M. Soccer Visits Princeton

With its Ivy League title hopes on the line, the men's soccer team travels to New Jersey to take on Princeton at Lourie-Love Field for a 7:30 p.m. contest tonight. The Red (5-6-1, 2-1-1 Ivy) has had trouble finding the back of the net recently, having been shut out in its last three games, while the Tigers (4-6-3, 1-2-1 Ivy) scored their first goal in four games against Rutgers on Tuesday.

"The guys will have a positive attitude coming into the Princeton game. We lost another game that we should have won on Tuesday, but I think everyone still realizes that we still have something to play for," said junior Scott Palguta. "Everyone is gunning for Brown now, so you never know what will happen in the league standings. Our fate isn't in our hands anymore, but we still need to do our part by winning the remainder of our Ivy games."

No. 11 Brown is in sole possession of first place in the league, after defeating the Red, 2-0, last Saturday, while Cornell is tied for third with No. 23 Columbia.

Despite controlling the play for most of the game against Oneonta on Tuesday, the booters were unable to answer the Red Dragons' goal, scored by Jme Amoako from 20 yards out in the 36th minute. Junior goalie David Mahoney stopped eight shots on the night, including one on a breakaway by Amoako late in the game.

"We've put ourselves in the position to score goals, we just haven't converted. I think we need to take more chances and play with more creativity in the attacking third of the field. That's not the place to play safe," remarked Palguta. "You need to take chances, put the other team under pressure, and force them to make mistakes. Sometimes we play like we're afraid to do that."

Against Rutgers, senior Gianfranco Tripicchio scored the equalizer in the closing minutes of the first half, shortly after Rutgers head coach Bob Reasso was ejected from the game after arguing a foul. The Scarlet Knights tacked on two second-half goals to hand Princeton its fourth loss in five games. The Tigers have not won since Oct. 8.

Last year, the Red defeated the Tigers, 1-0, on Berman Field for its only conference win of the season, and tonight's game should also be a close one. All four of the Red's conference games this season have been decided by two goals or less.

"There's no one on their team that we're going to play particular attention to. They're a good team that's pretty balanced in all positions. In a way, they are a lot like us. We have comparable records, and we both play well defensively but struggle to find the back of the net," said Palguta.

On offense for Princeton, Darren Spicer and Jame Wunsch are tied for the scoring lead, with six points each. Spicer has three goals on the year, while Wunsch's two goals have both been gamewinners. Eric White has started in goal in 11 games this season, recording a 1.35 goals against average and stopping 39 shots.

Mahoney has played well in the team's first four Ivy games of the season, recording two shutouts and allowing only three goals. His 64 saves is tops in the league.

The Red will hit the road against next weekend for its last road game of the season against Dartmouth next Sunday. The team returns home for its final non-conference game of the season against No. 20 Hartwick, head coach Bryan Scales' alma mater on Nov. 12, before facing Columbia on Nov. 15.

M. Soccer Falls to Oneonta, 1-0

For the third game in a row, the men's soccer could not find the back of the net, as it dropped a 1-0 contest to Oneonta (8-2-5) last night at Berman Field. The well-rested Red Dragons received a great goal from its leading scorer Jme Amoako, which was enough for the win. The Red (5-6-1, 2-1-1 Ivy) dictated play for most of the game, but was unable to finish in the offensive zone.

"The soccer gods don't go with you sometimes, this is how it went it today. We played well enough to win, but we didn't win, and that's how this sport goes sometimes," said assistant coach Rob Elliot '97.

The Red wasted no time setting up in the offensive zone, as a header from senior Ian Pilarski's free kick was stopped by Oneonta keeper Jack Potter.

On the other end, junior goalie David Mahoney was tested early, as he covered up an Oneonta shot that dribbled along the goal line in the sixth minute.

In the 34th minute, Pilarski came in on a breakaway on the right side, after receiving a great lob from junior Scott Palguta just behind the center line. Pilarski launched a high shot that just arced over the top of the left post.

A little over a minute later, Amoako received the ball on the right side about 20 yards out from Luke Kitchen. He then feinted before launching a shot that hit the top left corner of the net for his eighth goal of the season.

"The kid scored a great goal, you have to leave it at that sometimes. He made a great play and scored a great goal, and that was the difference tonight," remarked Elliot.

Wasting little time at the start of the second half, the Red won a corner in the opening minute. It would be the first of six corners in the half for Cornell.

In the 50th minute, freshman Nick Leonard tapped a cross from the right side just wide of the left post. The Red had plenty of chances in Oneonta's end but could not capitalize on its possession advantage.

With time winding down, the Red pushed forward to pressure the Oneonta defense. However, this enabled the Oneonta forwards to break through into the Cornell zone. In the 73rd minute, Amoako streaked into the box, but Palguta did a good job of defending, and Amoako could only get away a hard-angled shot.

Usually in the midfield, Palguta played back for most of the game.

"He's a defender by trade and we put him in the midfield just to help us out there, but tonight we put him back there because we needed guys with good feet who could make plays from back there, and I think he did a good job," said Elliot.

After drawing a foul in the 75th minute, Pilarski took the ensuing free kick from outside the top left corner of the box. He sent the ball through the Oneonta wall, but Potter came up with the save.

Throughout the second half, Potter came far out of the goal to cover the ball. This prevented the Red from getting good looks at the net.

Amoako would come in on a breakaway with eight minutes to go, but Mahoney came up with the huge save. He finished with eight saves on the night. Oneonta held the advantage in shot with 13 to the Red's 10, but Cornell won 10 corners, while the Red Dragons only had two.

With only a two-day turnaround until its next game, the Red must put this game behind it before heading into an important Ivy matchup against Princeton on Friday night. Despite the three-game losing skid, there will be no drastic changes during practice.

"You train hard, you try to make yourself better every day you come to training and every game you play, and that's the bottom line. We don't change things around, we don't do things differently," said Elliot. "We know about the other teams, we might think a little bit differently, but you don't change your mentality, you just try to make it better every day."

For the third game in a row, the men's soccer could not find the back of the net, as it dropped a 1-0 contest to Oneonta (8-2-5) last night at Berman Field. The well-rested Red Dragons received a great goal from its leading scorer Jme Amoako, which was enough for the win. The Red (5-6-1, 2-1-1 Ivy) dictated play for most of the game, but was unable to finish in the offensive zone.


"The soccer gods don't go with you sometimes, this is how it went it today. We played well enough to win, but we didn't win, and that's how this sport goes sometimes," said assistant coach Rob Elliot '97.


The Red wasted no time setting up in the offensive zone, as a header from senior Ian Pilarski's free kick was stopped by Oneonta keeper Jack Potter.


On the other end, junior goalie David Mahoney was tested early, as he covered up an Oneonta shot that dribbled along the goal line in the sixth minute.


In the 34th minute, Pilarski came in on a breakaway on the right side, after receiving a great lob from junior Scott Palguta just behind the center line. Pilarski launched a high shot that just arced over the top of the left post.


A little over a minute later, Amoako received the ball on the right side about 20 yards out from Luke Kitchen. He then feinted before launching a shot that hit the top left corner of the net for his eighth goal of the season.


"The kid scored a great goal, you have to leave it at that sometimes. He made a great play and scored a great goal, and that was the difference tonight," remarked Elliot.


Wasting little time at the start of the second half, the Red won a corner in the opening minute. It would be the first of six corners in the half for Cornell.


In the 50th minute, freshman Nick Leonard tapped a cross from the right side just wide of the left post. The Red had plenty of chances in Oneonta's end but could not capitalize on its possession advantage.


With time winding down, the Red pushed forward to pressure the Oneonta defense. However, this enabled the Oneonta forwards to break through into the Cornell zone. In the 73rd minute, Amoako streaked into the box, but Palguta did a good job of defending, and Amoako could only get away a hard-angled shot.


Usually in the midfield, Palguta played back for most of the game.


"He's a defender by trade and we put him in the midfield just to help us out there, but tonight we put him back there because we needed guys with good feet who could make plays from back there, and I think he did a good job," said Elliot.


After drawing a foul in the 75th minute, Pilarski took the ensuing free kick from outside the top left corner of the box. He sent the ball through the Oneonta wall, but Potter came up with the save.


Throughout the second half, Potter came far out of the goal to cover the ball. This prevented the Red from getting good looks at the net.


Amoako would come in on a breakaway with eight minutes to go, but Mahoney came up with the huge save. He finished with eight saves on the night. Oneonta held the advantage in shot with 13 to the Red's 10, but Cornell won 10 corners, while the Red Dragons only had two.


With only a two-day turnaround until its next game, the Red must put this game behind it before heading into an important Ivy matchup against Princeton on Friday night. Despite the three-game losing skid, there will be no drastic changes during practice.


"You train hard, you try to make yourself better everyday you come to training and every game you play, and that's the bottom line. We don't change things around, we don't do things differently," said Elliot. "We know about the other teams, we might think a little bit differently, but you don't change your mentality, you just try to make it better everyday." - See more at: http://www.cornellsun.com/node/10042#sthash.8gE3f8ri.dpuf

Men's Soccer Plays Host to Oneonta Tonight

The men's soccer team looks to turn things around tonight, as it faces a crucial test against Oneonta State (7-2-5) at 7 p.m. on the pitch of Berman Field. After putting together a 4-0-1 unbeaten streak, the Red (5-5-1, 2-1-1 Ivy) has dropped its last two contests, including its first conference loss of the season against No. 14 Brown on Saturday.

"We just need to put the game behind us now," said junior Scott Palguta of the Brown game. "It was a big game that we lost, and it stung for a couple days, but it's time to move on and start focusing on Oneonta."

In the battle of the two remaining unbeaten Ivy teams, Brown was able to capitalize on its scoring chances, as Adom Crew put a cross from the left side into the Cornell net in the 27th minute. The Red had some good scoring chances in the first half, but was unable to capitalize.

The Bears put the game away on a defensive mistake by Cornell in the 69th minute. Seth Quidachay-Swan took advantage of a misplayed back pass to junior goalie David Mahoney, and tapped the ball into the open net.

"I thought we played one of our better games of the season against Brown. We possessed the ball well and threatened them much more than they threatened us," remarked Palguta. " There were some terrific individual performances. However, two breakdowns and the inability to finish our chances is why Brown was able to beat us."

The Red will face a well-rested Oneonta squad, as the Red Dragons have not played a game in 10 days. Cornell on the other hand is playing its third game in under a week, but looks to take advantage of Oneonta's rustiness.

"I don't think fatigue will play a factor even though it will be our third game in a week. Our core group of players are upperclassman, and they realize we are in a do or die situation now," said Palguta. "We are all mentally and physically capable of getting past the fatigue. We have to be."

Oneonta has tied four of its last five games, most recently playing to a scoreless tie against No. 20 Hartwick on the 18th. The Red Dragons come into tonight's contest with an eight-game unbeaten streak, having not lost since September 14.

Up top for Oneonta is junior Jme Amoako, who has seven goals on the season. A Regional All-America first team pick his freshmen season, Amoako had a disappointing sophomore campaign, scoring just one goal in 18 contests. He has regained his freshmen form this year, and leads the team in game-winning goals with three.

In goal, senior Jack Potter has recorded a minuscule 0.46 goals against average, and has started in 48 of Oneonta's 50 games over the past three seasons. He was recently named Atlantic Soccer Conference Goaltender of the Week, after picking up his seventh shutout of the season.

The Red has had a "one-game-at-a-time" attitude since the beginning of the season, and it is taking that firmly into tonight's game.

"The season is by no means over, as we still have a chance to make the NCAA tourney, and even a shot at the Ivies if Brown gets picked off and we win out. The team firmly believes that we can string together five wins in a row," said Palguta. "Oneonta St. is the only thing on our minds until we get past them."

The Red has three more Ivy foes on the schedule, and will travel to Princeton on Friday for a 7:30 p.m. tilt.

Brown Drops Booters

With first place in the Ivy League up for grabs, the men's soccer team fell 2-0 to a tough No.14 Brown squad Saturday night at Berman Field. The Red (5-5-1, 2-1-1 Ivy) suffered its first conference loss of the season, while the Bears (8-3-1, 4-0-0) took a leg up on the Ivy race.

Both teams came out strong from the start, but it was Brown that found the back of the net. In the 27th minute, Matt Goldman received the ball on the left side of the box from Bryan Joyce. Goldman crossed it into the middle, where Adom Crew sent a shot past junior goalie David Mahoney towards the near post.

"Brown has three athletic frontrunners that we knew were going to be good, and I thought that they were dangerous. I thought we did a pretty good job on them," said head coach Bryan Scales.

Junior Steve Reuter set up a good scoring chance in the 34th minute, as he sent a high shot from the right side of the box. Brown keeper Chris Gomez leaped to make the save, and the rebound came to the left of the goal, but the subsequent shot was blocked by a defender.

With time winding down in the first half, senior tri-captain Ian Pilarski nearly netted the equalizer. Reuter sent the ball from midfield to a streaking Pilarski on the right side. Pilarksi beat his defender and sent a shot that sailed just high over the left side of the goal.

"The first half for us was a good half, and although Brown scored a goal, I felt that we had some good chances, we were moving the ball well," remarked Scales.

In the 69th minute, the Bears netted their second goal on a Cornell defensive miscue. Junior Sean Mendy played the ball back to Mahoney, who misplayed it. Seth Quidachay-Swan raced in and tapped a shot lightly into the open net.

"I think David would have probably done differently the second time around," said Scales. "Once they scored that second goal, I think our heads went down, and that was a little disappointing."

The game turned ugly as the second half came to a close. After a foul was called, a small fight nearly broke out at midfield in the 83rd minute. Several Brown and Cornell players starting pushing each other, but no one was booked for a card. In all, 35 fouls were called on the night.

Each team had 10 shots, with Gomez stopping two for Brown and Mahoney making three saves for the Red.

"It's a big game for David because he came from Brown. David's the reason where we are right now, and he's been very good for us, and tonight I thought he was also good," said Scales.

The Red can ill-afford to dwell too much on the loss, as it must regroup for an important regional matchup tomorrow night versus Oneonta. As of last Monday, Oneonta and Cornell were ranked No. 3 and 4 respectively in the NSCAA Regional Rankings for New York.

"We're going to work on getting our heads back up, and getting ready for our final five games. Every game now is a must win, and we still have a chance at things in the league, although it's out of our hands. But we're going to go after it," said Scales.

Tomorrow's contest begins at 7 p.m. at Berman Field. The Red looks to stay alive in the Ivy race when it visits Princeton on Friday.

Brown Visits Red in Ivy Showdown

The two remaining undefeated Ivy teams will battle for first place at Berman Field on Saturday at 7 p.m., as the men's soccer team (5-4-1, 2-0-1) and No. 14 Brown (7-3-1, 3-0-0) face off. This will be the second straight weekend that the Red will face a team ranked in the top 25, as it defeated the then No. 16 Yale Bulldogs last Saturday in New Haven. It was the first win at Yale for the team since 1975.

On Wednesday, the team's five-game unbeaten streak was snapped at Syracuse, as the Orangemen downed the Red 4-0. The booters have little time to dwell on the loss, as they must prepare for a strong Brown team.

"I'm sure the guys are going to be ready to play on Saturday night. It's a big game for both teams," said head coach Bryan Scales.

During the team's 4-0-1 streak, junior goalie David Mahoney only allowed one goal, in a tie against Harvard. Mahoney's four shutouts is good for second in the league, while he is tops in saves, with 55 on the season. A transfer from Brown, Mahoney is very familiar with the Bears, as is the rest of the Red. Jeff Larentowicz was a teammate of sophomores Andrew George and Sean Shannon on FC Delco Arsenal, which won its second straight United States Youth Soccer Association championship this summer.

"We've seen Brown play on tape a number of times this year, and we've also seen them a few times in person," remarked Scales. "David knows their guys pretty well, we know their guys pretty well. I don't think there will be too many surprises. They know our group pretty well also."

Brown's game on Tuesday against Fairfeld was called 20 minutes into the first half, but not before the Bears scored in the third minute. Last Saturday, Brown shut out Harvard, 3-0, in Cambridge.

Marcos Romaneiro was named Ivy League Player of the Week, after scoring two goals against the Crimson, and Brown rose from No. 20 to No. 14 in the NSCAA/adidas ranking. Yale, ranked 16th last week, fell from the rankings after losing to the Red. Cornell has faced one other ranked team this season, Coastal Carolina, and will play No. 20 Hartwick in mid-November.

Romaneiro is second on the team in scoring with five goals and four assists, while Adom Crew is first in scoring with seven goals and two assists. In goal, Christopher Gomez has started in nine games this season, with a 1.07 goals against average.

Both Cornell and Brown have played in some close games this season, with each team playing in six one-goal games.

"We're going to have to be good defensively. They're a dangerous team, they're 14th in the country, they have a couple of Ivy Players of the Week, and they're going to be a good team," said Scales. "I'm sure we'll have a good crowd with it being Homecoming. That energy will be important and the guys are looking forward to playing in front of a home crowd on Saturday."

With the league's automatic bid to the NCAA College Cup on the line, this match will be critical for the Red if it is to win its first Ivy title since 1995.

"We're the underdogs going into this game, and that's a good position for us to be in. These Ivy games are huge, so [the team knows] that, and they're excited about it," said Scales.

The Red will be home again on Tuesday for a 7 p.m. game against Oneonta, and will resume its Ivy schedule next Saturday at Princeton.