ITHACA, N.Y. – Coming off a 2-0-0 week and an emotional late game victory over the Yale Bulldogs, Cornell men's soccer will look to carry the momentum to the road when it travels to Providence this weekend to square off with Brown. Opening kick against the Bears is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 25.
 
Cornell Big Red (8-4-1; 1-2-0 Ivy League) at Brown Bears (3-4-5; 1-1-1 Ivy League)
Saturday, Oct. 25, 2014 | 3:30 PM | Providence, R.I. – Stevenson Field
All-Time Series: Cornell Trails, 19-37-5
Last Meeting (2013): Cornell Loss, 0-1
Live Stats | Live Video (ILDN)
 
SCOUTING CORNELL
 
Big Red Headlines
Cornell men's soccer notched its first Ivy League victory of 2014 on homecoming Saturday, dispatching Yale 1-0 at Berman Field. The Big Red preserved through difficult playing conditions on a cool, windy and wet afternoon on East Hill to score the game's lone goal in the 1-0 victory. Senior captain Conor Goepel was the hero, roofing a shot past Yale keeper Blake Brown on a sliding kick attempt in the 82^nd minute. The victory was the Big Red's second straight shutout and ninth on the 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 49-27-10 and his current .628 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: Brown
Cornell stomached a difficult 1-0 defeat at the hands of Brown in the team's 2013 matchup at Berman Field. The Big Red completely dominated the contest, but could not find a way to solve the Bears keeper Josh Weiner. Cornell outshot the Bears and astounding 25-5 – 9-2 shots-on-goal – for the game. Tariq Akeel potted the game-winner for the Bears just before the halftime horn heading home a cross from Daniel Taylor just inside the near post past Cornell keeper Zach Zagorski.
 
Recent Series: Brown
Brown has had the Big Red's number since Zawislan took over the program in 2009. The Bears are the only team Zawislan has not been able to score a victory against in his six seasons at the helm. Cornell is 0-4-1 against Brown with the lone goal against the Bears coming in a 1-1 tie in 2011. Brown has won the last two contests at Stevenson Field by 2-0 margins.
 
Dynamic Defense
The Cornell defense broke new ground on Saturday, holding a scrappy upset-minded Yale squad scoreless in the 1-0 victory. The shutout was Cornell's ninth of the season, passing the 2013 squad for the most shutouts for a single-season in the entire history of the program. The Big Red currently ranks sixth in NCAA Division I with a 0.45 team goals against average and ranks third in shutout percentage, marking a clean sheet in over two-thirds of its contests this season.
 
Parsimonious Paws in Net
Senior keeper Zach Zagorski has been stellar in net for the Big Red this season. He was brilliant on a miserable weather afternoon at Berman Field in Saturday's 1-0 victory over Yale. He made four saves, including an acrobatic jumping effort to deny a floating finesse shot from Yale's Conner Lachenbruch in the final minute of play. The clean sheet was his eighth of the season, tying him with Jon Ross '75 – who marked eight clean sheets in both '73 and '74 – for first all-time in single-season shutouts.
 
Zagorski currently leads the Ivy League for all eligible keepers in goals against average (0.462) and save percentage (.878). He currently ranks in the top-ten in NCAA Division I in two categories; checking in at fifth in save percentage and sixth in goals against average. His 43 saves are fourth most in the Ivy League. Zagorski now has 13 career shutouts which put him in a tie with Quinn O'Sullivan '95 for third place on the program's all-time list.
 
Road Warriors
Cornell has battled hard on the road this season, despite playing in some of the most difficult venues in the country. The squad is 2-3-1 on the road this season and will look to even its road record on Saturday against the Bears. The Big Red will need to get its offense going in order to do so. While the team has averaged 1.57 goals per game at home this season, it has only found the back of the net twice in six road fixtures this season.
 
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.
 
Game-Winning "Goal"pel
Conor Goepel broke out of his scoring drought at the perfect time in the Big Red's victory on Saturday. Needing a positive result in the worst possible way, Goepel drove home the game-winning goal in the 82^nd minute. After a ball pin-balled around the right side of the box, Jack Ferguson flicked the ball towards the middle at the top of the five-yard box. With a nose for the ball, Goepel weaved his way through the mass of Yale defenders and made a sliding effort to just barely get a boot to the ball ahead of the Bulldog defender's clearing attempt. The tally was Goepel's fourth game-winner of the season, moving him all-alone into first in the Ivy League and a tie for 12^th nationally in the category. He now has ten game-winning goals in his career, moving within two of tying Eric Kusseluk '96 for the program record.
 
Milestone Victory
If the Big Red earns a positive result at Brown on Saturday it will allow head coach Jaro Zawislan to reach a couple milestones. A victory would give the coach a win against every other Ancient Eight school, while it would give him his 50^th career win at the head of the Cornell men's soccer program.
 
SCOUTING BROWN
 
Bear Headlines
Brown played well in its most recent matchup on Saturday, tying league leading Harvard 1-1 at Stevenson Field. The Bears had to play catchup early on as the Crimson netted a goal in the 16^th minute off the boot of Tim Schmoll. Brown equalized early in the second half with Ben Maurey marking a tally off a corner kick set piece from Jack Gorab. Neither team could unlock the others defense for the tiebreaking tally over the final 61 minutes. The tie was the Bears fourth over the last six games.
 
About Head Coach Patrick Laughlin
Laughlin is in his fifth season at the helm of the Brown men's soccer program. He became just the sixth coach to lead the Bears in the 85-year history of the program. He has made Brown the class of the Ivy League during his tenure. He has led the squad to three winning seasons and three NCAA College Cup appearances in his four years at the helm, including an Ivy League Championship in 2011. His current record sits at 47-23-18, while his record in league play is a strong 15-8-8. He made coaching stops at Dean College, Rhode Island and Maine prior to joining the Bears before the 2010 season.
 
Bruising Defense
The Hallmark of Laughlin's teams since arriving at Brown is big and physical defenses. This season is no exception as Brown has conceded just 13 goals through 12 games this season. The Bears boast the second best goals against average in the Ivy League next to the Big Red and currently rank 66^th in NCAA Division I (0.99). The Bears have posted five clean sheets on the season, which is again second to the Big Red in the Ivy League. Brown has allowed just four goals over its last seven fixtures.
 
Offense at a Premium
Similarly to the Big Red, with such a premium placed on defensive responsibility goals have been hard to come by for the Bears. Cornell and Brown both towards the bottom of the Ivy League and NCAA Division I in goals scored. The Big Red has tallied 13 times (T-5^th Ivy; T-152^nd NCAA Division I), while Brown has found the back of the net just 11 times (7^th Ivy; T-172^nd NCAA Division I). With two stout defenses going head-to-head, goals will be at a premium on Saturday afternoon.
 
Mixed Bag at Home
Brown has been a mixed bag at home this season, entering the weekend with a 2-2-2 mark at Stevenson Field. While the offense has shown well on friendly turf – seven of the team's 11 goals have come at home – the defense has struggled to find its footing. The Bears have conceded seven of its 13 total goals allowed at home. Both teams will be pressing as Saturday's contest will be a must-win for two teams that are hoping to remain within striking distance of the top.
 
UP NEXT
The Big Red will return home for the following weekend for its final home stand of the season. Cornell will kick off the two-game set when it welcomes Princeton to Berman Field for a 5 p.m. kick on Saturday, Nov. 1.