ITHACA, N.Y. — As Ivy League play nears, the Big Red will face Buffalo in Cornell's penultimate nonconference game of the season. After picking up its first win of the season and a tournament title, the Big Red dropped a 2-0 decision to Hartwick on Wednesday. Cornell will look to the game at Buffalo as one of their final tune-ups before league play begins.
 
GAME INFORMATION
GAME #9: Cornell Big Red at University at Buffalo Bulls
WHEN: Sunday, Sept. 27, 2015, 5 p.m.
WHERE: UB Stadium — Buffalo, N.Y.
2015 RECORDS: Cornell 1-6-1, Buffalo 3-4-3
LIVE STATS: UBBulls.com
 
ABOUT THE BIG RED
The Big Red took home the CU Inaria Cup last weekend after playing Duquesne to a scoreless draw and beating Air Force, 2-1, in overtime for Cornell's first win of the season. Junior Madison Heck netted a penalty kick goal to tie the game against in regulation before taking the free kick that led to an Air Force own goal in overtime. … In the Duquesne Invitational, the Big Red held then-No. 12 Oregon State scoreless until the 80^th minute in a 2-0 loss. Cornell opened the Duquesne tournament with a 2-1 overtime loss to Cleveland State. The Vikings got the first tally, but the Big Red answered in the second half with a goal from sophomore Jonathan Cullom, before a penalty kick in overtime sealed the victory for Cleveland State. … Heck leads the team with 14 shots and two goals.
 
TOURNAMENT TRIUMPH
For the fourth time in five years, Cornell took home the CU Inaria Cup title last weekend. The Big Red earned four points in this year's tournament: one from the 0-0 draw with Duquesne and three from the 2-1 win over Air Force. The Dukes also grabbed four points, picking up a 1-0 win over Colgate on Sunday and forcing the tournament champion to be decided through tie-breakers. Duquesne and Cornell were tied in head-to-head play (0-0 draw) and in goal differential (+1), but the Big Red won on the third tie-breaker with two goals for. Cornell is now 8-0-1 in CU Inaria Cup fixtures.
 
RHYS'S CUP
Freshman goalkeeper Rhys Moller was named the CU Inaria Cup's Defensive MVP after saving a penalty kick in Friday night's draw with Duquesne to preserve the shutout, his first career clean sheet. He also made a pair of key saves in overtime when the Big Red was short a man. Moller made 13 stops and posted a 0.916 save percentage in the tournament.
 
HECK YEAH
Junior midfielder Madison Heck was chosen as the tournament's Offensive MVP after converting a penalty kick against Air Force to send the game to overtime. He also took the free kick that led to the Falcons' own goal and earned the Big Red the victory. Heck provided energy off the bench and helped ignite the Big Red attack throughout the tournament. Aside from his goal in Sunday's win, he had some of the team's best chances, including a free kick that sailed just high and a shot that hit the post.

SAVES GALORE
The Big Red is tied for fourth among all NCAA Division I men's soccer teams in saves per game with 5.88 (through Sept. 22). In his collegiate debut, freshman goalkeeper Rhys Moller made 11 saves, tied for second-most in a single game by a Big Red keeper in the past decade. Several of the stops were big time plays to keep Cornell in the game, a 1-0 loss to Lehigh. Moller picked up seven more saves in the Duquesne Invitational, including five against no. 12 Oregon State. Moller also came up big in the Big Red's draw with Duquesne, saving a penalty kick and earning his first collegiate shutout.
 
JUNIOR ARMY
After graduating seven seniors after last season, the Big Red has just two seniors on the team, Ben Feldman and Stevin Bienfait. The team includes a whopping 13 juniors, meaning the Class of 2017 makes up exactly half of this season's roster.  Five sophomores and six freshmen round out the squad.
 
ABOUT HEAD COACH JARO ZAWISLAN
Zawislan, now in his seventh season at the helm of Big Red men's soccer, posted a winning record for four consecutive seasons entering 2015, earning him a spot among the top coaches in the Ivy League.  He has led Cornell to 10+ wins in two of the past three seasons and also directed the Big Red to its first Ivy League title since 1995 and first outright title since 1977 in 2012. The Class of 2015, under Zawislan, posted the second-most career wins (41) of any senior class in program history. Heading into 2015, Zawislan held a 51-29-10 coaching record at Cornell, good for a .622 winning percentage, the second best in school history … Zawislan is a graduate of Clemson University '93, where he was a four-year starter in goal. Before pursuing a career in coaching, he played professionally both in the United States and his native Poland. After spending time as an assistant coach at Stanford, Creighton and Syracuse, Zawislan was named Cornell's 11th head coach in 2009.
 
ABOUT BUFFALO
The Bulls began the season 3-0-1 with wins against Seton Hill (2-0), Belmont (3-1) and Canisius (4-2) and a draw with Texas Rio Grande Valley (1-1). The team then hit a four-game losing skid before tying Niagara, 2-2, last Sunday and Stony Brook, 1-1, on Thursday. The Bulls' first loss came to Houston Baptist, a 1-0 overtime decision. They were shutout at Massachusetts Lowell, 2-0, and at Bryant, 1-0, before falling to Lafayette by the same score that the Big Red fell to the Leopards earlier in the season, 2-1. Buffalo scored 10 goals in their first four games, but have since found the back of the net just four times.  … Junior Russell Cicerone leads the Bulls with five goals, three assists and 31 shots. Sophomore Scott Doney has added three goals and three assists. … Sophomore goalkeeper Cameron Hogg (3-3-2) has started seven games for the Bulls, recording a 1.18 goals-against average and a .744 save percentage.
 
THE SERIES WITH BUFFALO
The Big Red holds a narrow 5-4-0 all-time record over the Bulls. Last season, Cornell dealt Buffalo a 5-0 loss at Berman Field, marking the most goals the Big Red scored in a single game in 2014 and earning Cornell their seventh shutout of the season. Senior Stevin Bienfait had a pair of goals in the win. The Big Red has won the past three meetings between the teams.
 
UP NEXT
Cornell finishes up a three-game stint away from Berman Field with the opening game of Ivy League play at Penn. The game is set for 7 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 3 in Philadelphia, Pa. Penn is the only remaining Ancient Eight team that has not recorded a win yet this season.