Albany, N.Y. ? Michelle Simpson scored the game's lone goal in second half in leading UAlbany to a 1-0 victory over Cornell in the team's home opener on Saturday, Sept. 6 at Alumni Turf Field.  The Great Danes, who are ranked 19th nationally, will be home again on Sunday against Hofstra at 2:00 p.m.

UAlbany (2-1) broke up a scoreless tie with 16:00 remaining, when Simpson took a pass from Ashlyn Bach on the left side.  The All-America forward then dribbled across the goal and converted a reverse hit, driving the ball past the goalkeeper.

Ashley Ross made just three saves, including Kate Thompson's drive off a penalty corner with 11:53 to play.  The senior goalkeeper recorded her second shutout of the season and the 12th of her career.  Cornell (0-1) had another corner opportunity with just one minute remaining, but failed to get off a shot when the initial pass was mishandled.

The Big Red's Melanie Jue totaled 12 of her 19 saves in the final period.  Jue, whose team tied for second in the Ivy League standings and posted a 10-7 record last year, faced 31 shots and 14 penalty corners.

Simpson, a two-time all-conference performer, tallied her third goal of the year and 30th of her career.  She moved into a tie for fifth place with Alexis Johnson on the program's all-time scoring list with 75 points.

*********

Cornell (0-1)                0          0          -           0

#19 UAlbany (2-1)        0          1          -           1

Cornell: Scoring ? None. Goalkeeper ? Melanie Jue (70:00, 1 GA, 19 saves).

UAlbany: Scoring ? Michelle Simpson 1-0. Goalkeeper ? Ashley Ross (70:00, 0 GA, 3 saves).

UAlbany 1, Cornell 0 (Sep 06, 2008)