ITHACA, N.Y. — The Cornell men's soccer program gets its season underway on Saturday, September 4 when it meets No. 18-ranked Wake Forest in Winston Salem, North Carolina at 7:00 p.m.
 

Game Information:

Cornell at #18 Wake Forest
SITE: Spry Stadium — Winston Salem, N.C. (natural surface)
RECORDS: Cornell 0-0-0, 0-0 Ivy League
                    Wake Forest 1-1, 0-0 ACC
SERIES RECORD: First Meeting
BROADCAST: ACC Network Extra
STATS: GoDeacs.com
 

About The Big Red:

• Cornell finished the 2019 season with a record of 10-5-2 overall and 3-2-2 in the Ivy League. The Big Red placed third in the Ivy League, its best finish since 2012 when Cornell won the conference championship.
• Cornell returns 17 players from the 2019 season while adding 19 newcomers into the program. The Big Red returns 9,282 minutes played of a possible 16,525.
• Junior Connor Drought (second team), senior Emeka Eneli (honorable mention), and fifth year Harry Fuller (honorable mention) return as All-Ivy League selections in 2019. Fifth year Charles Touche (first team) and senior Tate Keir (second team) were All-Ivy League selections in 2018.
• In 2019, Cornell defeated a pair of teams that reached the 2018 NCAA College Cup in Michigan State and national runner-up Akron.
• Fifth year Harry Fuller led the team in scoring in 2019 with 11 points on four goals and three assists. Including Fuller, Cornell returns four of its top five scorers from 2019 including junior Griffin Garrard, senior Emeka Eneli, and junior Brandon Morales.
 

Cornell Picked Second in the Ivy League:

• With 97 points and one first place vote, Cornell was picked to finish second in the Ivy League.
• It's the highest preseason league ranking for the Big Red under sixth-year head coach John Smith.
• Yale received 117 points and 11 first-place votes to earn the top preseason spot.
• It was a close race at the top with Princeton receiving 93 points, and Penn receiving 91.
 

O Captain! My Captain(s):

• Seniors Emeka Eneli and Jonah Kagen were named co-captains for the 2021 season.
• Eneli and Kagen were set to be captains alongside Murray Riach for the 2020 season prior to its cancellation.
• Eneli and Kagen have been key components of a cultural shift within the Cornell men's soccer program since John Smith took over in 2016.
 

Defensive Darlings:

• The Big Red returns a lot of experience on the back line. Junior Connor Drought and senior Tate Keir rarely left the field for Cornell in 2019 with Drought playing over 1,300 minutes and Keir playing over 1,200 in 2019.
• Junior Mac Naggar is a transfer from Iona where he played over 1,000 minutes for the Gaels as a freshman in 2019.
• Junior Brady McSwain made five starts in goal as a freshman in 2019 as the primary backup to now FC Tucson keeper Ryan Shellow. McSwain led the team to a 2-2-1 record, saving .667 percent of the shots he faced.
 

Midfield Maestros:

• Cornell's midfield may be its most experienced group, with fifth-years Tyler Bagley and Harry Fuller, and senior co-captain Jonah Kagen leading the way. The trio combines for a total of 128 appearances and 77 starts during their collegiate careers.
• Juniors Brandon Morales and Kurt Lehmkuhl each saw significant minutes for the Big Red in 2019. Morales was the team-leader in assists with four, assisting on game-winning goals against Michigan State, Fairleigh Dickinson, and Colgate.
 

Fast Forwards:

• Fifth-year Charles Touche and senior Emeka Eneli bring with them past All-Ivy honors, with Touche being named to the All-Ivy First Team in 2018 and Eneli an honorable mention in 2019.
• Touche and Eneli boast a combined career total of 47 points on 19 goals and nine assists. Touche scored eight goals during his All-Ivy season in 2018.
• Junior Griffin Garrard showcased goal scoring ability playing on the wing as a freshman, ranking second on the team with four goals scored.
 

About Wake Forest:

• The Demon Deacons split its opening weekend with a 2-0 loss to Virginia Commonwealth on Aug. 26 and a 2-0 win over Bucknell on Aug. 29.
• Senior forward Kyle Holcomb and junior midfielder Omar Hernandez were the goal scorers for Wake Forest in the win over Bucknell.
• Wake Forest lost junior midfielder and second team All-American Isaiah Parente to Major League Soccer's Columbus Crew following the 2020-21 season.
• Redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Cole McNally has made 11 career starts, posting a 7-2-2 career record with four career clean sheets.
 

The Series vs. Wake Forest:

• Saturday's game marks the first meeting between Cornell and Wake Forest.
 

Up Next:

•  Cornell continues its travels down Tobacco Road when it meets High Point University on Tuesday, September 7 at 2:30 p.m.