ITHACA, N.Y. -- The Cornell men's soccer team opens its 2011 campaign Friday night when it takes on intrastate rival Niagara University. The Big Red and the Purple Eagles will kick off at 7 p.m.

HEAD COACH JARO ZAWISLAN The 2011 season will be Jaro Zawislan's third at the helm of the Big Red. He has racked up a 10-14-10 record in his first two seasons, improving a team that finished 1-15 in 2008 to 6-6-5 in 2009. He earned his first Cornell victory on Sept. 7, 2009 against Hartwick and his 10th on Oct. 12, 2010 at Colgate. Zawislan, a native of Poland, played for four years at Clemson and then spent time professionally in the United States and Poland. His first college coaching job was at Creighton in 1999.

ABOUT THE BIG RED: Cornell finished last season with a 4-8-5 record and an eighth-place standing in the Ivy League. The Big Red returns its top leading scorers from last year, senior Chase Aaronson and junior Franck Onambele, who both had three goals, along with four of its other six goal scorers from 2010. Daniel Haber, who led the team in shots as a freshman, is back for his sophomore season. Starting goalkeeper Rick Pflasterer, a junior, also returns to mind the net.

ABOUT NIAGARA: The Purple Eagles, based in Lewiston, N.Y., come into Friday's contest with a 1-1 mark after losing on the road against Duquesne 0-2 in their season opener last Friday and defeating St. Bonaventure 3-1 on the road Sunday. Senior forward Carl Haworth and junior forward Bryan Da Cruz each have a goal and an assist. Head coach Chase Brooks is in his first year with Niagara, taking over a program that went 7-9-2 last season but ended on a three-game winning streak. The Purple Eagles compete in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference of the NCAA's Division I.

THE SERIES WITH NIAGARA: Friday's contest marks the first meeting between the two programs. Niagara has never played an Ivy League team before. Cornell has taken on four of the MAAC's 10 teams, holding a 2-5-1 record against them.

BRING IN THE YOUNG GUNS: The 2011 Cornell squad features 10 new players, including nine freshmen and one transfer. All together, the 10 newcomers make up more than one third of the 29-player roster. Justin Orden, who spent his freshman year at Wake Forest, is the lone transfer.

MINDING THE NET: Rick Pflasterer had a terrific 2010 season, and he hopes for another strong campaign this year. The junior goalkeeper's 0.86 GAA was the sixth-best in Cornell history, ranked third in the Ivy League and 37th in the nation. His save percentage of .778 was also good enough for third among the Ancient Eight, and the team's 0.94 goals allowed per game was second in the Ivy League.

OPENING STRONG: Since 1946, Cornell has a record of 33-24-8 in season openers. The Big Red has not tied in the first game of its season since 2002.

UP NEXT: The Big Red returns to action on Tuesday against the Lafayette Leopards out of Easton, Pa. Cornell follows that contest with a two-game tournament on Sept. 9 and Sept. 11 against Robert Morris and Hartwick for the Mayor's Cup in Oneonta.