GAME INFORMATION
GAME #15: Cornell vs. Dartmouth
DATE: Saturday, Nov. 8, 2008
TIME: 7 p.m.
SITE: Ithaca, N.Y. - Berman Field (1,000)
2008 RECORDS: Cornell - 1-13, 0-5 Ivy; Dartmouth - 9-5-1, 3-1-1 Ivy
SERIES RECORD: Dartmouth leads, 30-26-5
LAST MEETING: Dartmouth won, 3-1, on Nov. 3, 2007, in Hanover, N.H.
LIVE STATS: http://sidearmstats.com/cornell/msoc
The Cornell men's soccer team closes out the home portion of the 2008 season on Saturday, playing host to Dartmouth in an Ivy League contest at 7 p.m. at Berman Field. Saturday's game will also serve as Senior Day as 11 Cornell seniors will play their final game on Berman Field. The game is also the second game of a doubleheader involving the Cornell women taking on Dartmouth's women's team at 4:30 p.m.
HEAD COACH BRYAN SCALES
In his 11th season directing the Cornell men's soccer program, Bryan Scales has a 61-98-16 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 eight contests, including last Saturday's Ivy League game against Princeton by a 3-0 score at Berman Field. Senior goalkeeper Steve Lesser picked up four saves for the Big Red, though the Big Red held close across the entire stat sheet, including holding a slim 7-6 edge in corner kicks. Lesser has started the last three matches and has a 2.50 goals-against average on the season with a .697 save percentage. Sophomore Scott Brody has seen time in nine games this year, posting a 2.27 goals-against average and a .636 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 DARTHMOUTH
Dartmouth has won three straight games, includign a pair over Ivy League foes, to stand at 3-1-1 in the league. The Big Green has scored 23 goals in 15 games while surrendering just 13 goals on the year. Lucky Mkosana has 16 points to lead the Big Green, scoring a team-best seven goals and tallying two assists, while Craig Henderson has 13 points on five goals and three assists. In goal, Sean Milligan has played every minute this season, posting a 0.85 goals-against average and a .803 save percentage with five shutouts.
THE SERIES WITH DARTMOUTH
Dartmouth holds a slim 30-26-5 lead in the all-time series against the Big Red and carries a one-game winning streak into Saturday's contest. Cornell's last victory came in the final game of the 2006 season, a 1-0 double-overtime thriller on Berman Field. Cornell is 3-6-1 against Dartmouth during the tenure of head coach Bryan Scales.
SENIOR SALUTE
Saturday's game will mark the final home game for 11 Cornell seniors. David Browning, Luca Cerretani, Ed Chang, Dana Flanders, Marcelo Guindon, Steve Lesser, Dan McKallagat, Miyad Movassaghi, Jarid Siegel, Kevin Vieira and Joe Yonga will each suit up for the Big Red for the final time at home.
MR. CONSISTENCY
Through 14 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 14-for-14 in finding themselves penciled into the starting lineup. Additionally, junior J.J. Bain has started in all 13 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.
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 regular season next Saturday, traveling to Columbia for a 7 p.m. contest in New York City.
