GAME INFORMATION
GAME #14: Cornell at Brown
DATE: Saturday, Oct. 23, 2010
TIME: 7:00 p.m.
SITE: Stevenson Field - Providence, R.I.
2010 RECORDS: Cornell - 4-5-4 (0-2-1 Ivy League); Brown - 8-1-3 (1-1-1 Ivy League)
SERIES RECORD: Brown leads, 34-19-4
LAST MEETING: Brown won, 1-0, on Oct. 24, 2009, in Ithaca, N.Y.
LIVE STATS: http://livestats.prestosports.com/brown/
LIVE VIDEO: http://www.BrownBears.com

The Cornell men's soccer team makes the trip to Providence, R.I., to take on 14th-ranked Brown in an Ivy League contest on Saturday night. The Big Red will try to climb back to the .500 mark for the season with a victory, while also scoring its first win against the Bears since the 1999 season.

HEAD COACH JARO ZAWISLAN
In his second season on the bench directing the Big Red, Jaro Zawislan has implemented his high-pressure, high-tempo offense with the results to back him up. Zawislan has led the Big Red to a 10-11-9 record since taking over the program prior to the 2009 season. He earned his first career victory on Sept. 7, 2009, against Hartwick, with his 10th career victory coming on Oct. 12 at Colgate. His coaching career also includes stops at Stanford and Creighton following a decorated playing career at Clemson, where he graduated in 1993. Zawislan played professionally in the United States and his native Poland before turning to coaching. He is assisted by Joe Schneck, in his fifth year with the Big Red, and Keith Comfort and T.J. Love, both in their first seasons with the Cornell program.

ABOUT THE BIG RED
The Big Red enters Saturday's league game against the Bears on a two-game losing skid, falling by a 1-0 score in overtime at Lafayette on Tuesday in its last time out. Cornell also fell in its last Ivy League game by the same score, dropping a 1-0 contest against Yale at Berman Field. Cornell is 0-2-1 in the Ivy League, standing in seventh place in the league race, one point above last-place Columbia. Chase Aaronson leads the Big Red offense with eight points on three goals and two assists, while Franck Onambele is tied with Aaronson for the team lead in goals with three for six points. Jimmy Lannon also has six points on the season, his coming by way of one goal and a team-best four assists. In all, eight different players have scored a goal for the Big Red this year, and 10 different players have contributed at least one point. Rick Pflasterer has played every minute in goal, recording a 0.86 goals-against average and a .769 save percentage with three shutouts.

ABOUT BROWN
While Brown is ranked 14th nationally, the Bears have had their share of struggles in Ivy League play this season, standing fourth in the league race with a 1-1-1 record. The Bears have one of the nation's top defenses, having allowed only five goals on the year, but three of those have come in Ivy League play. Brown, which last defeated Hartwick by a 3-1 score on Tuesday, is led offensively by Sean Rosa, who has five goals and three assists for 13 points. Jon Okafor and T.J. Popolizio both have three goals on the year, while Austin Mandel has a team-best five assists. In goal, Paul Grandstrand has played every minute this season, posting a 0.39 goals-against average and a .896 save percentage with nine shutouts.

THE SERIES WITH BROWN
The Bears lead the all-time series against the Big Red, 34-19-4, and have won each of the last eight contests. Cornell last picked up a draw with the Bears on Oct. 20, 2001, a 1-1 tie in Ithaca, N.Y., in front of a then-Berman Field record crowd of 876 fans. Cornell's last win against Brown came on Oct. 2, 1999, a 1-0 overtime victory in Providence, R.I. Over Cornell's current eight-game losing skid to the Bears, the Big Red has been shut out six times.

BREAK THE BERMAN RECORD
Cornell's fans came out in a big way on Oct. 16 against Yale to help shatter the Berman Field attendance mark. A total of 961 fans showed up during the Big Red's alumni weekend, only to see the Big Red come up short in a 1-0 loss to Yale. The total attendance mark easily surpassed the previous all-time high of 876, set in 2001 against Brown.

LAST MINUTE HERO
Cornell has shown a flair for the dramatic in the season and a half that Jaro Zawislan has been in charge of the Big Red men's soccer program. The Big Red this season has two games with a late comeback for either a tie or a victory, scoring three times in 3:40 against Hartwick earlier this season to rally from a 2-0 deficit in addition to Chase Aaronson's goal with 1:46 left in regulation to force a tie with Harvard. Last year, Cornell pulled off the same trick twice, getting a draw with an 81st minute goal against Canisius and scored a pair of late goals to beat St. Bonaventure.

IN THE RANKINGS
Sophomore goalkeeper Rick Pflasterer appears in the top 80 of the national rankings in both of the main goalkeeping categories in last week's rankings, coming in 44th in the nation in goals-against average and 77th in the country in save percentage. He also ranks third in the Ivy League in goals-against average and fourth in save percentage.

TURN UP THE PRESSURE
Cornell's high-pressure style of play, while not yet translating into an outburst of goals (13 goals through 13 games), is clearly shown by the Big Red's statistics this season. Cornell is out-shooting its opponents, 158-147, and has forced 69 corner kicks while conceeding just 44.

QUIET NIGHTS
Rick Pflasterer ranks fifth in the Ivy League in total saves on the season, despite having played every minute in goal for the Big Red, due in large part to facing a low number of shots this season. Pflasterer has 40 saves in 13 games, though he has had one game with zero saves and three with just one. Pflasterer has made two or fewer saves in six games this season, with a high of seven stops coming on Sept. 12 at Vermont.

AND THE AWARD GOES TO...
A trio of Cornellians were honored for their play at the Morgan Stanley Smith Barney Nike Classic on Sept. 10-12 with a spot on the all-tournament team. Junior midfielder Jimmy Lannon, sophomore goalkeeper Rick Pflasterer and freshman midfielder Ben Williams each was recognized for their play in helping the Big Red to a tie with New Hampshire and a loss to tournament champion Vermont.

DON'T BLINK
A span of 3:40 was the difference between a win and a loss for the Big Red on Sept. 6 against Hartwick, as Cornell scored three goals in dramatic fashion to claim the lead and eventually, the victory. First it was Franck Onambele scoring off a header from a Jimmy Lannon throw-in, and just 1:19 later, a Craig Dimbleby cross found the head of Daniel Haber on the back post, and his header equalized the score at two. Then, 2:21 later, it was Haber slotting a pass through traffic to Will Ogden, who slotted a shot past the oncoming goalkeeper.

SAVING THE DAY
Rick Pflasterer had a quiet day in the win against Hartwick, making just one save in the contest, stopping a second-half penalty kick. Unfortunately for Pflasterer, the rebound came directly back to the shooter, who finished into the empty net for the 1-0 Hartwick lead. Fortunately, though, the Big Red rallied for three goals in the span of 3:40 to claim the victory.

START ME UP
Despite falling to Long Island in the season opener on Sept. 5, the Big Red still holds a 33-24-8 record all-time in season openers dating back to the 1946 season.

UP NEXT
The Big Red returns home to open up its final home stand of the season next weekend, taking on Princeton in a 7 p.m. contest at Berman Field.