GAME INFORMATION
GAME #9: Cornell at Harvard
DATE: Saturday, Oct. 11, 2008
TIME: 2:00 p.m.
SITE: Cambridge, Mass. - Ohiri Field (1,500)
2008 RECORDS: Cornell - 1-7, 0-1 Ivy; Harvard- 4-3-0, 1-0 Ivy
SERIES RECORD: Harvard leads, 37-20-13
LAST MEETING: Harvard won, 4-1, on Oct. 6, 2008, in Ithaca, N.Y.
LIVE STATS: www.gocrimson.com
The Cornell men's soccer team takes to the road for the first time in Ivy League play this season, heading to Harvard for a 2 p.m. contest against the Crimson on Saturday, Oct. 11. The Big Red is seeking its first Ivy League win of the year and will also be trying to snap a two-game losing skid to the Crimson.
HEAD COACH BRYAN SCALES
In his 11th season directing the Cornell men's soccer program, Bryan Scales has the Big Red primed for a push to the NCAA tournament in 2008. He has a 61-92-16 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 held a 2-1 lead on unbeaten Penn in the second half, but a pair of late goals by the Quakers sent the Big Red to a 3-2 loss in the Ivy League opener on Oct. 4 at Berman Field. Sophomore Scott Caldwell and freshman Pedro Pereira scored the two goals for the Big Red, while sophomore goalkeeper Scott Brody made three saves in taking the loss for the Big Red. Senior Joe Yonga continues to lead the Cornell offense with four points on two goals, while Brody has a 2.21 goals-against average and a .634 save percentage in seven contests this season.
ABOUT HARVARD
The Crimson, under the direction of first-year head coach Jamie Clark, are 4-3 on the season after opening Ivy League play with a 1-0 victory over Yale last weekend. Last Saturday's win against Yale was the first time this season the Crimson won a game while scoring fewer than three goals, tallying a trio of markers against N.C. State, Vermont and New Hamsphire. Michael Fucito leads the Crimson offense with 11 points on five goals and one assist, while Andre Akpan has three goals and one assist for seven points. In goal, Austin Harms picked up the shutout victory over Yale last weekend and has a 0.67 goals-against average and a .750 save percentage, while Joseph Alexander has seen the majority of time this year with a 1.81 goals-against average and a .667 save percentage.
THE SERIES WITH HARVARD
The Crimson lead the all-time series, 37-20-13, and have taken both of the last two contests against the Big Red. Last season in Ithaca, four different players scored goals and the Crimson got two tallies just 20 seconds apart to break open a 2-1 contest. Cornell's last win in the series came in 2005, a 3-2 victory on Oct. 8 in Ithaca. Under Cornell head coach Bryan Scales, the Big Red is 3-5-2 against the Crimson.
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 last weekend's game against Penn. Caldwell scored his goal 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. For both players, the goal was the first of their Cornell careers.
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.
BRODY IN GOAL
Sophomore Scott Brody has made a move to make himself the number one option in goal for the Big Red, as he has started in each of the last seven games. Brody has a 2.21 goals-against average and a .634 save percentage in just over 611 minutes this season for the Big Red.
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.
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 takes a break from Ivy League action on Wednesday, playing host to Penn State in a 7 p.m. contest at Berman Field. The Big Red then takes on Yale in a 7 p.m. matchup on Oct. 18, also at Berman Field.
