GAME INFORMATION
GAME #17: Cornell at Columbia
DATE: Saturday, Nov. 13, 2010
TIME: 7:00 p.m.
SITE: New York, N.Y. - Columbia Soccer Stadium
2010 RECORDS: Cornell - 4-8-4 (0-5-1 Ivy League); Columbia - 6-8-2 (2-3-1 Ivy League)
SERIES RECORD: Columbia leads, 25-19-6
LAST MEETING: Cornell won, 1-0 (ot) on Nov. 11, 2009, in Ithaca, N.Y.
LIVE STATS: http://www.gocolumbialions.com

The Cornell men's soccer team closes out the 2010 season on Saturday night when it takes on Columbia in a 7 p.m. contest in New York, N.Y. The Big Red will be trying to claim its first Ivy League win of the season and defeat the Lions for the third time in the last four seasons.

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 10-14-9 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 the season finale trying to snap a five-game losing skid, a stretch that has seen Cornell go without a goal. The Big Red's last goals came in a 2-0 win against Colgate on Oct. 12 in Hamilton, N.Y. Of the current losing streak, two of those contests have come at the hands of nationally ranked foes in Brown and Princeton. 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 all but one game in goal, recording a 0.93 goals-against average and a .770 save percentage with three shutouts.

ABOUT COLUMBIA
The Lions enter the weekend with a 6-8-2 overall record and a 2-3-1 mark in the Ivy League, good for fifth place with a two-point cushion over Harvard. The Lions have gone 2-1-1 in their last four matches, defeating Dartmouth and Harvard and tying Yale, with only a loss to non-league Adelphi as the blemish. Columbia's offense is led by Henning Sauerbier, who has four goals and two assists for 10 points, while David Najem has nine points on three goals and three assists. In goal, Alexander Aurrichio has played most of the time, posting a 1.40 goals-against average and a .707 save percentage with four shutouts.

THE SERIES WITH COLUMBIA
The Lions lead the all-time series against the Big Red, 25-19-6, though the Big Red has won two of the last three meetings. Cornell's wins came in overtime in 2007 and 2009 at Berman Field in Ithaca, while the Lions owned a 2-0 victory the last time the two clubs met in New York City.

SMART GUY
Cornell senior Brett Sumpio was named as a repeat selection to the ESPN/CoSIDA Academic All-District I first team for his work on the soccer field and in the classroom. Sumpio has a 4.12 grade point average in applied economics and management while also appearing in 13 games this season for the Big Red.

11th AVENUE
Last Saturday's game against Dartmouth marked the final home game for the Big Red's 11 seniors. The 11 seniors who will be part of pre-game Senior Day festivities are Scott Brody, Scott Caldwell, Craig Dimbleby, Devin Grant-Keane, Adam Hardie, Shane Merriman, Dimitar Nentchev, Matt Stengel, Brett Sumpio, Will Wolfson and Jeff Zimering. The only player who did not get into the match was Scott Caldwell, who is out for the season due to injury.

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.

QUIET NIGHTS
Rick Pflasterer ranks fifth in the Ivy League in total saves on the season, 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.

IN THE RANKINGS
Cornell's Rick Pflasterer has moved to 53rd in the nation in goals-against average, allowing just under one goal per game (0.925), while stopping 77.0 percent of the shots he has faced, good for 84th in the nation.

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's season concludes with the contest at Columbia.