NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Cameron Riach is making a habit of scoring important goals for the Yale men’s soccer team. Last Saturday, Riach’s first tally of the season started Yale’s comeback from a two-goal deficit in a 2-2 tie with Dartmouth. This Saturday, he struck again, scoring the only goal of the game late in the first half as the Bulldogs earned a very important 1-0 victory over Cornell at Reese Stadium.

Yale improved to 1-1-1 in Ivy League play with the win.

The loss snapped Cornell’s six-game unbeaten streak that had included wins over Harvard and then  No. 11 Syracuse.

Riach’s goal came at 36:58 off a free kick. Nicky Downs sent a long ball into the box and through traffic to Riach, who fired it home from the right side of the inner box.

“It was an unbelievable ball by Nicky,” Riach said. “The defenders didn’t think it would reach over their heads. I put a spank into the back post and luckily it went inside the netting.”

Yale’s defense did the rest, limiting Cornell to just seven shots in the game. The Big Red (6-4-2, 1-1-1 Ivy) came into the game with 19 goals, the second most in the league.

Goalkeeper Tom Wallenstein, making only his third start, again played with confidence. He needed to make only one save, but was in command throughout.

It was Yale’s fourth shutout of the season.

“This was a great effort from everybody on the team,” said captain Archie Kinnane, who played 82 solid minutes in the midfield. “All 26 guys contributed.”

The Bulldogs have struggled at times this season to hold leads but were very strong following Riach’s goal.

“We were very focused,” Kinnane said. “We’ve learned from our mistakes in the past. This should give us a big confidence boost for the games ahead.”

Yale’s first three Ivy games have all been in the friendly confines of Reese Stadium. Now the Bulldogs head on the road for the next two, starting next Saturday at Penn.

The victory came in front of a number of former players who returned to Reese for the Alumni Day festivities.

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