ITHACA, N.Y. — The Cornell men's soccer program opens a three-game road swing this evening when the Big Red square off against nationally-ranked Syracuse at SU Soccer Stadium.

Game Information

SITE: SU Soccer Stadium – Syracuse, N.Y. (natural surface)
TIME: Tuesday, Oct. 4 – 7 p.m.
RECORDS: Cornell (7-1-0, 1-0 Ivy), No. 7 Syracuse (8-1-1, 3-1-0 ACC)
SERIES RECORD: Cornell leads, 31-19-6
BROADCAST: ACC Network Extra
STATS: Cuse.com

Last Time Out

• Freshman midfielder Ben Goulding's first collegiate goal was the difference as Cornell defeated Harvard, 3-2, in men's soccer action at Berman Field on Saturday.
 
• Fifth-year forward Emeka Eneli and senior midfielder Brandon Morales joined Goulding in the scoring column as Cornell recorded its fourth consecutive victory.

Road Warriors

• After Saturday's victory over Harvard, tonight is the first of three consecutive matches on the road, which has been kind to Cornell since the 2018 season.
 
• With its 1-0 victory over Marist on Sept. 24, Cornell improved to 23-9-1 on the road since the beginning of the 2018 season, good for a .712 win percentage.
 
• Cornell is one of four Division I schools to post a win percentage north of .700 on the road over the last four-plus seasons. Only Missouri State (.828), Washington (.743), and Saint Mary's (.727) have higher percentages.
 
• The Big Red is one of 13 programs to be undefeated on the road this season. Cornell's five road victories in 2022 are tied with Vermont for the most by a Division I program.
 
• Dating back to last year, Cornell has won its last six road matches, which is tied with Missouri State for the second-longest active Division I streak. The only team ahead of Cornell and Missouri State for the longest road win streak is Vermont, who has won its last seven road matches.

Starting Strong

• Cornell is off to its best eight-game start since the 2012 season when the Big Red opened the year with 12 consecutive wins. The Big Red concluded the year with a 15-1 regular season record before falling to Syracuse in the NCAA Tournament.
 
• The seven wins over the Big Red's first eight games is just the third time in program history that Cornell has posted seven wins in its first eight games (1975 and 2012). Back in 1975, the squad also started the year 7-1 before concluding with a 12-4 record.

Having an Eye for the Goal

• The Big Red has scored 20 goals so far this year, marking the program's 13th time since 1946 that Cornell has scored 20-plus goals in its first eight matches. It is the second time in as many years that they have accomplished the feat.
 
• Just like the 20-plus goals being scored in the first eight games, Cornell has yet to be shut out yet in 2022. It is the second consecutive year, and 13th overall time since 1946, that a Big Red squad has not been shutout in its first eight matches (1948, 1949, 1954, 1958, 1965, 1967, 1971, 1976, 1993, 2011, 2012, 2021, 2022).

Friedberg's Strong Start

• Freshman goalkeeper Ryan Friedberg matched the freshman record for wins in a season with his victory on Saturday against Harvard. Stephen Bott (1983) and Quinn O'Sullivan (1992) were the previous holders of the record.
 
• The clean sheet against Marist marked the fourth time Friedberg has been a part of a clean sheet for Cornell this season. He has the third-most shutouts by a Cornell freshman goalkeeper, trailing Bott (7 in 1983) and O'Sullivan (4.5 in 1992).

Against Ranked Opposition

• Cornell will be playing a ranked opponent for the first time since opening the 2021 season at No. 21 Wake Forest. The Big Red lost that match, 2-1, in double overtime.
 
• Should Syracuse remain in the top 10 prior to the updated United Soccer Coaches poll late Tuesday, it would be Cornell's first match against a top-10 team since playing the Orange, who were ranked No. 2, on Sept. 20, 2016, at Berman Field.
 
• The Big Red will be seeking its first victory over a top-25 team since Sept. 8, 2019, when Cornell defeated then-No. 16 Michigan State, 2-1, in overtime.

Scouting the Orange

• Syracuse enters the contest ranked as the No. 7 team in the country, prior to the updated rankings being released hours before kickoff.
 
• The Orange have won six of its last seven games, outscoring its opponents by a 14-2 margin during the stretch. One of the highlights for Syracuse during the stretch was defeating then-No. 1 Clemson, 2-1, on Sept. 16 in Clemson, S.C. Syracuse's lone setback came at home to Virginia on Sept. 24, which was the Cavaliers' first of two consecutive wins against top 10 opponents (beat then-No. 3 Syracuse and No. 10 Pitt on Friday).
 
• The Orange are coming off a 3-0 victory at Virginia Tech on Friday. Giona Leibold, Nathan Opoku, and Noah Singlemann combined for the Orange's goals, while redshirt senior goalkeeper Russell Sheady logged his sixth clean sheet of the season.
 
• Opoku leads the Orange with 12 points (four goals, four assists). Levonte Johnson also has a double-digit point total, logging 11 points behind three goals and five assists. Sheady has started nine of Syracuse's 10 matches, going 7-1-1 on the year to go along with a 0.33 goals-against average and a .897 save percentage. Lucas Daunhauer logged a four-save clean sheet in his lone appearance against Penn State on Aug. 28.

Series vs. Syracuse

• Cornell and Syracuse will be playing for the 57th time this evening. The Big Red have the advantage in the series, 31-19-6, despite the Orange posting a 12-1-2 record over the last 15 matches, dating back to 1999.
 
• Last year at Berman Field on Sept. 21, Cornell and Syracuse played a 1-1 draw as Harry Fuller scored the game-tying goal for the Big Red in the 58th minute. Brady McSwain made three saves for Cornell.
 
• The Big Red are looking for its first win over Syracuse since a 1-0 overtime victory at SU Soccer Stadium on Sept. 19, 2017.
 
• Even though overtime will not be used in regular season contests in 2022 thanks to a late April approval by the NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel to eliminate overtime in regular-season contests, three of the last four matches between Cornell and Syracuse have needed at least one additional period

Looking Ahead

• Cornell will travel to Providence, R.I., on Saturday for an Ivy League match against Brown. First touch between the Big Red and Bears is scheduled for 4 p.m. from Stevenson-Pincince Field. Game action will be broadcast on ESPN+.