During the 2003 season, the men’s soccer team defeated Colgate 1-0. In the following 2004 season, the Red lost 3-0. Last year, the squads tied, 1-1. It doesn’t take a Cornell student to follow the pattern and see what should be next in the rotation for the Red.
If this pattern continues, the Red should leave Hamilton, N.Y. victorious tonight following their 7 p.m. showdown with the Raiders. A Red victory tonight would be Colgate’s second loss to Cornell in four days after the Red’s football team cruised to a 38-14 Homecoming win this past Saturday. The men’s soccer team will a face more difficult task against a Raider’s team, which is 6-1-5 (2-0-3 Patriot) and has yet to lose on its home field.
[img_assist|nid=18981|title=Passing glance|desc=Sophomore Joe Yonga (20) clears the ball during Cornell’s 2-1 win over Yale last Friday. (Robert Oschorn / Sun Staff)|link=popup|align=right|width=100|height=70]
Colgate is lead defensively by sophomore goalkeeper David Cappucio, who was named the Patriot League Goalkeeper of the Week for the second time this season after saving a penalty kick to preserve a 0-0 tie against American last Saturday. In eight games this season, Cappucio has yet to give up a goal, and leads the nation in goals against average and saves percentage.
Junior forward Eric Anton, who boasts two goals and two assists on the year, leads the Raiders offensively.
A victory tonight would be Cornell’s second straight win after defeating Yale, 2-1, this past Friday.
“Coming from our last win, we are approaching this game carrying momentum,” said senior co-captain Dan Marks.
Hopefully this momentum will propel the team past tonight’s game to the end of the season. With five games remaining and a 2-5-3 (1-2-1 Ivy) record, the Red has a substantial amount of work left in front of it.
“We are still mathematically in it. We need some help from other teams, but we are still in the race,” Marks said.
As of today, Cornell is currently tied for fifth place with Princeton in the Ivy League standings. Harvard and Penn are tied atop the standings, while Brown and Dartmouth are knotted at third place.
After facing the Raiders, the Red will play against Ivy League foes Brown, Princeton and Dartmouth in a trio of crucial matches that will decide the Cornell’s final placement in the league for the season.
Finishing atop the Ivies would be an impressive feat for the Red – which only graduates four seniors this spring. Rather then waiting for next year, the team’s has competed in hopes of sending the seniors out with a bang. Crucial to that goal will be the continued improvement of the team’s younger players. One such underclassman, freshman forward Matt Bouraee played his best game so far on Friday, scoring a goal just 3:22 into the match.
Bouraee’s performance along with the development of other underclassmen has Marks optimistic for the nearing future. Hoping to graduate with an Ivy League title, Marks illustrated the team’s present mentality,
“We have nothing to lose,” Marks said.