Long-time Duke men’s basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski has said that the key to a team’s success is the ability to move on after a loss: “We say we will never lose two in a row.” After a 2008 season in which the men’s soccer team registered loss after disheartening loss en route to a 1-15 record, the Red has managed to follow Coach K’s creed to the letter in 2009, already quadrupling its win total from 2008 in the process.

A point of pride for first-year head coach Jaro Zawislan is the short memory of his team, which is 4-3-2 (0-0-1 Ivy). The players give much of the credit to the new guy in charge.

Junior goalkeeper Scott Brody and senior forward Matt Bouraee, who have both started in all nine games and worn the captain’s armband for the Red this season, have noticed a change in the team’s attitude since Zawislan took over.

“[The results this season are] definitely a big im­provement,” Bro­dy said. “I think it’s the result of the new philosophy [brought by Zawislan] and the new work ethic. … He’s got us excited and instilled a new confidence in the team.”

“The wins really have had a huge impact on team chemistry this year,” Bouraee said. “My team just seems to have more swagger, more confidence, and it’s led to connected passes and a lot of creativity in the offensive third.”

The offense has had to deal with the season-ending injury of sophomore forward Pedro Pereira — a Brazilian import who was one of only four players to net a goal last year. The Red has compensated by leaning on the increasingly productive forward tandem of Bouraee and junior Brett Sumpio, who have combined for four goals and 14 points.

“I think that Brett has incredible potential. Athletically he’s so quick and he’s so feisty,” Bouraee said. “During the offseason I have to admit that I was a little hard on him, and he made big strides.”

The Red has had some fancy footwork on each end of the field — according to Zawislan, the squad has been “sharper in the attacking third, we’re talking about the final pass and finishing touch.”

One of the best illustrations of this heightened teamwork on offense is junior midfielder Scott Caldwell’s second half game-winner against St. Bonaventure on Sept. 13.

“[Sophomore] Kyle Parsons played me a through-ball,” Bouraee recalled. “I was on a breakaway, and I saw the goalie cheating toward the near post. I looked towards far post and saw [Caldwell] there with a path to goal. So I passed him the ball, he composed himself, placed it nicely, scored the goal, got the job done [and] we won, 2-1, against the momentum of the game.”

The addition on defense of junior transfer Dimitar Nentchev and Ben Kenyon, the freshman out of Lockport, N.Y., has also added depth to the Red’s back line. Nentchev has started in eight games this season, and Kenyon has tallied two assists while starting in all nine games for the Red.

To Brody, the Red’s game against Hartwick represents the season as a whole: “The way we … were lockdown on defense and refused to give up anything … that constant pressure [on both ends of the field] characterizes the season.”

Sticking to the standard 4-4-2 formation that has brought Cornell success, the Red will face several nationally ranked teams in the upcoming weeks of conference play.

“Just talking to other coaches around the league, they can’t remember Ivy League soccer being as strong [as it is now] with regards to the winning percentage of the league outside of the conference schedule going into the Ivy League season. … It’s been the best in years, if not the best ever,” Zawislan said. “Every game will be a battle.”