ITHACA, N.Y. – The Cornell men's soccer team opens its 2022 slate with a pair of Labor Day weekend games in California.

Game Information

Cornell at UC Santa Barbara
SITE: Harder Stadium – Santa Barbara, Calif. (natural surface)
TIME: Friday, Sept. 2 – 10 p.m. ET (7 p.m. PT)
RECORDS: Cornell (0-0-0, 0-0 Ivy League), UC Santa Barbara (1-0-1, 0-0 Big West)
SERIES RECORD: Cornell leads, 1-0
BROADCAST: ESPN+
Stats: UCSBGauchos.com
 
Cornell at UC Irvine
SITE: Anteater Stadium – Irvine, Calif. (natural surface)
TIME: Monday, Sept. 5 – 5 p.m. ET (2 p.m. PT)
RECORDS: Cornell (0-0-0, 0-0 Ivy League), UC Irvine (0-2-0, 0-0 Big West)
SERIES RECORD: First meeting
BROADCAST: ESPN+
Stats: UCIrvineSports.com

About the Big Red

• The Big Red enter its seventh season with head coach John Smith at the helm of the program. Following its 11-3-2 overall record in 2021, the Big Red have three consecutive 10-win seasons — the first time that has been accomplished in Cornell program history.
 
• Cornell returns a pair of All-Ivy League first team players from last year's squad. Emeka Eneli, who is in his fifth year with the Big Red returns as the team's striker. Sophomore defender Wilson Eisner will be on the back line for the Big Red after becoming the first Cornell freshman to earn All-Ivy League distinctions since Richard Stimpson in 1997.

California Dreaming

• The pair of Labor Day weekend contests in California marks Cornell's first trip to the Golden State since 2018, when the Big Red played Cal St. Northridge and Cal St. Fullerton.
 
• Cornell is 4-4-0 all-time in matches played in California, having won three of its last four in the Golden State.
 
• Scoring multiple goals in a game played in California has bode well for the Big Red, as Cornell is 4-0 when scoring at least twice. In the team's four losses, Cornell has scored just once.
 
• The Big Red are 7-4 all-time against California-based schools. This weekend's matches will be the seventh and eighth different schools from California that Cornell has played in men's soccer.

Season-Opening History

• Cornell is 34-29-11 (.534) in its last 75 season openers, dating back to 1949. The Big Red are winless in seven of its last eight season-opening matches (1-3-4) and are 3-10-4 in its last 17.
 
• The only victories over the last 17 years of competition were against Kentucky (2007 — W, 2-0), Cal St. Fullerton (2012 — W, 2-1) and Binghamton (2018 — W, 2-0).
 
• This is the Big Red's third time opening its season with a California-based opponent. The others were against California in 2008 (L, 0-5) and Cal St. Fullerton in 2012.

Ivy League Preseason Poll

• The Cornell men's soccer team was tabbed to finish third in the 2022 Ivy League Men's Soccer preseason poll, the conference office announced on Aug. 23.
 
• Princeton was named the preseason favorite, garnering 12 of the 16 possible first-place votes, finishing with 123 points. Right behind the Tigers was Yale, who received the remaining four first-place votes and had 103 points.
 
• Cornell was third with 97 points, while Harvard (89 points), Penn (56), Brown (45), Dartmouth (39) and Columbia (27) rounded out the poll.

Scouting the Gauchos

• UC Santa Barbara opened its season with a 1-1 draw at No. 19 Missouri State on Aug. 25 before returning home to defeating California Baptist, 2-0, on Aug. 28.
 
• Salvador Aguilar has two of the Gauchos' three goals this season, registering a team-leading four points. Thaabit Baartman has the other goal for UCSB.
 
• Carlos Zuniga has logged all 180 minutes of action for the Gauchos this season, logging a 0.50 goals against average and an .800 save percentage.

Series vs. UC Santa Barbara

• Friday will be the second all-time meeting between the Big Red and Gauchos. The first meeting between the two teams occurred last season on Sept. 12 at Berman Field, in which Cornell won in overtime, 4-3.
 
• Henry Hylbert deposited the game-winning goal in the 103rd minute, receiving a feed from Tyler Bagley, who added a pair of goals with his helper. Harry Fuller scored the game-tying goal on a penalty kick in the 85th minute.

Scouting the Anteaters

• UC Irvine has opened its 2022 season with a pair of contests against ranked opponents. The Anteaters lost its season-opening match to No. 23 UCLA on Aug. 25, 1-0, before falling to No. 19 Missouri State on Aug. 28, 3-0.
 
• The Anteaters are currently in the midst of a four-game homestand. They host California on Sept. 2, Cornell on Sept. 5, UCF on Sept. 9, and Saint Mary's on Sept. 12.

Series vs. UC Irvine

• Monday will be the first all-time meeting between the Big Red and Anteaters.

Up Next

Cornell will conclude its three-game road trip to open the 2022 season when the Big Red travels to Philadelphia to square off against Saint Joseph's on Saturday, Sept. 10. Game action will begin at 5 p.m. and will be broadcast on ESPN+.