ITHACA, N.Y. – Another week is in the books for the Big Red men's soccer team, and two more wins are on the board. No. 22 Cornell will look to continue its impressive start to the season when Hartwick arrives in Ithaca on Tuesday night.
MATCH INFORMATION
MATCH #8: Cornell vs. Hartwick
MATCH TIME: Tuesday, Sept. 25, 7 p.m.
MATCH SITE: Berman Field (Ithaca, N.Y.)
SERIES RECORD: Hartwick leads 29-14-5
LAST MEETING: Teams tied 1-1 on Sept. 11, 2011
2012 RECORDS: Cornell (7-0), Hartwick (2-2-2)
LIVE STATS:
Cornell Live Stats
LIVE AUDIO:
Cornell Redcast
ABOUT THE BIG RED
After falling behind 1-0 to Saint Joseph's on Saturday on a slick and wet Berman Field, the Big Red showed its resilience once again and scored two goals in the first four minutes of the second half.
Conor Goepel would eventually score the game-winner, and Cornell defeated the Hawks by a 3-2 margin. Junior striker
Daniel Haber excelled again last week, scoring four goals on the week as he continues to lead the nation with 11 total goals and help Cornell to its first 7-0-0 start since 1975. The Big Red's defense has given up just four goals in seven games and Cornell is up to No. 24 in the NSCAA Coaches' Poll.
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 25-16-15 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 HARTWICK
The Hawks, based in Oneonta, enter Tuesday night's game with a 2-2-2 record and a very well-rested team that will not have played a game in 10 days. Hartwick, which is a Division III school in most sports, has a DI men's soccer team to go along with its DI women's water polo squad. This Hawks are coming off a loss to Robert Morris on Sept. 15 by a 2-1 margin, though they defeated NJIT 3-0 six days before that. Cleyon Brown leads the way offensively with three goals and an assist while Chris Walter has two goals to his name. Mateo Munarriz has allowed just six goals in five games and has a goals against average of 1.13.
Hartwick is coached by John Scott, now in his third year leading the team
.
THE SERIES WITH HARTWICK
The Hawks own the lifetime record against the Big Red, claiming 29 wins to just 14 losses. The teams have tied five times. Cornell and Hartwick played to a 1-1 draw last season as the Hawks struck first but
Jake Rinow put home the equalizer on Hartwick's home turf. Cornell last defeated Hartwick in 2010 by a 3-2 scoreline and won the two years before that as well. Hartwick last beat Cornell in 2006, and the teams have played five out of the last six years.
A WIN AGAINST HARTWICK WOULD…
…move the Big Red to 8-0-0 on the season, its best start to a year in program history…be Cornell's eighth consecutive win, its longest winning streak since the team claimed 11 consecutive victories in 1995...equal the team's win total from all of 2011...extend Cornell's non-conference unbeaten run to 16 games…increase the school record for consecutive games with a goal to 24 contests…be the fifth straight game against Hartwick without a defeat.
COMEBACK KIDS
Cornell has trailed just twice all season, but both times the Big Red has managed to come from behind for the victory. Down 1-0 at halftime against Wofford on Sept. 16, Cornell went on to win 2-1. Trailing 1-0 at halftime against Saint Joseph's on Saturday, the Big Red scored twice in four minutes to open the second half and eventually win 3-2.
NATIONALLY RANKED
Thanks to its 7-0 start, the Big Red remains nationally ranked in this week's NSCAA Coaches' Poll at No. 22, moving up two spots from No. 24 last week. Cornell is up to No. 23 in this week's Soccer America's rankings released Tuesday after spending last week at No. 25. Cornell broke into College Soccer News' poll this week at No. 29 after spending several weeks receiving votes. On SoccerTimes.com, Cornell is receiving 14 votes and is five spots from the top 25.
AMONG THE UNBLEMISHED
Cornell is one of just three teams remaining in the country that have not lost or tied a game yet. Besides the Big Red, Marquette (8-0) and High Point (8-0) remain unblemished.
MULTI-GOAL GAMES
Before the 2012 season, no Cornell player had scored more than one goal in a game since 2008. This year, junior
Daniel Haber already has four multi-goal games. He scored twice at Loyola Marymount on Sept. 2, three times against Buffalo on Sept. 9 two times at Binghamton on Wednesday and twice against Saint Joseph's. His 11 goals on the year already has bested his 2011 total of nine.
THREE-TIME PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Daniel Haber earned his third Ivy League Player of the Week honor on Monday. He scored four goals and two assists for the Big Red last week and has scored multiple goals in four games this season already. Haber shared the honor this week with Penn's Stephen Baker. Haber was also named to College Soccer News' National Team of the Week for the second time this season.
RECORD BROKEN
With
Peter Chodas' goal on Wednesday night, the Big Red officially broke a Cornell record that had stood for 41 seasons. The 1970 and 1971 teams had combined for 21 consecutive contests with a goal. Chodas' score, though, made 22 straight games for the Big Red with a goal dating back to the 2011 season opener. Cornell can extend its own record to 23 on Saturday.
FIVE GOALS
Cornell's five-goal outburst on Wednesday night against Binghamton was the team's first five-goal game since Sept. 22, 2001 against Adelphi. Cornell has not scored six goals in a single game since Oct. 31, 2000 against Army.
TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONS
For the second consecutive season, the Big Red men's soccer team claimed the CU Inaria Classic title when it defeated Wofford on Sept 15. Though Cornell and Vermont only played one contest each because of a rainout on Sept. 13, the Big Red finished the tournament with three points in the standings and a head-to-head victory against Wofford to win the title. Wofford finished second with three points while Vermont took third and Colgate finished last. Cornell defeated Hofstra and Long Island University last season to win the first CU Inaria Classic.
NATIONAL STATISTICS
Cornell continues to rank high up in the country in multiple statistical categories as of Monday. As a team, the Big Red is seventh in scoring offense (2.71 goals per game),16th in total goals (19), 13th in total assists (18) and 17th in total points (56). The Big Red's goals against average (0.57) puts it 16th in the nation.
Individually,
Daniel Haber remains on top of the nation in points per game (3.71), goals per game (1.57), total goals (11) and total points (26). Haber and
Nico Nissl are also tied for 18th in the country with four assists each. Goalie
Rick Pflasterer has the 17th-best goals against average (0.584) in the country.
CAREER NUMBERS WATCH
Last week:
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Daniel Haber scored his 20th goal and 50th career points and played in his 40th game.
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Peter Chodas eclipsed 2,000 career minutes played and earned his first goal.
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Rick Pflasterer got his 20th victory.
Coming soon:
SPREADING THE LOVE
Almost everyone on the roster has gotten a chance to get involved so far this season as 24 of the 26 members of the team have seen playing time this year. All of Cornell's freshmen have seen playing time, as have junior goalkeepers
Kurtis Teskoski and Ian Pazica, who had not played in two years entering the season.
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.
UP NEXT
Conference play is finally here, as Cornell kicks off its Ivy League schedule against Penn on Saturday. The Quakers and Big Red will play on Berman Field at 7 p.m.
