GAME INFORMATION
GAME #17: Cornell vs. Columbia
DATE: Saturday, Nov. 14, 2009
TIME: 4:00 p.m.
SITE: Ithaca, N.Y. - Berman Field (1,000)
2009 RECORDS: Cornell - 5-6-5 (0-3-3 Ivy League); Columbia - 4-11-1 (2-4 Ivy League)
SERIES RECORD: Columbia leads, 31-18-7
LAST MEETING: Columbia won, 2-0, on Nov. 15, 2008, in New York, N.Y.
LIVE STATS: http://sidearmstats.com/cornell/msoc

The Cornell men's soccer team closes out the 2009 season on Saturday when it plays host to Columbia in a 4 p.m. contest at Berman Field. With a win over the Lions, the Big Red will clinch its first .500 or better season since the 2001 campaign.

HEAD COACH JARO ZAWISLAN
Jaro Zawislan is in his first season directing the Cornell men's soccer program, becoming the 11th head coach in Cornell history. Zawislan, who spent the last seven seasons as an assistant coach at Syracuse, made his collegiate head coaching debut against the Orange, a 2-1 Cornell loss, but picked up his first career win two days later at Hartwick. His coaching career also includes stops at Stanford and Creighton following a decorated playing career at Clemson. A 1993 graduate of Clemson, Zawislan played professionally in both the United States and his native Poland before turning to coaching. He is assisted by Joe Schneck, in his fourth season with the Big Red.

ABOUT THE BIG RED
Cornell fell to Dartmouth, 2-0, on Saturday, dropping the Big Red to 5-6-5 on the year and 0-3-3 in the Ivy League. Freshman goalkeeper Rick Pflasterer made seven saves on the match. On the season, senior Matt Bouraee leads the team with 14 points on four goals and six assists, sharing the team lead in goals with sophomore Chase Aaronson and in assists with Scott Caldwell. In goal, Pflasterer has a 1.20 goals-against average and a .850 save percentage in nearly 450 minutes of action, while junior Scott Brody has a 1.40 goals-against average and a .770 save percentage in nearly 1100 minutes.

ABOUT COLUMBIA
The Lions have lost four straight games and six of their last seven heading into this weekend's contest with the Big Red. Columbia is coming off a 2-1 overtime loss to Harvard on Saturday, with sophomore Mike Mazzullo scoring the lone tally. Bayo Adafin leads the team in scoring with 13 points on six goals and one assist, while Alexander Aurrichio has played every minute in goal for the Lions, posting a 1.31 goals-against average and a .762 save percentage.

THE SERIES WITH COLUMBIA
Columbia leads the all-time series with the Big Red, 31-18-7, after picking up a 2-0 victory last year in the season finale in New York, N.Y. Cornell last beat the Lions in 2007, a 3-2 overtime victory at Berman Field.

HAPPY GOODBYES
Saturday's game will mark the final game for Cornell's three seniors - J.J. Bain, Matt Bouraee and Matt Devitt. The trio have combined to play in 161 games over the last three seasons, scoring 21 career goals and adding 14 assists.

GETTING EVEN
A win over the Lions on Saturday would give Cornell a .500 mark for the season at 6-6-5, marking the first time since 2001 that the Big Red has been at .500 or better.

SCORING IN THE CLASSROOM
Three members of the men's soccer team were named to the ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All-District I teams when those were released earlier this week. Junior Brett Sumpio was named to the first team, while senior Matt Bouraee and junior Scott Brody both picked up second-team honors. Sumpio now advances to the national ballot where he will be eligible for Academic All-America consideration.

QUITE THE DEBUT
Rick Pflasterer had a stellar outing in his first career start on Oct. 20 against Lafayette. The freshman picked up 11 saves in a scoreless draw to become the second straight Cornell goalkeeper to post a shutout in his first career start. Pflasterer had to work for his shutout, posting five saves during the second 10-minute overtime period alone. Current junior Scott Brody also posted a shutout in his first career start, earning a win against Hartwick in 2007.

THREE'S COMPANY
When the Cornell offense scored three goals in a win over Colgate on Oct. 13, it marked the first time in nearly two full seasons that the Big Red put a trifecta on the board. Cornell's last three-goal game came on Nov. 10, 2007, in a 3-2 overtime victory over Columbia.

BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE!
Cornell scored three goals in back-to-back games for the first time in more than two full seasons. Cornell's three goals against Colgate on Oct. 13 and another three at Yale on Oct. 17 gave the Big Red three or more goals for the first time since the 2007 season, when Cornell scored four against IUPUI and three against Albany.

ON TRACK
Cornell sophomore Chase Aaronson has made a huge impact in his first season with the Big Red men's soccer team. The Palm Springs, Calif., native came to Cornell to run on the track and field team, but was added to the men's soccer roster in the preseason. Aaronson, a sprinter on the track team, has used his speed to his advantage, tying for the team lead with four goals so far this season.

SHARING THE WEALTH
With the Big Red collecting five wins this season, five different players have recorded a game-winning goal. Matt Bouraee, Chase Aaronson, Scott Caldwell, Kyle Parsons and J.J. Bain each have tallied one game-winner this season. For his career, Bouraee ranks tied for eighth all-time at Cornell with four game-winners.

BALANCING ACT
Cornell has benefitted from a very balanced offensive attack this season, as 12 different players have recorded at least one point. Additionally, 10 different players have accounted for the 19 goals scored this year by the Big Red.

ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
Freshman Ben Kenyon was named the Ivy League's Rookie of the Week on Oct. 12 for his play in the Big Red's tie with Harvard. Kenyon opened up the match by scoring his first career goal in the 10th minute, then helped the Big Red defense shut down the league's leading scorer in Harvard's Andre Akpan. Akpan was held scoreless in the match despite recording seven shots. Kenyon is the first Cornell player to earn league recognition this season.

DUCK DUCK GOOSE-EGG
A year ago, Cornell couldn't avoid the shutout, as the Big Red was blanked 11 times. This season, that number stands now at four after being shut out against Binghamton on Sept. 23, on Oct. 20 against Lafayette, against Brown on Oct. 24 and at Dartmouth on Nov. 7.

CLIMBING THE LIST
Senior Matt Bouraee scored a goal on Oct. 30 at Princeton, moving him into a tie for ninth place all-time in career points. The Manasquan, N.J., native now has 46 points, tying him with Derl Derr, who played at Cornell from 1948 through 1950. His 18 career goals have him ranked tied for 11th, two out of 10th place, while his 10 assists have him in a three-way tie for 11th, one assist shy of a tie for eighth place.

THE WINNER
With the Big Red's win over Colgate on Oct. 13, Scott Brody has cracked the all-time top 10 for career wins with eight. Brody now is tied with David Weed and Hugh O'Gorman for ninth place all-time, and would move into a tie for eighth place with Luca Cerretani with his next victory.

COMEBACK KIDS
Twice already this season, the Big Red rallied late to get a positive result. On Sept. 11 at Canisius, the Big Red fell behind in the 75th minute, only to tie the game six minutes later to force overtime. Two days later, Cornell rallied from another second half deficit to first tie, then go ahead against St. Bonaventure for the second victory of the year.

SECOND HALF TEAM
The Big Red has excelled in the second half of games this season, scoring 14 of the 19 goals after halftime. Three times this season, the Big Red has scored a goal in the final 10 minutes of the game to give the Big Red a needed result. The trend began on Sept. 7 at Hartwick when Kyle Parsons scored with just under eight minutes left for the 1-0 victory. Four days later, Matt Bouraee scored his first goal of the season in the 81st minute to give the Big Red a 1-1 tie at Canisius. Then, on Sept. 13 against St. Bonaventure, Scott Caldwell scored his first goal of the year with five and a half minutes left for a 2-1 win over the Bonnies.

LOVING HARTWICK
Junior goalkeeper Scott Brody likely couldn't be blamed if he wanted to play Hartwick every week. In two career games against the Hawks, Brody has a pair of shutouts against Hartwick. The first came in his first career start as a freshman in 2007, with the second coming on Sept. 7 in Oneonta. Brody added his third career clean sheet on Sept. 20 against Fairleigh Dickinson.

FOR STARTERS
Cornell is 33-23-8 in season openers dating back to the 1946 season. The 2009 season marked the third time that Cornell opened a season against Syracuse, with Cornell now holding a 2-1 lead against the Orange in season openers.

FOREIGN INFLUENCE
Five different countries are represented on the 2009 Cornell men's soccer roster, with the United States (24), Canada (2), Brazil (1), Bulgaria (1) and China (1) claiming team members.

NATIONAL APPEAL
Among the 24 players on the Cornell roster from the United States, the Big Red has drawn heavily from New York and New Jersey to fill out the roster. The Garden State leads all states with seven players calling New Jersey home, while six players reside in New York. Illinois, Ohio and Massachusetts each have two players, while Arizona, California, Connecticut, Indiana and Michigan have a single player on the Cornell roster.