The Ivy League meets the Big East tonight, as the Orangemen of Syracuse travel to Ithaca to meet the Big Red men’s soccer team.
Syracuse is a tough Big East team with a strong freshmen class. Its offensive attack should give Cornell’s defense a test. On Saturday night against Yale, the Red’s defense was porous as it allowed the Bulldogs to penetrate for three goals.
“The problem against Yale was not our offense,” head coach Bryan Scales said. “It was leaking goals on the other end of the field.”
Scales believed that his team’s poor defensive effort was a collective one. He thinks that the midfielders need to step up their defensive presence and halt the opponent’s attack upfield.
One player who has played brilliantly as of late is senior forward Adam Skumawitz. The striker has controlled the ball very well and has used his height to his advantage. The Red will need a big contribution from him if it expects to defeat the ‘Cuse.
Doug Allan will be the netminder for the Red tonight. Although he allowed three goals against the Bulldogs, only 12 goals have gotten past him in seven games. Scales looks for Allan to return to his superior play before the Yale game.
Yesterday in practice, the team watched films from its game against Yale. Scales believes that his team’s self-evaluation will prove to be useful in today’s game.
“We can’t hang our heads after last game,” Scales said. “We need to bounce back quickly.”
Archived article by Jason Skolnik