ITHACA, N.Y. — The men's soccer team is heading to the Washington, D.C. area this weekend to take on George Mason and American University in the Capitol Cup. Cornell will face George Mason on Friday night in Fairfax, Va and then travel to American on Sunday afternoon to take on the Eagles.

GAME INFORMATION
Game #3: Cornell Big Red at George Mason Patriots
WHEN: 5 p.m., Friday, Sept. 9, 2016
WHERE: Fairfax, Va.
2016 RECORDS: Cornell 0-1-1, George Mason 0-2-1
VIDEO: Atlantic10.com
LIVE STATS: Atlantic10.com
 
Game #4: Cornell Big Red at American University Eagles
WHEN: 3 p.m., Sunday, Sept. 11, 2016
WHERE: Washington, D.C.
2016 Records: Cornell 0-1-1*, American 2-0-2*
VIDEO: Patriot League Network/Campus Insiders
LIVE STATS: AUEagles.com
 
*records prior to Friday's contests
 
 
ABOUT THE BIG RED
Cornell tied Central Connecticut State 2-2 in its season opener on Friday night at Berman Field. The Big Red received goals from sophomore Ryan Watters and freshman Brady Dickens, and junior Mitchell Meyer made four saves in net to preserve the tie. The Big Red then hit the road on Monday night and played 66 minutes of scoreless soccer with the No. 14-ranked Connecticut before the Huskies were able to pull out the 2-0 win. … Cornell  ended the 2015 season with a 4-12-1 record but finished strong, going 3-3 over the last six games. …The team returns every single player that registered a point last year, including senior midfielder Madison Heck, who led the team with five points …This year, Cornell has a senior-heavy roster that brings a wealth of experience to the pitch. Eleven players are entering their final seasons in a Big Red uniform and the newcomers to the team – nine freshmen and a transfer from Syracuse – have added depth at every position.
 
ABOUT HEAD COACH JOHN SMITH
Smith comes to East Hill after spending four years at Stanford, two as associate head coach. In 2015, Smith helped lead the Cardinal to its first national title in program history and an 18-2-3 record, the team's most wins since 2002. Smith, who worked primarily with Stanford's strikers, was named NSCAA Far West Region Assistant Coach of the Year in 2014. Prior to his time in Palo Alto, Smith amassed a 62-26-10 record in six seasons as the head coach of Division II power Incarnate Word and spent time as an assistant coach at CSU Bakersfield. Smith is a graduate of Rollins, where he was two-time All-American. He was selected 13^thoverall by the Columbus Crew in the 1997 MLS Draft and played for two years in the A-League. He was named the Cornell men's soccer program's 12^th head coach in March 2016.
 
KEEPING IT CLOSE
The Cornell defense has been stingy over the past four seasons and has gone 20-straight games without giving up more than two goals. The Big Red played in 11 games last year that were decided by one goal or less, and Cornell was one of two Ivy League teams to not concede more than two goals in a game through both non-league and league play. The only other team to accomplish this feat was 2015 Ivy League champion Dartmouth. Junior captain Eric Nuss will be joined on the backline by seniors Liam Crotty, who was named to the All-Ivy second team in 2015, and Ralph Lee Price IV. Nuss, Price, Crotty and junior Allen Michael Capo were all members of the 2014 team that tied a program record for fewest goals allowed in a season with 11.
 
CAPTAIN'S ARMBANDS
Head coach John Smith has selected senior Zach Bialik and junior Eric Nuss to serve as the Big Red's captains for the 2016 season. Bialik, a midfielder, logged more than 60 minutes on 10 occasions in 2015. Nuss has started on defense in all 32 games over the last two seasons and logged a team-leading 1,450 minutes last season.
 
SENIOR AND FRESHMEN PRESENCE
The 11 members of the Class of 2017 make up a third of this year's 31-player roster and seven of those players have registered at least one career point. There are also nine members of the Class of 2020 on the team this year, making it a top- and bottom-heavy roster. Six juniors and five sophomores round out the squad.
 
INTERNATIONAL APPEAL
Cornell men's soccer is a diverse group, with players hailing from 15 different states and England, as senior JJ Black and freshman George Pedlow both come to the Big Red from England. Six players come from New York while California, Colorado and New Jersey have three representatives each.
 
ABOUT GEORGE MASON
The Patriots went 7-7-3 last year and finished tied for eighth in the Atlantic 10 Conference. This year, they were chosen to finish seventh in the A-10 preseason coaches' poll. … Junior Henning Dirks, who led the team in 2015 with seven goals and three assists, returns up top for George Mason. Dirks currently leads the team with one goal, one assist, and four shots on goal. Senior Steffen Kraus returns in net following a junior campaign in which he earned a .734 save percentage and 1.44 goals against average and was named to the NSCAA All-Midwest Third Team. …  The Patriots have played three games so far in 2016, with the first two contests being played on the road. After opening with a 2-1 loss to American, they dropped a 4-2 game to Eastern Tennessee. They then returned home to face Longwood, with the game ending in a 1-1 tie.
 
THE SERIES WITH GEORGE MASON
The last – and only – time that Cornell played George Mason was on Sept. 27, 1997 at a neutral site tournament. The two teams played to a 2-2 overtime tie.
 
ABOUT AMERICAN
The Eagles, who earned a vote in this season's NSCAA Preseason Poll, won 14 games last year and reached the Patriot League championship game. The team was picked to finish first in the 2016 Patriot League Preseason Poll and currently sits at 2-0-2. ... After a season-opening 2-1 win over George Mason in the Kuykenstrong DC College Cup, they went on a three-game road trip. The Eagles tied South Florida 1-1 and Ivy League member Penn 2-2 before heading to Southern Methodist for a 3-1 win. … American has received points from eight different players so far this season. … On offense, the Eagles return seven players who had at least 10 points in 2015, including a trio of players - senior Dale Ludwig and sophomores Joel Hart and Vinny Barone – who each notched 15 points a year ago.
 
THE SERIES WITH AMERICAN
American and Cornell have met on two previous occasions, with both teams coming away with a win. In their most recent meeting, in 2004, American came to East Hill and took the game 3-0 but in their first meeting it was the Big Red that came out on top, 1-0.
 
UP NEXT
Cornell will head to Binghamton on Sept. 14 before returning to East Hill to defend their 2015 CU Inaria Cup title. The Big Red will take to Berman Field on Sept. 16 to play Saint Francis and Sept. 18 to take on New Hampshire. Cornell will finish off its tough slate of three games in five days with a match at home against Syracuse on Sept. 20.