GAME INFORMATION
GAME #15: Cornell vs. Princeton
DATE: Saturday, Oct. 30, 2010
TIME: 7:00 p.m.
SITE: Ithaca, N.Y. - Berman Field
2010 RECORDS: Cornell - 4-6-4 (0-3-1 Ivy League); Princeton - 9-3-1 (4-0-0 Ivy League)
SERIES RECORD: Princeton leads, 29-25-9
LAST MEETING: Tied, 1-1, in overtime on Oct. 31, 2009, in Princeton, N.J.
LIVE STATS: http://www.sidearmstats.com/cornell/msoc

The Cornell men's soccer team has a chance to play spoiler on Saturday when it takes on league-leading Princeton in an Ivy League contest at Berman Field. The Big Red and the Tigers will kick off at 7 p.m. following the Big Red women's game against Princeton in a full evening of soccer.

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 10-12-9 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
Cornell enters this weekend's action on a three-game losing skid, most recently falling to nationally ranked Brown, 2-0, on Oct. 23 in Providence, R.I. Cornell has gone scoreless over those three games, being outscored 4-0. The Big Red's last victory game on Oct. 12 at Colgate, a 2-0 win. For the season, 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 0.94 goals-against average and a .767 save percentage with three shutouts.

ABOUT PRINCETON
Princeton enters the weekend tied atop the league standings with Penn at 4-0, while the Tigers are also ranked 20th in the nation, joining Brown and Penn in the nation's top 25. The Tigers enter the game on an eight-game winning streak. Antoine Hoppenot leads the Tiger offense with 18 points on seven goals and four assists, while Josh Walburn has 17 points on six goals and a team-best five assists. The Tigers have scored 28 times this season while conceeding just 14 goals in 13 games. Sean Lynch has played most of the time in goal this season, recording a 1.07 goals-against average and a .797 save percentage with four shutouts.

THE SERIES WITH PRINCETON
Princeton holds a slim 29-25-9 lead in the all-time series against Cornell, though the two teams played to a 1-1 draw last season in Princeton, N.J. Prior to that tie, the Tigers had won two in a row, with Cornell's last win coming on Oct. 28, 2006, in Ithaca. If past history is any indicator, the two teams have a strong chance at playing beyond regulation, as the five of the last 10 meetings have gone into two overtimes, with Cornell going 3-5-2 over that span.

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.

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 46 saves in 14 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
Cornell closes out the home portion of the 2010 season next weekend when the Big Red plays host to Dartmouth in a 7 p.m. contest at Berman Field. The regular season concludes on Nov. 13 with a 7 p.m. contest at Columbia.