ITHACA, N.Y. – The Cornell men's soccer team ends a three-game homestand with a weekday clash with neighboring Binghamton. The Big Red and Bearcats get started at 7 p.m.

MATCH INFORMATION
MATCH #6: Cornell vs. Binghamton
MATCH TIME: Wednesday, Sept. 21, 7 p.m.
MATCH SITE: Berman Field (Ithaca, N.Y.)
SERIES RECORD: Cornell leads, 8-4-1
LAST MEETING: Tied 0-0 after 2OT on Sept. 26, 2010
2011 RECORDS: Cornell (2-1-2); Binghamton (3-3)
LIVE STATS: http://sidearmstats.com/cornell/msoc/

ABOUT THE BIG RED: Cornell is on a hot streak entering Wednesday game after winning two games last weekend to claim the CU Inaria Classic Championship. The team scored five goals over the two games and allowed none for its first two wins and first shutouts of the year. Cornell is above .500 for the first time since Sept. 19 of last season and is on a four-game unbeaten run. The team also has the second-best winning percentage in the Ivy League.

HEAD COACH JARO ZAWISLAN: The 2011 season is Jaro Zawislan's third at the helm of the Big Red. He 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 at Colgate. Zawislan, a native of Poland, played soccer 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 BINGHAMTON: The Bearcats, based in just southwest of Binghamton in Vestal, come to town with a 3-3 record. They went 1-1 last weekend, falling to Central Connecticut State 1-0 but defeating Rider by the same score to place third in their home tournament. Jake Keegan is their most dangerous scorer with four goals and two assists. Head coach Paul Marco, a 1991 graduate of West Virginia, is in his 10th year with Binghamton. The Bearcats compete in the America East Conference.

THE SERIES WITH BINGHAMTON: Cornell and Binghamton have played 13 times, with the Big Red holding an 8-4-1 series advantage. The Big Red and Bearcats tied last season's meeting 0-0 at Binghamton, and the Bearcats won three years in a row before that. Cornell last beat Binghamton in 2001 and is 13-11-4 lifetime against America East teams. Binghamton is 4-10-1 in its history against Ivy League teams.

TOUGH STRETCH: Cornell is in the middle of its most crowded period of the season, playing five games in 11 days. After the fifth game, a Monday-night match against St. Bonaventure on Sept. 26, the Big Red plays just one game per week the rest of the season except for the second week of October.

SPREADING THE LOVE: Of the 29 players on Cornell's roster, 22 have seen playing time in the first five games and 18 different players have started. Of the 18 starters, only six have started all five games: Patrick Slogic, Jake Rinow, Peter Chodas, Jimmy Lannon, Ben Williams and Rick Pflasterer.

A WIN WOULD…give Cornell its first three-game winning streak since the start of the 2007 season…give the Big Red its first five-game unbeaten streak since the last two games of 2006 and first two of 2007…give Cornell its first three-game home winning streak since Sept. 19, 2010…put the Big Red two games over .500 for the first time since Sept. 2, 2007.

TAKING THEIR SHOTS: Cornell continues to dramatically outshoot its opponents, holding a 95-45 edge in that category this season along with a 40-22 advantage in shots on goal. That number puts the Big Red second in the Ivy League behind Penn's 121 in six games. Sophomore Daniel Haber leads the team with 19 shots – good for fifth in the Ivy League – nine on goal and two goals. The forward led the team in shots last year as a freshman, so look for him to keep shooting and keep finding the back of the net.

PUT THEM IN A CORNER: The Big Red is getting plenty of practice at corner kicks so far this season, with 36 reps in its five games compared to the competition's 17. Cornell's per-game corner kick rate is second in the Ivy League.

THROWING OFF OPPONENTS: Jimmy Lannon continues to be dangerous with long throw-ins into the penalty area. Lannon's throw in the season opener against Niagara lead to a goal by Slogic, and Lannon earned an assist from a throw-in on Conor Goepel's game-winning goal against Hofstra on Sunday.

ROOKIE OF THE WEEK: For scoring the game-winning goal against Hofstra on Sunday just four minutes into the contest, Goepel was named the Ivy League's Rookie of the Week, the league announced on Monday. Goepel, a midfielder from Chatham, N.J., has played in all five games for the Big Red this year, starting in three. He has racked up four shots, including two on goal, and looks to be a promising contributor to Cornell soccer for years to come.

MINDING THE NET: Rick Pflasterer had a terrific 2010 campaign, and he's off to a fast start in 2011. Cornell's five goals allowed all year is tied for first among the Ancient Eight, and Pflasterer earned clean sheets in his last two outings. Those performances caused him to be named the Defensive MVP of the CU Inaria Classic. The team's 0.92 goals against average is currently on top of the Ivy League.

TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONS: Cornell co-hosted the CU Inaria Classic with Colgate last weekend and came away tournament champions, knocking off Long Island 2-0 on Friday and topping Hofstra 3-0 on Sunday. Four Big Red players were named to the All-Tournament team, with Lannon earning Offensive MVP Honors and Slogic and Kyle Parsons also getting selections. The victories gave Cornell its first regular-season tournament championship since 2007. Five different players scored goals.

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. Of the 10, eight have seen action so far this year.

UP NEXT: The Big Red goes on the road to Philadelphia to face Saint Josephs on Friday before another road trip to St. Bonaventure for a Monday-night affair.