Game Notes
ITHACA, N.Y. – He's not quite a defender, and he's not quite a midfielder. But there's no question about
Benjamin Williams' value to the Cornell men's soccer team.
Entering this weekend's contests against Vermont and Wofford as part of the CU Inaria Classic, Williams is expected to quietly assume his defensive midfield role for another vital yet unrecognized 90 minutes.
During the 2011 season, Williams played in 1,528 out of Cornell's 1,560 total minutes. He scored no goals, had two assists and took only five shots on goal. But his consistency in cleaning up messes before they get to the defense is more important than numbers on a stat sheet.
“In high school, I wasn't always the leading goal scorer on my team, but I was scoring goals,” Williams said. “[Now] I'm OK if I never score a goal but the team is successful. That is all I could ever want.”
In an unscientific poll taken of the team roster, Williams was voted the group's most underappreciated player by a two-to-one margin over the second-place vote-getter. Teammates praised his importance to the unit while realizing he never gets much credit for it.
Williams had never played a defensive midfield or a pure defensive position before coming to Cornell. He was always more attack-minded, but the presence of
Jimmy Lannon '12 in the center of the action moved Williams back to a holding midfield spot. He adjusted rapidly and saw almost 1,000 minutes of playing time as a freshman.
“Now I love it, and I wouldn't want to play anywhere else,” he said.
Always the model of consistency, Williams rarely misses a moment for the Big Red now unless the team is ahead by multiple goals late in a game. He has been in a steady relationship for three years, he leads a self-described “mellow” lifestyle off the field and looks away when answering questions. A brief 10-minute interview, he said, is the most he's ever spoken about himself in one sitting.
His teammates are more than happy to speak on his behalf.
“He covers any mistakes I make in front of him,” senior midfielder
Nico Nissl said. “He puts in a lot of miles and works hard, but his work doesn't show in the stats sheet.”
“He truly is the ultimate teammate,” sophomore
Atticus DeProspo added. “I made a mistake in an important game last year, which I was extremely upset about after the game, but he provided support and words of wisdom to an inexperienced freshman.”
Williams is plenty happy to play his role and go unnoticed. The defensive midfield position is an exhausting one, though, and he will often get tired by the end of a game. Using out-of-bounds plays or substitution breaks to catch his breath is vital, as his role requires him to run all over the field.
This summer, back home in Indiana, Williams intended to run a triathlon that was modified because a drought lowered his local lake to only two or three feet in depth. Instead, Williams ran a mile, biked 10 miles and ran three more in about an hour as part of the modified triathlon. That, he said, increased his fitness even more for soccer this season.
Williams will continue to get minutes as the year goes on, and he'll continue to go about his job quietly with little recognition. The only time he might get recognized is if he finally does get on the score sheet.
Just don't expect a jovial outburst if his goal comes.
“If I do ever get a goal, my celebration would be pretty weak,” Williams said. “I'd probably just clap to the stands and get back into position.”
MATCH INFORMATION
MATCH #5: Cornell vs. Vermont
MATCH TIME: Friday, Sept. 14, 7 p.m.
MATCH SITE: Berman Field (Ithaca, N.Y.)
SERIES RECORD: Vermont leads 3-1-0
LAST MEETING: Vermont won 2-1 on Sept. 12, 2010
2012 RECORDS: Cornell (4-0), Vermont (2-3-1)
LIVE STATS:
Cornell Live Stats
LIVE AUDIO:
Redcast
MATCH #6: Cornell vs. Wofford
MATCH TIME: Sunday, Sept. 16, 1 p.m.
MATCH SITE: Berman Field (Ithaca, N.Y.)
SERIES RECORD: Series tied, 0-0-1
LAST MEETING: Teams tied 2-2 (2 OT) on Sept. 23, 2005
2012 RECORDS: Cornell (4-0), Wofford (3-2)*
LIVE STATS:
Cornell Live Stats
LIVE AUDIO:
Redcast
*Records accurate before games on Sept. 14
ABOUT THE BIG RED
Off to its best start since 1996, the Big Red men's soccer team remains undefeated at 4-0 thanks to a potent offense, clutch defensive performance and excellent goaltender. A balanced roster, the Big Red has three seniors who contribute in goal (
Rick Pflasterer), in the midfield (
Nico Nissl) and up front (
Tyler Regan), a steady back line that has given up just one goal this season and a striker in
Daniel Haber who leads the nation in points per game and goals per game. Cornell has not lost a non-conference game in more than a year.
HEAD COACH JARO ZAWISLAN
Now in his fourth year with the Big Red program,
Jaro Zawislan has unquestionably put his stamp on the team. 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 in 2011 and a potential contender for the Ivy League title in 2012. Zawislan, a native of Poland, holds a 22-16-15 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 VERMONT
The Catamounts, based Burlington, Vt., hold a 2-3-1 record heading into this weekend's CU Inaria Classic. Vermont has scored a total of three goals in those six games, with all of its goals coming in its two victories. In the team's three losses and one tie, the Catamounts have not produced a goal. Scott Kisling, Jesse Scheirer and D.J. Edler have each scored a goal for their team while Conor Leland and Dave Ramada have split time in goal. Leland has a 0.31 goals against average, surrendering just one goal in 290 minutes.
The Catamounts are coached by Jesse Cormier, now in his ninth season heading his alma mater.
THE SERIES WITH VERMONT
Cornell and Vermont have played just four times in history, with the Catamounts holding a 3-1 advantage in the lifetime series. When the teams met in 2010,
Franck Onambele put Cornell ahead 1-0 in the 21st minute. Though
Rick Pflasterer made seven saves, Vermont rallied for a 2-1 win thanks to goals by Yannick Lewis and Connor O'Brien. Cornell's lone win against Vermont came in 2007.
A WIN AGAINST VERMONT WOULD…
…keep Cornell as the Ivy League's only undefeated team at 5-0…be Cornell's first 5-0 start since 1996…extend Cornell's non-conference winning streak to 13 games…tie a school record for consecutive games with a goal at 21 contests.
ABOUT WOFFORD
The Terriers, based in Spartanburg, S.C., have a winning record of 3-2 before the weekend begins. After starting the year with a loss to Wake Forest, Wofford defeated Gardner-Webb and fell to Winthrop. They enter the CU Inaria Classic on a two-game winning streak after knocking off Bowling Green State and Florida Atlantic last weekend. Alex Hutchins leads the Terriers with three goals, while three of his teammates each have one. Goalie Andrew Drennan has played every minute for Wofford so far and holds a 0.99 goals against average.
At the helm for the Terriers is coach Ralph Polson, now in his fifth year with the team.
THE SERIES WITH WOFFORD
The Big Red and the Terriers have clashed only one time in history, with the teams playing 110 minutes to a 2-2 draw in 2005 at Wofford. Cornell got goals from Tom Marks and Kyle Lynch on that day in the first game of the Wofford Invitational.
CU INARIA CLASSIC
Cornell, Colgate, Vermont and Wofford are competing this weekend in the second CU Inaria Classic, a set of four matches that will crown a champion at the conclusion. Cornell won the first CU Inaria Classic last season, defeating Hofstra and Long Island University to earn six points and top the tournament standings. Colgate will be playing Wofford on Friday and Vermont on Sunday in the Classic's other two games of the weekend.
TWO-TIME PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Junior midfielder
Daniel Haber was at it again last weekend, scoring a hat trick for the first time at Cornell since 2007 and also adding an assist. Haber was rewarded with his second consecutive Ivy League Player of the Week award, which is the first time a Cornell player has done that as far back as the league's records go. Haber was also the College Sports Madness Ivy League Player of the Week for the second consecutive week.
NATIONAL STATISTICS
Early on in the season, the Big Red is high up in the national rankings in multiple categories.
Daniel Haber is tied for the national lead in goals, goals per game, points and points per game. Senior goalkeeper
Rick Pflasterer is seventh in the country with a 0.253 goals against average.
As a team, the Big Red is tied for first with 11 other teams who have a 1.000 winning percentage. Cornell is fifth in the country in team goals against average (0.250) and shutout percentage (0.750) as well as 19th in the nation in offense with 2.25 goals per game.
RECEIVING VOTES
Thanks to its 4-0 start, the Big Red is receiving votes this week in multiple national polls. The NSCAA Coaches' Poll has Cornell with 17 votes, seven spots out of the top 25. Cornell is also receiving votes from College Soccer News and is nine spots out of its top 30. On SoccerTimes.com, Cornell is receiving five votes and is 10 spots from the top 25.
YOUTH SOCCER DAY
Sunday's game against Wofford will be Youth Soccer Day at Berman Field, where all children get into the game for free. There will be carnival games, a halftime contest, a post-game Meet and Greet with the team that includes pizza and autographs and lots of free giveaways. Come on out and bring the kids!
GOAL STREAK
The Big red is on the verge of breaking a long-standing school record. With a goal against Vermont, Cornell would tie the school record of 21 consecutive contests with at least one goal. That record, set in the 1970 and 1971 seasons, has stood for more than 50 full years. The team's current streak of 20 consecutive games with a goal is the second-longest in program history. Cornell would break the record with goals in both games this weekend.
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
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 hits the road for a midweek game against Binghamton on Wednesday at 7 p.m. The team then returns home for a Saturday-afternoon affair against St. Josephs at 4 p.m.
