and stopped that one as well.

“It was a good shot and a good save,” Tompkins said. “I have a lot of confidence in Nick in that situation.”

Alers and his fellow defenders were again outstanding, limiting Cornell to very few high-quality scoring chances.

It was the second straight shutout for Yale, who blanked Dartmouth 1-0 last Saturday when Cameron Kirdzik scored late in the second overtime period. The Bulldogs won their Ivy opener against Harvard two weeks ago, scoring twice in the final two minutes to escape with a 2-1 victory.

Both Yale and Cornell had opportunities to walk away with a dramatic victory. The two teams combined for seven shots in the two 10-minute overtime periods.

Cody Wilkins had the best chance for the Bulldogs early in the second extra period. He got his head on a Kirdzik cross but the shot bounced off the turf and just over the crossbar

Then, in the final minute of the game, Cornell’s Atticus DeProspo fired a shot that went just wide. Yale moved the ball into Cornell’s end, and Henry Albrecht got off a shot, but it was blocked.

The Bulldogs, who have played all three of their Ivy games at home, are back at Reese on Tuesday night when UConn visits in a non-conference game. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m.

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