W. Soccer Hosts Tigers

When the women's soccer team takes the pitch at Berman Field tonight at 7 p.m., it will have the chance to end two streaks: No. 8 Princeton's nine-game winning streak and its own eight-game losing streak. The Red (4-9-2, 1-4-0 Ivy) will try to spoil the Tigers' momentum, as Princeton's only loss this season came over a month ago.

"[Tonight's game] gives us a chance to test ourselves against the best in the league and one of the best teams in the country," said head coach Berhane Andeberhan. "We competed well against them the last couple of years, although they were the better team."

On Tuesday night against Buffalo, senior co-captain Emily Wyffels helped the Red jump out to the early lead in the sixth minute, as she scored her first collegiate goal off of a Buffalo turnover. The Bulls netted the equalizer off a free kick in the 31st minute, and then went ahead for good in the 53rd minute. The Red welcomed junior co-captain Shannon Fraser back to the starting lineup. She hasn't started the last three games due to a hamstring injury.

"She's only 70 percent, but her effect is so immeasurable because all of sudden, our midfield is more effective because they have a target," Andeberhan said. "She and Emily read each other well and they're complimentary. The two of them were driving the four fullbacks of Buffalo crazy. Their ability to hold the ball together also gave our midfield the ability to attack."

The Red has played some close contests against the Tigers in recent years. Last season at Princeton, junior Kara Ishikawa scored the team's only goal in the 18th minute, but the Tigers took the lead for good before the half was over and shut down the Cornell offense.

"Kara Ishikawa scored a great goal which showed her technical and tactical advancement and superiority, it was a magical goal," Andeberhan said. "[Princeton] scored two goals which showed their physical superiority. They just crossed the ball in the box and outjumped us."

Princeton boasts one of the most dangerous players in the conference in 2003 Ivy League Player of the Year Esmeralda Negron. Negron's 11 goals and eight assists are tops in the conference, and she had played particularly well against the Red, recording three goals and an assist in three career games against Cornell. Emily Behncke is another scoring threat for the Tigers, as she is the league's third leading scorer with eight goals and four assists. In goal, Madeleine Jackson and Emily Vogelzang have been splitting time all season, and both keepers have a goals against average under 0.60.
The Red will utilize team defense, with the defenders playing man-to-man on the ball side and zone on the other side. While Negron is sure to be a scoring threat, Andeberhan will not have senior back Natalie Dew mark her during the game.

"We will still play our regular system and have Natalie play as the defensive midfielder. She will on occasion be helping out and will occasionally defend as a one-to-one back," Andeberhan said. "She has such dynamic range and good reading ability that we try leave her free to go help out."

Mistakes Doom W. Soccer

A pair of early mistakes proved to be too much for the women's soccer team to overcome, as the Red fell to Brown (6-8-0, 2-3 Ivy), 3-0, Saturday night in Providence, R.I. The Red (4-8-2, 1-4 Ivy) dropped its seventh straight game, but the team's attitude remains positive as a number of its young players are gaining valuable experience.

The Bears struck first in the second minute of play, as a routine clear from the Red defense went right to Brown forward Meghan Schreck, who was still in the Cornell box. Schreck buried the ball back into the net for her fourth goal on the year.

Schreck netted her second goal of the game by again capitalizing on a Cornell miscue in the 26th minute. Brown crowded Cornell goalie Katrina Matlin off of a throw-in as Matlin was able to get a hand on the ball. Unfortunately for Cornell, she was unable to control it, and the ball came out to Schreck, who was a few yards in front of the goal.

"There was no real threatening play, or major buildup, or anything like that, but we just mishandled the ball," said head coach Berhane Andeberhan. "I feel like a broken record, but [after the mistakes] happened, we played well."

Brown tacked on its final goal a minute into the second half after a questionable potential offsides call led to a Kathryn Moos breakaway, and Moos beat Matlin for her fourth goal of the year.
Andeberhan was pleased with the team's play in the second half, but the Red was unable to finish on their scoring chances.

"A while ago, we had no scoring chances, and we worked hard on that, and improved that. But, there is a step between that and getting a goal," Andeberhan said.

Cornell's best scoring chance of the game came midway through the second half, as a series of combination passes led to a through ball in the air. Junior Kara Ishikawa ran in to head the ball on goal from 18 yards out, but the attempt curved around and hit the upper 90.

The Red was without the services of junior co-captain Shannon Fraser for the third straight game. Fraser has been battling an injury all season, and Andeberhan hopes that she will return to the lineup soon.

"It's very difficult of course without Shannon again. She's getting better, but we lose her ability and we lose her in spirit, and that's a big thing," Andeberhan said. "If Fraser gets healthy, that would give us a boost in the arm."

With three games left on the season, the Red will shift its focus to gaining big-game experience for its players. Next Friday, Cornell will face one of the best teams in the country in No. 9 Princeton.

"The goals now are small goals, giving different people experience in game situations, and solving little problems," Andeberhan said. "The wonderful thing has been that the kids have had a tremendous attitude and a tremendous work ethic, so we want to keep that and keep preparing for the future."

Worst Column Ever

Note: This column is terrible. Feel free to skip it.

Congratulations, Kevin Brown! You’ve got another member in the “I Broke-My-Hand-By-Punching-Something-In-a-Fit-of-Rage-Because-I-Pitched-Horribly Club.”

Yep, now you and Cardinals reliever Julian Tavarez can exchange emails, compare hand splints, and attend anger management support groups together.

For those of you who are too busy paying attention to that other LCS, Tavarez was the pitcher who gave up the game-winning homerun to Carlos Beltran in the seventh inning of game 4. He then proceeded to punch a phone in the Cardinals’ dugout, breaking three bones in his non-pitching hand. To those of us who were watching the game, this turn of events was no surprise, as after Tavarez threw a ball at Jeff Bagwell’s head, he did his best imitation of Pedro Martinez before being issued a warning by the umpire.

As professional athletes, Brown and Taverez should conduct themselves with dignity and humility at all times. Ok, I realize that’s a huge stretch there, so how about they just refrain from punching walls or phones? Or maybe they shouldn’t punch anything? I mean, they make their living with their hands, maybe they should take more precaution.

If I were a major league pitcher, I would walk around with protective plastic shells on my hands on my off days (sort of like what George Constanza did after he got that job as a hand model). Maybe the Yankees and Cardinals can negotiate a contract with Hasbro to coat everything in the clubhouse with Nerf products. I also hear those stress balls are pretty effective.We don’t need to look far to find another humble athlete. Last week, Cincinnati Bengal wide receiver Chad Johnson shipped a bottle of Pepto-Bismol to every member of the Cleveland Browns’ secondary before the two teams’ Week 6 meeting, including this thoughtful note in Browns cornerback Dayton McCutcheon’s package:

Dayton, just wanted to add a little color and relief to your week.

All the best,

Chad. #85

Unfortunately, Johnson forgot to save some Pepto for him and his quarterback, Carson Palmer. Palmer threw for an abysmal 148 yards, while Johnson only caught three passes for 37 yards with four dropped balls. Maybe he should have sent cherry-flavored Pepto, I hear that stuff tastes awful.

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Ok, at this point in the column, I would talk about the Yankees and Red Sox, but the result of Game 6 will render whatever I write irrelevant. Instead, I’m going to cover all bases via a Choose-Your-Own-Adventure. So, if the Yankees won the game, read the next paragraph. If the Red Sox won the game, skip to the second paragraph. Finally, if the game was rained out, skip to the last paragraph.

First paragraph: Last night, the screams of an entire city echoed throughout the Northeast, as the Yankees, whose two losses revived the hopes of Red Sox Nation for another two days, crushed those hopes just as easily by defeating Boston 6-4. Jon Lieber pitched a no-hitter into the seventh ending, while Curt Schilling’s ankle held up for a good inning and a third before he was chased from the game by a homerun off the bat of Miguel Cairo. After a remarkable turnaround following the Nomar trade, the Red Sox could have used Garciaparra last night, as his replacement, Orlando Cabrera, struck out with the bases loaded in the ninth inning to end the game. George Steinbrenner credited the Yankees’ success to the recently purchased cotton uniforms.

Second Paragraph: The streets of Boston were filled with the cries of jubilation, as the Red Sox forced Game 7 by edging out the Yankees 3-2. Curt Schilling redeemed himself after his 18.00 ERA performance in Game 1, shutting up the 55000+ in attendance at Yankee Stadium, allowing just two earned runs in six innings pitched. Up 2-0 in the top of the eighth inning, Yankees skipper Joe Torre made the most questionable move of his coaching career by bringing in left-handed Felix Heredia to face David Ortiz with men on first and second. The Red Sox now have the chance to make history, while George Steinbrenner was last seen jumping into the East River.

Last Paragraph: The game was rained out. Please go back to the beginning of this column and try again tomorrow.

W. Soccer Welcomes Elis

After playing its best soccer of the year, the women's soccer team looks to snap its four-game losing streak, as it welcomes Yale (7-4, 1-2 Ivy) to Berman Field tomorrow for a 12 p.m. contest. The Red (4-5-2, 1-2 Ivy) dropped a 3-1 contest to Syracuse on Wednesday night, but head coach Berhane Andeberhan believes it was the team's best effort on the field this season.

"We absolutely played a near-flawless game in the first half," Andeberhan said. "I thought up until now, our Bucknell game was our best game. This game, I think, exceeded that because we created a lot of dangerous scoring chances."

Freshman Jackie Stromberg scored her first collegiate goal just 22 seconds into the game, beating Syracuse's goalie as she came out to get a loose ball. 

"Jackie was unlucky not to score another one or two. She got herself in great position, calmly finished her first chance, barely missed on a couple others," Andeberhan said.

Syracuse knotted the equalizer in the 26th minute, and the Orange then grabbed the lead eight minutes into the second half on a goal by Helen Fox. Fox then added her second of the night with just three minutes to play in the game, and Syracuse upped its record against the Red to 7-0-1.

Since dropping a match against Colgate two weeks ago, the booters have been working on increasing their scoring chances, and that was evident against the Orange. Andeberhan has been emphasizing to his forwards to stay in scoring position in the area outside the opponent's box. 

"[Our forwards] are so responsible sometimes that they come back too much to midfield to spur the midfielders, but then they get themselves out of scoring position," Andeberhan said. 

While the Red has led early in its past two games, Andeberhan does not want the team to change its tactics to hold on to the one-goal lead.

"Unlike when I was their age, youth soccer is a seasonal thing. They don't play all the time and they don't see top-level games all the time, so some of that stuff we have to learn by experiencing it, and there are a lot of great experiences happening. Andeberhan said. "But I don't want to put the added pressure on them of having to hold on, I want them to play correctly."

The team has practiced dealing with physical play from its opponents all season, and several of the Red's playmakers were on the other end of physical play from Syracuse. The Orange had 14 fouls on Wednesday compared to the Red's six.

"The biggest obstacle we're facing is the physical play, but it won't be long until we can handle that," Andeberhan said. "Handling the physical play without having the tactical depth of knowledge would be two ugly teams colliding. I don't want to build that, I want to build something unique here, and I'm very satisfied with our direction."

Yale enters tomorrow's match on a two-game winning streak, having defeated Dartmouth 1-0 last Sunday for its first Ivy win of the season. The Bulldogs have faced some of the top teams in the country, losing to No. 15 Stanford, No. 17 Santa Clara, and No. 11 Princeton, but scoring the upset against 2003 national runner-up UCONN.

Senior goalie Sarah Walker earned Ivy League Player of the Week honors for notching a shutout against Dartmouth. The win was Yale's first over the Green since 1995. Walker has a 0.82 goals against average with four shutouts in 11 starts this season. On offense, Christina Huang and Mimi Macauley lead the team in scoring with seven points each, with Macauley assisting on five of the team's goals this season.

"Yale is a bit similar to us, judging from their results, but very well coached. I like their coaches, they're among the ones I respect the most in the league," Andeberhan said. "They play a good game of soccer, and their physical play is not marginal."

After playing its best soccer of the year, the women's soccer team looks to snap its four-game losing streak, as it welcomes Yale (7-4, 1-2 Ivy) to Berman Field tomorrow for a 12 p.m. contest. The Red (4-5-2, 1-2 Ivy) dropped a 3-1 contest to Syracuse on Wednesday night, but head coach Berhane Andeberhan believes it was the team's best effort on the field this season.
"We absolutely played a near-flawless game in the first half," Andeberhan said. "I thought up until now, our Bucknell game was our best game. This game, I think, exceeded that because we created a lot of dangerous scoring chances."
Freshman Jackie Stromberg scored her first collegiate goal just 22 seconds into the game, beating Syracuse's goalie as she came out to get a loose ball.
"Jackie was unlucky not to score another one or two. She got herself in great position, calmly finished her first chance, barely missed on a couple others," Andeberhan said.
Syracuse knotted the equalizer in the 26th minute, and the Orange then grabbed the lead eight minutes into the second half on a goal by Helen Fox. Fox then added her second of the night with just three minutes to play in the game, and Syracuse upped its record against the Red to 7-0-1.
Since dropping a match against Colgate two weeks ago, the booters have been working on increasing their scoring chances, and that was evident against the Orange. Andeberhan has been emphasizing to his forwards to stay in scoring position in the area outside the opponent's box.
"[Our forwards] are so responsible sometimes that they come back too much to midfield to spur the midfielders, but then they get themselves out of scoring position," Andeberhan said.
While the Red has led early in its past two games, Andeberhan does not want the team to change its tactics to hold on to the one-goal lead.
"Unlike when I was their age, youth soccer is a seasonal thing. They don't play all the time and they don't see top-level games all the time, so some of that stuff we have to learn by experiencing it, and there are a lot of great experiences happening. Andeberhan said. "But I don't want to put the added pressure on them of having to hold on, I want them to play correctly."
The team has practiced dealing with physical play from its opponents all season, and several of the Red's playmakers were on the other end of physical play from Syracuse. The Orange had 14 fouls on Wednesday compared to the Red's six.
"The biggest obstacle we're facing is the physical play, but it won't be long until we can handle that," Andeberhan said. "Handling the physical play without having the tactical depth of knowledge would be two ugly teams colliding. I don't want to build that, I want to build something unique here, and I'm very satisfied with our direction."
Yale enters tomorrow's match on a two-game winning streak, having defeated Dartmouth 1-0 last Sunday for its first Ivy win of the season. The Bulldogs have faced some of the top teams in the country, losing to No. 15 Stanford, No. 17 Santa Clara, and No. 11 Princeton, but scoring the upset against 2003 national runner-up UCONN.
Senior goalie Sarah Walker earned Ivy League Player of the Week honors for notching a shutout against Dartmouth. The win was Yale's first over the Green since 1995. Walker has a 0.82 goals against average with four shutouts in 11 starts this season. On offense, Christina Huang and Mimi Macauley lead the team in scoring with seven points each, with Macauley assisting on five of the team's goals this season.
"Yale is a bit similar to us, judging from their results, but very well coached. I like their coaches, they're among the ones I respect the most in the league," Andeberhan said. "They play a good game of soccer, and their physical play is not marginal."
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Women's Soccer Team Drops Second Ivy Contest to Crimson

Looking for its second Ivy win, the women's soccer team traveled to Boston this past weekend to face Harvard (4-4-2, 2-1 Ivy), but came up on the losing end of a 4-1 contest. The Red (4-4-2, 1-2 Ivy) will try to snap its three-game losing streak when it travels to face Syracuse (6-5-2, 1-4-1 Big East) tonight at 5:30 p.m.

The Red got on the board early against the Crimson, as junior co-captain Shannon Fraser scored in the 11th minute. Fraser collected her own rebound after her initial shot hit the crossbar, putting the ball past Harvard goalie Katie Shields for her first goal of the season.

Harvard answered back in the 32nd minute, when Alisha Morgan retrieved a rebound off of a Danielle Mirabal shot, and beat Cornell goalie Katie Thomas to notch the equalizer. The Crimson took the lead in the 65th minute, as Falyne Chave set up teammate Katie Johnson, who buried the ball in the upper right corner of the goal.

Mirabal added another goal for the Crimson in the 84th minute, poking the ball away from Thomas to score on the empty net. Brittany Meeks, who assisted on Mirabal's goal, netted Harvard's fourth goal with 15 seconds left in the game.

Thomas finished the game with six saves for Cornell, while Shields stopped five for the Crimson. Fraser registered five of the Red's 10 shots in the contest.

Syracuse enters tonight's contest having dropped three straight conference matches. The Orange only recorded three shots in a 1-0 loss to Rutgers on Sunday, and have scored only two goals in its last four games. Sophomore Molly McManus leads the team in scoring with three goals and two assists, while senior Shana Thomas also has netted three goals. Between the pipes for the Orange is Shannon Myers, who has recorded a 1.11 goals against average and three shutouts in 12 starts this season.
The Red has never defeated Syracuse in the team's seven meetings since the series began in 1997. Syracuse upped its record to 6-0-1 against Cornell with a 3-0 win last season in Ithaca. The Red will face Yale this Saturday at Berman Field for a 12 p.m. contest, before heading back on the road next Wednesday to face Army.

W. Soccer Travels to Cambridge

With a full week of preparation behind it, the women's soccer team heads out to Boston to take on Harvard (3-4-2, 1-1 Ivy) tomorrow morning at 11 a.m. The Red (4-3-2, 1-1 Ivy) looks to rebound from a 3-0 loss last Saturday against Penn at Berman Field. Without a midweek game to play this week, the booters were able to hold a team meeting to talk about the season.

"Because we had no game during the week, we got together, got some perspective, discussed what went well, what didn't go well, and what we need to work on," said head coach Berhane Andeberhan. "The other thing is we were able to give some people a little bit of rest in the beginning of the week, and then turn it up in terms of fitness."

Last weekend, Penn capitalized on the Red's mistakes and the absence of two of its seniors, netting two goals in the span of six minutes. Katy Cross, one of the best players in the league, scored the Quakers' first goal, while Rachel Snyder found the back of the net twice off assists from Carolyn Cross.

"We made some critical mistakes about four or five times, and that ended up in three goals, so we're trying to sure up those errors. You can't give a phenomenal player like Katy Cross a chance to get in between your defenders and receive the ball," Andeberhan said.

Another thing the team is working on in practice is avoiding the slow start, which was a problem in the team's last two games. Normally, Andeberhan lets his squad warm up before the game by themselves, but he will introduce some new warm-ups before the game against Harvard.

"I suggested, if necessary, that I will warm the team up before a game. But my captains came up with an even better idea. They wanted me to suggest some more active, more competitive things, instead of the couple of things we tend to do," Anderberhan said. "We're casting aside a couple of our warm-up exercises, and getting a competitive exercise in there, so hopefully that helps."

Last season against the Crimson, the Red came away with a 1-1 tie, but Andeberhan has described the "1-1 win" as the team's best effort last season.

"Technically and tactically, we're a little better this year. If we can replicate that level of intensity [from last year], we should have a good game," Andeberhan said.

Harvard comes into tomorrow's contest after winning its first Ivy game of the season against Yale. Alisha Morgan's goal in the 31st minute proved to be all the offense the Crimson needed, as Harvard held on for the 1-0 win over the Bulldogs. Morgan and Emily Colvin each have two goals on the year. In goal, Katie Shields has posted a goals against average of 0.84 with two shutouts.

While the Crimson lacks a Katy Cross-type player, its starting 11 are solid throughout the lineup. However, the Red's bench should be a big factor in the game.

"If we keep the game close, we will fare well because of our depth. I don't think [Harvard] has that kind of depth. When they go to their bench, they drop to where we were in the past, but their first 11 are very good," Andeberhan said. "Historically, I think you have to give them the edge, but I think we can compete well."

New LSAT

Like many Cornellians, I spent last Saturday morning in a windowless room in the law school taking the LSAT. Four hours of sitting in a chair taking a test that will potentially affect the rest of your life can be a real drain on your mind. So instead of today's regularly scheduled column, I present to you the L Sports Aptitude Test (unfortunately, there is no appropriate word that starts with "L," so I will leave it blank).

Logical Reasoning

Directions: For each of the following, read the short paragraph and then answer the question below.

1. The Oakland Athletics missed the playoffs for the first time in five seasons. With its "Big Three" of Mulder, Hudson, and Zito pitching against the Angels in the final three games of the season, the A's dropped two of three to finish one game out of first place. Clearly, GM Billy Beane's Moneyball tactics failed miserably.

Which of the following is an assumption on which the argument is based?

(A) Moneyball should be considered blasphemy.

(B) The underlying theories of Moneyball do not apply well to a short series.

(C) I have not read Moneyball, but Billy Beane should not pay people to write books about how great he is.

(D) Mulder, Hudson, and Zito have lost their edge.

(E) Maybe you need a solid closer after all.

2. Gary Sheffield and Barry Bonds were good friends. Sheffield stayed at Bonds's house for a few weeks before the 2002 season to train with him. The two did not get along, and Bonds eventually stole Sheffield's personal chef from him. Therefore, Bonds has taken steroids. The reasoning in the above argument is flawed because

(A) It fails to consider the possibility that Sheffield secretly injected Bonds with steroids while Bonds was sleeping.

(B) It assumes what it sets out to prove.

(C) It assumes without warrant that if Bonds is an asshole, then he must be taking steroids.

(D) It fails to consider that Bonds will win the MVP again.

(E) It relies on stereotypes instead of presenting facts.

Reading Comprehension

Directions: Read the following passage and then answer the subsequent questions.

Despite the improvements to this year's hockey ticket line, several new systems are being considered for next year's. Instead of simply showing up at a certain time to get line numbers for season tickets, students will face one of three arduous ticket-distributing processes. They will also only be able to buy general admission tickets for single games.

The first option is to adopt Duke's basketball ticket distribution system. While students at Duke wait in plush tents provided with electricity and internet, Cornell students would have to wait on the Robert Trent Jones Golf Course and in the Vet School parking lot.

In the second option, students will face each other in Greco-Roman wrestling matches. The tournament will be round-robin style, and the students who finish with the best record will be awarded the highest line numbers. In order to prepare students for this arduous process, Cornell's P.E. department will be offering wrestling classes next semester.

The last option will capitalize on the country's poker craze. Students will enter a $10,000 No-Limit Texas Hold 'Em tournament, and the winner will be the first one allowed into Lynah Rink before each home game. Satellite tournaments will be offered daily at every dining hall, and the Main Event will be played in Newman Arena.

3. The passage implies which of the following about the second ticket line option?

(A) It is the best way to distribute tickets in the future.

(B) It is a barbaric and unfair method.

(C) All Cornell students are currently able to wrestle effectively.

(D) Gene Nighman '81 will be the official for the matches.

Cornell has bought sufficient insurance to cover the expected injuries from this distribution method.

4. What is the main idea of the excerpt?

(A) Waiting for season hockey tickets at Cornell is an annual rite of passage enjoyed by many students.

(B) Allowing students to buy season tickets is an effective ticket distribution method. (C) Despite the success of the 2004 ticket line, the ticket office will institute one of three laborious ticket distribution processes to test the Lynah Faithful.

(D) Students are willing to spend days in line and hundreds of dollars for hockey tickets, yet sparsely attend the other FREE Cornell sporting events.

(E) Cursing should not be allowed in Lynah Rink.

Logic Games

Students A, B, C, D, E, and F have three line numbers in the hockey ticket line. The line lasts three days, and one student can hold two line numbers. The following conditions apply: Each student must wait at least one day.

A and B cannot wait on the same day as each other.

If C waits on the second day, then D waits on the third day.

E waits on the third day.

5. Which of the following is an acceptable schedule for waiting on the line?

(A) First Day: A, B; Second Day: C, F; Third Day: D, E

(B) First Day: A, E; Second Day: D, F; Third Day: B, C

(C) First Day: C, D; Second Day: B, C; Third Day: A, D

(D) First Day: A, C; Second Day: F, B; Third Day: D, E

(E) None of the above. All of the students are seniors, and they have a combined workload during the waiting period of six prelims, three papers, four job interviews, and the LSAT.