ITHACA, N.Y. – Fresh off a 5-0 dismantling of Buffalo this past Saturday, Cornell men's soccer will look to complete a perfect 5-0-0 home stand in its next contest this weekend. The Big Red blitzed the Bulls for five goals, its highest single-game output since a 5-0 throttling of Binghamton in 2012. Devin Morgan notched the game-winner with his goal off a corner kick in the 16^th minute of play. Conor Goepel, Vincent Brunetti and Stevin Bienfait (2) combined to score the other four goals. The Big Red figure to face a stiffer test this weekend, as it welcomes Penn for the Ivy League home opener on Saturday. The program will be celebrating alumni weekend with pre-game and post-game festivities. Opening kick is scheduled for 4 p.m. at Berman Field.
 
Cornell Big Red (6-2-1; 0-0-0 Ivy League) vs. Pennsylvania Quakers (4-4-0; 0-0-0 Ivy League)
Saturday, Oct. 4, 2014 | 4:00 PM | Ithaca, N.Y. – Berman Field
All-Time Record: Cornell Trails, 30-60-13
Last Meeting (2013): Cornell Loss, 0-1
Live Stats | Live Audio
 
SCOUTING CORNELL
 
Big Red Headlines
Cornell men's soccer continued its winning ways at home, crushing Buffalo 5-0 at Berman Field on Saturday night. The Big Red jumped out early, as Devin Morgan connected on a header off a corner kick in the 16^th minute. The team would add two more goals in the half, as sophomore transfer Stevin Bienfait would notch his first collegiate goal and senior Conor Goepel would connect on his fifth of the season. Halftime did little to slow down the Big Red's roll. Bienfait would collect his second goal of the game off a turnover deep in the attacking third. Sophomore Vincent Brunetti capped the scoring in the 65^th minute, slotting home his first goal of the season. Seniors Zach Zagorski and Ian Panzica combined on the shutout; the fourth straight clean sheet for the squad and seventh in nine contests this season.
 
About Head Coach Jaro Zawislan
Zawislan enters his sixth season at Cornell having established himself as one of the top coaches in the Ivy League during his short tenure. After taking over a program that was 1-15 the season before his appointment as head coach, Zawislan has transformed Big Red men's soccer into a consistent winner and a national presence in NCAA Division I. In his first five seasons on East Hill his teams have posted at least .500 winning percentages four times, while he has led Cornell to three consecutive winning seasons. He also directed the Big Red to its first Ivy League title since 1995 and first outright title since 1977 in 2012. His coaching record currently sits at 47-25-10 and his current .634 winning percentage is the second best mark in program history.
 
Zawislan is a graduate of Clemson University '93, while he was a four-year starting goalkeeper on the varsity soccer team. Upon his graduation he played professionally both in the United States and his native Poland, before pursuing a career in coaching. He made assistant coaching stops at Stanford, Creighton and Syracuse, before being named Cornell's 11^th head coach in 2009.
 
Last Meeting with Penn
Although Cornell dominated last season's matchup against the Quakers, the Big Red dropped the contest 1-0. Penn scored the game-winner in the 81^st minute, as Jonny Dolezal redirected a corner kick service from Duke Lacroix, getting just enough pace on the ball to send it across the goal-mouth and in off the left post. Cornell doubled up the Quakers in shots, but could not solve net minder Max Polkinhorne, who made seven saves in the contest.

Dynamic Defense
The Big Red defense posted another shutout on Saturday, the team's fourth in as many contests. Cornell has now blanked the opponent in seven of nine contests thus far this season. Impressive, has been the team's ability to insulate the net. That was on display yet again on Saturday, as Buffalo was only able to manage four shots on goal, all coming from considerable distance. The Big Red currently ranks ninth in NCAA Division I with a 0.42 team goals against average and ranks fourth in shutout percentage, marking a clean sheet in 78% of its contests this season. The team has not allowed a goal for 362-minutes and 14-seconds, the longest such stretch since a 371-minute 43-second stretch last season. The four consecutive clean sheets is the longest such streak for the Big Red since a four game stretch from Sept. 16-Sept. 23 in 2012.
 
Parsimonious Paws in Net
Senior keeper Zach Zagorski has been stellar in net for the Big Red this season. He had another great game on Saturday, as the Big Red posted its fourth consecutive shutout in the 5-0 victory over the Bulls. He made four saves, before being relieved by senior keeper Ian Panzica in the 63^rd minute. In his first action of the season, Panzica made the shut out stand up through the remainder of the contest.
 
Zagorski currently leads the Ivy League for all eligible keepers in goals against average (0.444) and save percentage (.889). He currently ranks in the top-15 in NCAA Division I in two categories; checking in at 10^th in save percentage and 14^th in goals against average. His 32 saves are third most in the Ivy League. Zagorski now has 11 career shutouts and is all-alone in fourth on the program's all-time list for the statistic.
 
Home Sweet Home
Cornell continued to defend its home field advantage with the 5-0 victory on Saturday. Men's soccer is 72-52-17 (.571) all-time at Charles F. Berman Field and is 29-10-8 (.702) at home during head coach Jaro Zawislan's tenure. The Big Red is 22-2-5 (.845) in non-conference home matchups since Zawislan took over in 2009. The team is 5-0-0 at home this season and has yet to concede a goal in any of the matchups. The Big Red has a 2-2-1 record in Ivy League openers during the Zawislan era, including a 1-1-0 mark against Penn at Berman Field.
 
Captains Are Clutch
With a young, though talented supporting cast, Cornell knew it would need big contributions from the team's four senior captains. Peter Chodas, Conor Goepel, Devin Morgan and Zach Zagorski have answered the call in resounding fashion this season. Each player finds his name amongst the Ivy League's best in varied categories.
 
Chodas currently is tied for first and ranks 22^nd nationally with four assists. He posted a natural hat-trick of assists in the Big Red's victory over Buffalo, having a hand in all three first half markers.
 
Goepel has been the heart and soul of the Big Red's offensive attack this season. He leads the Ivy League in points (13), goals (5), and game-winning goals (3). He currently is tied for sixth nationally in game-winners, 18^th in total points, and 22^nd in goals. He currently is on a four-game point streak after collecting a goal and an assist on Saturday.
 
Morgan has gotten into the offensive of late. He has marked the game-winner in the Big Red's last two contests and is tied for second in the conference and 22^nd nationally in the category this season. He has also been a major cog in leading the league's top-ranked defense.
 
Zagorski has been stout in net when called upon. He leads the conference in most every category for goal keepers.

Red in the Rankings
The Big Red is beginning to garner attention at the national level. Cornell men's soccer checks in as the second team in the 'receiving votes' section of the latest NSCAA National poll. With a victory over the Quakers, the Big Red will likely jump into the top-25 for the first time this season.
 
SCOUTING PENN
 
Quaker Headlines
The Quakers started the season 2-0-0, but have hit a rough stretch of late. Penn had lost four of its last five, before getting back into the win column on Tuesday with a 2-1 2OT victory against Big 5 rival St. Joseph's. The Quakers boast a potent offense that is second in the conference with 15 goals on the year. The team averages nearly two goals per contest and has only been shutout once this season, while it has scored multiple goals in five of eight contests overall.
 
About Head Coach Rudy Fuller
Fuller is in his 17^th season at the helm of the Quakers' men's soccer program. Since his arrival in 1998, he has elevated the program into a consistent NCAA Tournament contender. He has led Penn to four NCAA Tournament appearances during his tenure and three Ivy League Championships, including an outright league title and tournament appearance a season ago. He has coached 67 All-Ivy players and 15 All-Region players during his tenure. His career record at the university currently sits at 122-130-27. Prior to being named Penn's head coach, he played a major role in building the program at his alma mater of Georgetown.
 
Battle Tested
While Penn's record indicates a struggling side, that is not necessarily the case with the Quakers. A product of Penn's slow start from a record perspective is the quality of its schedule. The team has already played three top-15 opponents; No. 10 Washington, No. 12 American and most recently No. 7 Penn State. Cornell has also played a difficult schedule, which included current top-10 teams No. 5 Syracuse and No. 9 Louisville.
 
Dominant Duo
The Penn offensive attack is powered by an extremely talented duo up front. Sophomore Alec Neumann leads the team with 13 points – five goals and three assists – while senior Duke Lacroix is right on his heels with 12 points – five goals and two assists – on the year. The duo was at it yet again on Tuesday against the Hawks, as Lacroix scored a goal, while Neumann registered three points, including the game-winning goal in double overtime. Lacroix is the reigning Ivy League Offensive Player of the Year, after collecting eight goals and 19 points a season ago. He currently is tied for first in the Ivy League for goals, while ranks second in points and game-winning goals. Neumann was a Second Team All-Ivy selection in his rookie campaign, after netting five goals and collecting 14 points. He is tied for first in the league in both points and goals.
 
Precocious Keeper
Quaker goal keeper Max Polkinhorne has seen a lot of action in his first season as the primary starter. He leads the Ivy League and is tied for 21^st nationally with 41 saves. The junior ranks 12^th nationally with an average of 5.43 saves per game, while he has posted a respectable .719 save percentage. He has shown that he is beatable, as he has allowed 16 goals this season, including five in the 6-2 loss to Penn State.
 
UP NEXT
After the matchup with the Quakers, Cornell men's soccer will hit the road for the first time in nearly a month. The team will face Harvard in the conference road opener with opening kick scheduled for 4:30 p.m. on Oct. 11.