ITHACA, N.Y. – The 2012 season is upon us. Cornell men's soccer – coming off a terrific season that included a 13-game unbeaten streak and ended just one goal short of an Ivy League title — will be looking to grab even more attention this year. It all starts with a cross-country trip to Los Angeles for opening-weekend games against Cal State Fullerton and Loyola Marymount.

MATCH INFORMATION
MATCH #1: Cornell at Cal State Fullerton
MATCH TIME: Friday, Aug. 31, 10 p.m. EST
MATCH SITE: Titan Stadium (Fullerton, Calif.)
SERIES RECORD: Tied 0-0
LAST MEETING: Teams have never met
2012 RECORDS: Cornell (0-0), Fullerton (0-2)
LIVE STATS: Titans Live Stats
LIVE VIDEO: Big West Video (Free)

MATCH #2: Cornell at Loyola Marymount
MATCH TIME: Sunday, Sept. 2, 6 p.m. EST
MATCH SITE: Sullivan Field (Los Angeles)
SERIES RECORD: Tied 0-0
LAST MEETING: Teams have never met
2012 RECORDS: Cornell (0-0), Loyola Marymount (0-1)*
LIVE STATS: LMU Live Stats
LIVE VIDEO: None

*Records accurate before games on Aug. 31

ABOUT THE BIG RED
A large group of returning players from a successful 2011 team could make this season one to remember. Four Big Red returners are members of an All-Ivy League team from last year. The team's starting goaltender (Rick Pflasterer) and leading scorer (Daniel Haber) are back, as are seven other athletes who started at least half the games from the 8-2-6 season a year ago. Cornell will be competing for an Ivy League title throughout their 2012 campaign, but their journey begins in California this season. Playing in the Golden State for the first time since 2008, the Big Red will look to start the 2012 season on a strong note against Big West Conference opposition.

HEAD COACH JARO ZAWISLAN
Now beginning his fourth year with the Big Red program, Jaro Zawislan has unquestionably put his stamp on the program. With a stifling defense and an aggressive offense, Zawislan has transformed what was a 1-15 team before his arrival into an 8-2-6 team and a contender for the Ivy League title. Zawislan, a native of Poland, holds an 18-16-15 record during his time in Ithaca. He played soccer for four years at Clemson and then spent time professionally in the United States and Poland.

ABOUT CAL STATE FULLERTON
The Titans, based in Fullerton, Calif., come into Friday's contest having already played two games. Against American and Portland last weekend, the Titans lost by a combined five goals as American won 1-0 and Portland defeated them 4-0. While the team has yet to score a goal, freshman forward Dyllan Stevens took a team-high six shots, and freshman Colin Okirie added five. Adam Zepeda made 10 saves in his nearly 170 minutes of action last weekend.
Cal State Fullerton is coached by Bob Ammann, now in his sixth year.

ABOUT LOYOLA MARYMOUNT
The Lions, based in Los Angeles, have played just one game this season heading into the weekend. That one game, a close 2-1 loss at the hands of No. 11 California-Santa Barbara, nearly ended in a tie. With just two minutes remaining, UCSB scored the game-winner, deflating the Lions and dashing the upset bid. Defender Craig Nitti scored the lone goal for the Lions, while goalkeeper Billy Thompson made three saves. Before Sunday's game against the Big Red, Loyola Marymount will take on UNLV at home on Friday.
Loyola Marymount is led by head coach Paul Krumpe, now in his 15th year.

A WIN AGAINST CAL STATE FULLERTON WOULD…
Start the season with a victory for the first time since 2007…give the team its first victory in the state of California since October 1991 and second win in the state ever…extend Cornell's non-conference winning streak to nine games, dating back to the 2011 season-opening loss against Niagara.

HEADING HOME
Sophomore Peter Chodas, originally from La Canada, Calif., will be less than an hour from home for this weekend's games.

CORNELL IN CALIFORNIA
The Big Red has played two opponents in its history from California, though the team has played four total contests in The Golden State. Cornell holds a 1-3 record all-time in California and against California teams. The Big Red is 1-1 against Cal and 0-2 against Stanford.

NO FRIES WITH THAT
Sophomore Conor Goepel claims to have never eaten a French fry.

NUMBERS GAME
Fans of Cornell men's soccer will notice some number changes on the roster this season. Most notably, junior striker Daniel Haber has switched from 29 to 10 on his jersey, transitioning into the number that signifies a top attacker in soccer. Sophomore Conor Goepel will now be wearing 38 instead of his old 24, while sophomore defender Peter Chodas will sport the number 9 instead of 26. Lastly, sophomore Matt Altebrando has taken the number 7 as his own.

ALL-IVY RETURNERS
The Big Red's roster is full of players who earned All-Ivy League status last season, most notably defender Patrick Slogic and goalkeeper Rick Pflasterer. Those two made the league's First Team, while forward Daniel Haber (second team) and midfielder Ben Williams (honorable mention) were also honored by the Ivy League at the end of 2011. Midfielder Jimmy Lannon also made the second team, but he graduated last season.

GOALTENDING GREATNESS
Rick Pflasterer was not just the Ivy League's First-Team goaltender, but he was also one of the best in the country during the 2011 campaign. His goals against average of .598 was not only tops in the Ivy League, but it was also the eighth-lowest total in the nation. His save percentage of .804 also put him 33rd in the country. Pflasterer is six shutouts shy of the school record (18) and has the third-lowest goals against average in team history. He needs just five wins this year to move into second all-time at Cornell.

HERMANN TROPHY WATCH
Patrick Slogic is getting some national recognition as well, as he has made the 2012 Hermann Trophy Watch List. The trophy is given to the nation's top soccer player every year by the Missouri Athletic Club, and Slogic was one of 42 athletes who made the initial watch list. He will find out if he makes the first cut down to 15 players in November.

CAREER NUMBERS WATCH
• Daniel Haber's next shot will be his 90th.
• Rick Pflasterer is two games shy of his 40th.
• Tyler Regan needs just one more point to reach 10 in his career.
• Patrick Slogic's next point will be No. 10 for him.

BRING IN THE YOUNG GUNS
The 2012 Cornell squad features five new players, including four freshmen and one sophomore. The freshmen class includes midfielders Ben Feldman, Simba Meki and Sanath Shettigar, who will all hope to play a vital role in the center of the action in their first years. Also new to the team on defense are freshmen Skyler Erickson – a walk-on player – and sophomore Devin Morgan, who practiced with the team during the spring and will be making his first appearance on the field soon.

UP NEXT
Cornell stays on the road, starveling to Lafayette in Easton, Pa., next Friday for another non-conference game. The team's first home contest takes place Sept. 9 against Buffalo at 4 p.m.