PRINCETON, N.J. — Following Thursday’s semifinal games, No. 1 Princeton and No. 2 Cornell advanced to Sunday’s championship game in the Ivy League Men’s Soccer Tournament.

Cornell 1, Penn 0
In the first semifinal of the day, Cornell edged Penn 1–0, using an early first-half strike to secure the result in a tightly contested matchup. The Big Red found the breakthrough in the 23rd minute when Sergio Zapata finished off a setup from Adam Schaban, notching his fifth goal of the season. The goal capped a strong early spell for Cornell, which generated consistent pressure and outshot the Quakers 9–4 in the opening half.

Penn worked hard to settle into the match and produced moments of momentum, including an active stretch from midfielder Marco Bottene, who recorded three first-half attempts and forced the Quakers’ lone shot on goal before halftime. On the defensive end, Phillip Falcon III kept Penn within reach, making two key first-half saves and four overall.
In the second half, Penn pushed for an equalizer and generated four additional shots, but couldn’t crack Cornell’s back line. Goalkeeper Ryan Friedberg was called upon just once after the break and completed the clean sheet with a single save on the day. The Big Red added six more shots of their own in the second period, continually threatening off set pieces and winning four corner kicks to keep Penn under pressure.

Despite the Quakers’ late efforts, Cornell’s disciplined defensive shape held firm. With the 1–0 victory, Cornell advanced to Sunday’s championship game.

Princeton 3, Harvard 1
In the nightcap, Princeton stormed back from an early 1-0 deficit to defeat Harvard 3–1. Harvard took control of the match just four minutes in, when Ivy League Rookie of the Year Adam Poliakov finished a well-worked sequence assisted by Alejandro Palacio and Tim Langenbahn to give the Crimson a 1–0 lead. Princeton responded throughout the rest of the half, however, firing 16 shots and forcing Harvard goalkeeper Cullen MacNeil into six saves before finally breaking through moments before halftime. That equalizer came in the 44th minute, when Giuliano Fravolini Whitchurch buried his first goal of the season off a delivery from Jack Jasinski, sending the match into the break level at 1–1.

The Tigers wasted no time seizing control after halftime. Less than three minutes into the second period, Dash Papez put Princeton ahead 2–1, finishing a chance created by Ian Nunez and Kevin Kelley. Princeton’s momentum only grew, and in the 55th minute, Daniel Ittycheria converted a penalty kick to extend the lead to 3–1.

Harvard attempted to rally late, creating 14 second-half shots and earning six corner kicks after the break, but Tigers goalkeeper Andrew Samuels, the Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year, recorded four saves to preserve the win. The Crimson generated several promising looks during an intense final 20 minutes, but multiple blocked efforts from the Princeton defense kept the Crimson at bay. With the 3–1 victory, Princeton moved on to Sunday’s championship game to face off against Cornell.