ITHACA, N.Y. -- As the Cornell men's soccer team heads into the 2010 season, the challenge is to resist looking at 2010 as a continuation of the 2009 campaign, the first under now second-year head coach Jaro Zawislan. Instead, the focus is on beginning anew, and recognizing last season's results mean nothing in gearing up for the season ahead.

"We need to make sure that we reset ourselves mentally," Zawislan said. "Last year was last year, and we need to continue to work hard and smart, but we're working for win number one, not number seven. We have to earn the results we get this season."

To that end, Zawislan has put together a roster as impressive in its depth as in its sheer size. The Big Red has at least two quality players at every position on the field, increasing competition for playing time at each of the 11 spots on the field. With the increased pressure and competition comes increased quality, as players work harder and push each other in the never-ending search for playing time.

"Each player gets an equal chance to earn playing time in training," Zawislan said. "It's up to them to take advantage of those opportunities. This team is all about the present - last year means nothing, it's how well you're performing right now that will dictate who plays."

The Big Red's roster combines a nice blend of veterans and newcomers, and much of the time in the preseason has been spent in molding that group into a cohesive unit both on and off the field.

"With college soccer, you never have the same team two semesters in a row, losing seniors from fall to spring and adding in freshmen from spring to fall," Zawislan said. "You have to see the new team's tendencies and strengths and figure out a way to play up to those strengths."

GOALKEEPER
One of the strengths of the team is in its last line of defense. Cornell boasts five goalkeepers on the roster, including a pair who saw extensive time last season. Senior Scott Brody and sophomore Rick Pflasterer split time in net a year ago, with Brody seeing more time on the early part of the season, with Pflasterer earning more minutes as the season progressed. The duo will battle for time once again this season, leaving the Big Red in solid hands regardless of who is in goal for a given game.

A trio of younger players is ready to back up the two incumbents, with sophomore Martin Yu and freshmen Ian Panzica and Kurtis Teskoski set to gain valuable experience in practice and push for game action. Yu joined the program in the spring to provide additional depth, with Panzica and Teskoski both showing potential during the preseason.

DEFENSE
The Big Red defense is deepest in the middle, as five players can all step in and provide a solid foundation to the back line. Seniors Adam Hardie and Craig Dimbleby will be joined by sophomore Ben Kenyon, an honorable mention All-Ivy League player last season, with freshmen Patrick Slogic and Jake Rinow each providing an option for Zawislan. All four players provide size and skill to the central back position, while possessing a nice mix of experience and youth.

Out wide, again Cornell has incredible depth, with likely six players in the mix for the two outside back positions. On the left, last year's starter, senior Dimitar Nentchev, is joined by Rinow and sophomore Walter Donica, while the options on the right include senior Matt Stengel, sophomore Riley Taiji and freshman Jake Kirsch.

Regardless of what combination of four players Zawislan chooses to send out on the field, the back four has more than enough ability to be solid in the back.

MIDFIELD
Once again, the Big Red has countless options in the midfield, making for some interesting combinations of experience, speed, skill and youth. Spearheading the attack will be junior Jimmy Lannon, moving up from the right outside back position. Lannon will be pushed for time by freshman Stephen Reisert and senior Will Wolfson.

Providing a holding presence in the central midfield should be junior Kyle Parsons, who held that same role last season. Parsons will get pressure from a pair of freshmen in Ben Williams and Aaron Oder.

On the wings, a host of options are available for Zawislan to mix and match combinations. Senior Shane Merriman has moved up from outside back, while fellow senior Dimitar Nentchev may also see time on the left wing. Other options for time on the flanks include sophomores Will Zahn, Devin Grant-Keane, Eric Brown, Nico Nissl and freshmen Jake Kirsch and Daniel Haber.

FORWARD
Cornell's high-pressure, high-tempo style of play functions best when the Big Red is putting pressure on an opposition's back four, and with a whopping eight players capable of playing up top, the Big Red has no shortage of manpower to force its opponent into turnovers near goal. A combination of seniors Jeff Zimering, Brett Sumpio and Wolfson, along with junior Chase Aaronson and newcomers Will Ogden, Tyler Regan, Daniel Haber, Pascal Louis and Franck Onambele will ensure plenty of fresh legs to continue to force the issue.

Ogden and Regan in particular bring additional experience to the forward position, with both players transferring in with collegiate experience. Ogden played two seasons at Villanova, appearing in 31 games over the two years, tallying four goals. Regan, meanwhile, spent one season at Appalachian State, tying for second on the roster in scoring with four goals and four assists.

THE SCHEDULE
With the Ivy League being one of the top conferences in the country for college soccer, the emphasis on early-season games has been to gain exposure to a variety of teams and styles to fully prepare for the seven-game Ivy League slate.

"We want to make sure we don't play opponents from just one league, but from many," Zawislan said of the 2010 schedule. "We've got some good regional rivalries that are starting to form, and New York teams are getting stronger every year. We've really put together a schedule that will prepare us for the Ivy League."

Cornell will open up the season with eight non-conference games, with four of those taking place at Berman Field. Another two games, against New Hampshire and Vermont, will be played as part of Vermont's Morgan Stanley Smith Barney Classic, with contests at Long Island and Binghamton rounding out the pre-Ivy slate. In league play, the Big Red will face Penn, Yale, Princeton and Dartmouth at home this season, while traveling to Harvard, Brown and Columbia. Mixed in between the league games are non-conference contests at Colgate and Lafayette, designed to give extra opportunities for experience later in the season.