SYRACUSE, N.Y. - The Cornell men's soccer team defeated the Syracuse Orange 1-0 on Tuesday night at SU Soccer Stadium. The Big Red improved to 5-0-2, while the Orange dropped to 3-3-3.

Connor Miller registered the lone Big Red goal in the contest. Ryan Friedberg collected five saves and his fourth shutout of the season.

The match was played at a gritty pace with both the Big Red and the Orange challenging one another early and often. Cornell out-shot Syracuse 17-9 in the game, with six of those testing Syracuse net-minder Tomas Hut.

At the half, John Smith, the Dr. Daniel P. Wood Head Coach of Men's Soccer, mentioned that he was pleased with the opportunities that the team generated offensively and that the they just needed to keep pushing the pressure.

Friedberg was tested by a few Syracuse grade-A opportunities throughout the match, but stood up to the task on each of them. "When you are playing against a top opponent you expect your keeper to be tested, and I thought Ryan did an excellent job in those moments", Smith, said.

Neither team managed to find the back of the net for the majority of the contest, but that would change when Miller took advantage of an opening in the 85th-minute to break the draw. For the remaining five minutes, the Big Red back-line coupled with stingy effort in net by Friedberg would be enough to hold off the Orange and collect its third consecutive regular-season victory over Syracuse.

"I thought we deserved the win tonight against a very good team. We generated a number of good chances throughout the game and it was great to see Connor come up with the winning goal -- it topped off a fantastic performance for him", coach John Smith added.

Next Up
The Cornell men's soccer team will open up Ivy League play on Saturday September 28th against the Yale Bulldogs. Kickoff is slated for 5:00 p.m. at Reese Stadium. Game action will be broadcast on ESPN+.