During this fall break, while most students will be tuning out, the men’s soccer team will be tuning it up another notch. With a contest against Penn tomorrow at noon on Rhodes Field, the Red will look to remain undefeated in Ivy League play.
From the results that Penn has shown so far, it looks as if it will pose a good challenge for head coach Bryan Scales’ troops. The Quakers defeated a top 10 ranked Seton Hall Pirate squad earlier this year, so one can safely assume that Penn is for real.
“[Penn] is young, but very competitive,” said Scales.
Week in and week out the Red faces tough competition as the Ivy League was tabbed as the second most competitive league, top to bottom, by the NSCAA in the preseason conference rankings behind the highly touted Atlantic Coast Conference, according to Scales. So it is no surprise to hear the same things every week about how tough the upcoming game will be.
Fortunately for the Red, Scales and freshman forward Steven Reuter are in accordance in feeling that they are just beginning to find their team identity and character.
“We have just figured out how to play as a team and mold together,” Reuter said.
As in most contests fundamentals are important, but more specifically Cornell will look to, “create pressure on the ball, create turnovers, defend, and win the ball in good areas,” said Scales.
Reuter’s first collegiate start against Yale Sept. 22nd in New Haven, Conn. falls in line with Scales plan of creating a faster front-line of attacking forwards.
As the men’s soccer team begins to find itself, the rest of the league figures to do the same. Undoubtedly, the rest of the games this season will be on full tilt as everyone will be playing with their ‘A’ game. Tomorrow will be the first game for the rest of the season where nobody can use the excuse of how early it is in the season and that mistakes will be corrected next time.
Archived article by Donald Lee