ITHACA, N.Y. – Cornell men's soccer notched its first victory of the season Wednesday evening in the team's home opener at Charles F. Berman Field. Senior captains Peter Chodas and Conor Goepel provided the theatrics, as Chodas sent a perfect cross which Goepel headed home for a golden goal in the 105^th minute to push the Big Red past Lafayette 1-0. Now the team will look to carry the momentum from the first victory of the season into this weekend's match at local rival Binghamton.
 
Cornell Big Red (1-1-1; 0-0-0 Ivy League) at Binghamton Bearcats (2-3-0; 0-0-0 America East)
Saturday, Sept. 13, 2014 | 7:00 PM | Bearcats Sports Complex – Vestal, N.Y.
All-Time Series: Cornell Leads 11-4-1
Last Meeting (2013): W, 2-1
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SCOUTING CORNELL
 
Big Red Headlines
Following the difficult road trip to begin the season, Cornell returned to East Hill for its 2014 home opener against the Lafayette Leopards. The game played out similarly to several recent matchups between the two rivals in this series. The game was a physical defensive battle, as both teams contested every inch of the pitch. For the fifth time in the last seven meetings between the schools, the match went to overtime. Finally, the Big Red broke through in the second overtime session, as Conor Goepel headed home a free kick delivery from Peter Chodas in the 105^th minute to score the team's first victory of the season.  
 
About Head Coach Jaro Zawislan
Zawislan enters his 6^th 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 42-24-10 and his current .618 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 Season's Meeting vs. Binghamton
Cornell dispatched its local rival 2-1 last season at Charles F. Berman Field. The Bearcats struck first in the match, as Vlad Finn slotted a looping shot over Cornell keeper Zach Zagorski to stake Binghamton to the 1-0 lead in the 51^st minute. The Big Red countered with a goal of its own just 2:19 later to tie the game at 1-1. Cornell pulled ahead in the 76^th minute, as a rebound in the box was knocked past the Bearcat keeper. Patrick Slogic had two assists in the match, while Peter Chodas added a secondary assist on the equalizing goal.
 
Dynamic Defense
The Big Red continued its stellar play on the back-end in its matchup with Lafayette. The defense remained stalwart despite persistent pressure in the second half from the Leopards. Cornell defenders made several key blocks in the waning minutes of regulation. Cornell has only allowed one goal, an overtime marker by Xavier in the 97^th minute, through three contests this season. The strong play of the defense has been needed, as the Big Red continues to find its sync on the offensive end. The impressive start on the defensive end equals the 2012 team as the best defensive start in the Zawislan era. Cornell currently ranks amongst the top-20 in Division I in team goals against average.
 
Parsimonious Paws in Net
Senior keeper Zach Zagorski kept the momentum going in his fabulous start to the 2014 season. He turned in quite possibly his best performance of the young season in Wednesday's home opener, making six saves to mark his second clean sheet in three tries this year. He currently leads the Ivy League in goals against average (0.30), save percentage (.933), and saves (14). The clean sheet against Lafayette was the seventh of his Big Red career, moving him into a tie for seventh on the program's all-time list.
 
Clutch Captain's
All four senior captains came through in a big way in the team's victory over Lafayette. Peter Chodas and Conor Goepel combined on an excellent play to score the golden goal. Devin Morgan put forth a strong effort, diffusing several Lafayette opportunities, while Zach Zagorski came up with several game-saving stops in the waning minutes of regulation. The goal by Goepel was the seventh game-winner of his career, moving him into a tie for fourth on the program's all-time list.
 
Home Sweet Home
Cornell held serve on its home its home field yet again in Wednesday's home opener at Charles F. Berman Field. Men's soccer is 68-52-17 (.558) all-time at the venue and is 25-10-8 (.674) at home during head coach Jaro Zawislan's tenure. The Big Red is 18-2-5 (.820) in non-conference home matchups and 5-1-0 in home openers since Zawislan took over in 2009.
 
Observably Overtime
As was to be expected from looking at the recent series history, the home opener on Wednesday went to overtime. It marked the fifth time in the last seven meetings that the game went beyond regulation. Cornell has now started the season with three straight overtime games, equaling the start from the 2013 season. If Saturday's matchup with Binghamton heads to extra time it will be the first time in program history that the Big Red have played four consecutive overtime games.
 
Bad Neighbors
The Big Red has not been very friendly to its neighbor to the south in recent seasons. Since Zawislan took over head coaching duties in 2009, Cornell has a 3-1-1 record against the Bearcats, including a current three game winning streak over its local rival. The Big Red has a +8 goal differential over the five-game stretch and an 11-1 goal scoring advantage over the last three contests.
 
Scoreless Streak Snapped
Goepel's overtime goal snapped a long goal scoring drought of 310-minutes and five-seconds to begin the season. The scoring drought was the longest since a 417-minute and six-second mark stretching across five games last season. The scoreless streak was the longest to begin a season since 2008. The Big Red will look to get the offense rolling against a Binghamton team that has been vulnerable to Cornell attacks in recent matchups.
 
SCOUTING BINGHAMTON
 
Bearcat Headlines
Binghamton enters the matchup with Cornell with a 2-3-0 record on the season. The Bearcats dropped their most recent contest on Wednesday, falling to Army 1-0 at the Bearcats Sports Complex. The attack for Binghamton has been streaky this season, as the team has posted three two-goal games, but also has been shut out twice. Sophomore forward Alex Varkatzas leads the Bearcats with two goals and six points on the season. Junior midfielder Luca Bottoni and sophomore defensive mid Charlie Novoth both have added a goal and assist apiece.
 
About Head Coach Paul Marco
Marco has turned the Bearcats into a perennial America East Conference contender since his arrival at Binghamton in 2002. He has led the Bearcats to two conference titles, two regular season titles, and a conference-record six consecutive appearances in the America East championship game from 2003-08. His overall record at the school is 107-90-42 (.536). Prior to his appointment at Binghamton, Marco served as the head coach at his alma mater West Virginia, compiling a record of 47-62-4 with the Mountaineers.
 
Trouble on the Home Front
With the 1-0 loss against Army on Wednesday, the Bearcats fell to 0-2 on the season at home. Binghamton also dropped a 1-0 decision in the team's home opener against Marist on September 1. The While the Bearcat attack has averaged two goals per game on the road this season, the team has yet to find the back of the net at home this season. Dating back to the beginning of 2012, Binghamton is just 3-8-2 in its last 13 contests at the Bearcats Sports Complex, a record which includes a 5-0 loss to Cornell in 2012.
 
Corner the Cats
If there is one area where the Bearcats can be exploited, it is on corner kicks. Binghamton has relinquished 38 corner kicks through its first five games, an average of over seven per contest. On attack, the Bearcats have only forced 12 corners (2.4 per game). The Big Red looked dangerous on corner kick opportunities against Lafayette, including a near miss header from Devin Morgan, which came off a corner delivery early in the first overtime. The Big Red could exploit this propensity to allow corner kicks in its matchup this Saturday.
 
Near & Far
The Binghamton roster has an interesting mix of players from near and far. While 18 players on the Bearcats roster hail from New York State, seven are from international locales. The roster comprises two players from Germany and two players from Canada, as well as one player each from England, Denmark, and Scotland.
 
Silent Celeste
Junior midfielder Bret Celeste has yet to crack the stat sheet through five games in 2014. Celeste led all Binghamton goal scorers a season ago, tallying four markers as a sophomore. The Big Red must keep a close eye on Celeste in order to prevent him from finding his potent finishing touch from last season.
 
UP NEXT
The Big Red will again take on a local arrival, as the team heads to Syracuse for a clash with the Orange. The game is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 16, and will be broadcast live on Time Warner Sports and on WatchESPN.