GAME INFORMATION
GAME #13: Cornell vs. Princeton
DATE: Saturday, Nov. 1, 2008
TIME: 4:30 p.m.
SITE: Ithaca, N.Y. - Berman Field (1,000)
2008 RECORDS: Cornell - 1-12, 0-4 Ivy; Princeton - 4-9-1, 1-2-1 Ivy
SERIES RECORD: Princeton leads, 46-37-10
LAST MEETING: Princeton won, 1-0, on Oct. 27, 2007, in Princeton, N.J.
LIVE STATS: http://sidearmstats.com/cornell/msoc
The home stretch begins for the Cornell men's soccer team as the Big Red opens up its final home stand of the season on Saturday, taking on Princeton in an Ivy League contest at Berman Field. The Big Red and Tigers will kick off at 4:30 p.m., with the men's game to be followed by the women's contest at 7 p.m. Cornell will be seeking its first Ivy League win of the season on Saturday.
HEAD COACH BRYAN SCALES
In his 11th season directing the Cornell men's soccer program, Bryan Scales has a 61-97-16 career record as the head coach of the Big Red. In 2001, Scales was named the New York Region Coach of the Year after leading the Big Red to a 9-4-3 overall mark and a No. 22 national ranking. Scales, a 1991 graduate of Hartwick College, was a four-year letterman with the Hawks and a two-year starter, helping Hartwick to a pair of NCAA tournament berths. He is assisted by Joe Schneck, in his third year, and Nenad "Ziggy" Zigante, in his sixth season.
ABOUT THE BIG RED
Cornell has dropped its last seven contests, with the last two games being by identical 2-0 scores on the road. Cornell dropped the first match in frigid conditions at Colgate on Occt. 21, then went to Providence, R.I., and fell to Brown in an Ivy League match. The Big Red was scheduled to have played at Hartwick on Tuesday, but the winter storms that rolled through Central New York forced the cancellation of that match. In the last two games Cornell has played, senior Steve Lesser has gotten the start, posting nine saves against the Raiders and another four saves against the Bears. On the season, Scott Brody has a 2.27 goals-against average to lead the Big Red netminders and a .636 save percentage, while Lesser has a 2.33 goals-against average and a team-best .731 save percentage. Offensively, senior Joe Yonga has two goals and an assist for five points and sophomore Scott Caldwell has a pair of goals for four points.
ABOUT PRINCETON
The Tigers had their two-game winning streak snapped by Harvard last Saturday, falling to the Crimson by a 2-0 score. Princeton has scored 16 goals this season while allowing 19 through 14 contests. Brandon Busch leads the Tiger offense with 11 points on four goals and three assists, while Antoine Hoppenot and Josh Walburn both have three goals and an assist for seven points. In goal, Joe Walter has seen the majority of time for Princeton, posting a 1.08 goals-against average and a .767 save percentage with a pair of shutouts in nine games.
THE SERIES WITH PRINCETON
The Tigers lead the all-time series, 46-37-10, including last season's 1-0 victory on Oct. 27 in Princeton, N.J. In that contest, Brandon Busch scored the lone goal of the contest in the 60th minute to give the Tigers the victory. Under the directon of Cornell head coach Bryan Scales, the Big Red is 3-6-1 against Princeton, with the last victory coming in the 2006 season, a 2-0 victory at Berman Field.
MR. CONSISTENCY
Through 13 games this season, only a pair of players have started in every game this season for the Big Red. Seniors Joe Yonga and Kevin Vieira are a perfect 13-for-13 in finding themselves penciled into the starting lineup. Additionally, junior J.J. Bain has started in all 12 matches he has appeared in, missing only the Sept. 21 game at Lafayette after being issued a red card on Sept. 17 against Albany. In all, 20 different players have found themselves in a starting role this season as head coach Bryan Scales has searched for a successful lineup.
A FLAIR FOR THE DRAMATIC
For 89:58 on Wednesday night against Penn State, it appeared as though the Nittany Lions would escape Berman Field with a shutout victory over the Big Red. That came to a screeching halt with 1.5 seconds showing on the scoreboard clock as sophomore Scott Caldwell slammed home a shot at the back post to put the Big Red on the board. Matt Stengel started the play by sending a ball from near midfield into the penalty area, where it was flicked onto Caldwell by Joe Yonga.
LESSER IS MORE
Senior goalkeeper Steve Lesser made his first appearance in more than a year against Penn State on Oct. 15, seeing his first significant action since his sophomore year. Last season, Lesser played in just 1:09, while playing in two games as a sophomore after starting all 15 matches as a freshman in 2005. He has gone on to play in a total of three matches this season, posting a 2.33 goals-against average and a .731 save percentage.
BREAKING INTO THE SCORING COLUMN
Sophomore Scott Caldwell and freshman Pedro Pereira both found themselves in the goal column on the season stat sheet after the Oct. 4 game against Penn. Caldwell scored his first goal of the season in the first half to tie the score at one, while Pereira tallied his goal with 30 minutes remaining in the match to give the Big Red a 2-1 lead.
NEW SCORERS
Of the four different players to score a goal for the Big Red, prior to this season, only one - junior Matt Bouraee - had previously tallied a goal in his collegiate career. Senior Joe Yonga, sophomore Scott Caldwell and freshman Pedro Pereira have each recorded their first career goals this season.
SAVING THE BEST FOR LAST
Senior Joe Yonga entered his final season in a Big Red uniform without having scored a goal, but he has already struck for a pair of tallies this season to lead the Cornell offense. Yonga, who has played nearly every position on the field for Cornell during his time on East Hill, scored the season's first goal against New Hampshire and then tallied the game-winner against Lafayette.
COMING UP HUGE
In soccer, penalty kicks are sometimes considered something of a formality, but that has not been the case for Cornell's opponents this season. Sophomore goalkeeper Scott Brody has saved a pair of kicks from the penalty spot, first recording a stop on Sept. 17 against Albany before making another save on a penalty kick against Lafayette four days later. Opponents are 0-for-2 against the Big Red this season in penalty kicks, while the Big Red has yet to be awarded a penalty kick.
AND THE AWARD GOES TO....
Senior Joe Yonga and junior J.J. Bain were both selected to the all-tournament team on Sept. 12 at the Days Inn Classic for their play against Bucknell and New Hampshire. Yonga scored the lone goal for the Big Red off a corner kick in the loss to New Hampshire, while Bain was solid in the midfield for the Big Red. For Yonga, this marks the second time in his career he has earned all-tournament team honors, as he was named to that spot as a junior when the Big Red won the UK Nike Soccer Classic in Lexington, Ky., to open the 2007 season.
FOREIGN INFLUENCE
Cornell's roster in 2008 has a pair of players who hail from overseas, as senior David Browning and freshman Pedro Pereira are natives of Belgium and Brazil, respectively.
WEST COAST BLUES
Cornell's third-ever trip to the West Coast ended with losses to Cal and Stanford, dropping the Big Red's all-time record on the left coast to 2-4-0. Cornell went 1-1 on its last trip to Cal and Stanford in 1991, then played in a tournament in Oregon in 2004, where it defeated Gonzaga, 1-0, but fell to Oregon State, 5-0.
AYE, AYE, CAPTAIN
A trio of seniors will serve as captains for the Big Red this season. David Browning, Jarid Siegel and Joe Yonga will share the captain's armband this year.
TOUGH BREAK FOR SIEGEL
Jarid Siegel, who was granted a fifth year of eligibility by the Ivy League after missing the 2006 and 2007 seasons due to injury, will miss his third straight season after suffering yet another injury during the summer. Despite the injury, Siegel served as a captain in 2007 and has again been selected to that role in 2008.
EARLY ENDINGS
Senior Jarid Siegel isn't the only player to have his season end prematurely due to injury, as three other players have suffered season-ending injuries for the Big Red. Senior Miyad Movassaghi and freshmen Anatole Doak and Brad Richards are each out for the year. Movassaghi appeared in two games before his injury, while Doak and Richards have not appeared in any matches for the Big Red.
HOMEWARD BOUND
The season opening trip to California was a homecoming for Cornell senior Ed Chang, who hails from Palo Alto. Chang has appeared in eight games for the Big Red over the past three seasons after missing the 2005 year due to injury, and has appeared in four contests so far this season.
MILESTONE WATCH
Cornell head coach Bryan Scales is currently fourth among all coaches in Big Red men's soccer history with 61 career victories. Scales trails only Jack Writer (91), Nicholas Bawlf (86) and Dave Sarachan (64) in career coaching wins. Additionally, Scales is in his 11th season, marking the third-longest tenure of any coach in Cornell history. Only Bawlf (27 seasons) and Writer (13 seasons) were on the Cornell sidelines longer.
UP NEXT
Cornell closes out the home portion of the 2008 schedule on Saturday, Nov. 8, when it plays host to Dartmouth in a 7 p.m. match at Berman Field. That contest will serve as Senior Day for the 11 Big Red seniors.
