The men’s soccer team (2-0) travel today to St. Bonaventure (3-2) in Olean, N.Y. to face a dangerous squad. This game was added late to the schedule in the wake of the Pentagon/World Trade Center tragedies.
Cornell remains undefeated on the season and will look to continue to keep the zero in the loss column for another match.
The Bonnies have exhibited a disorder of the bipolar flavor this fall. They cleaned house against Colgate 4-0 earlier this season, but managed to fall flat on their faces by dropping a 4-3 decision to a subpar Cleveland State.
“They [St. Bonaventure] are a dangerous opponent… with some real solid scoring potential,” said head coach Bryan Scales.
Utilizing the ever so reliable scale of comparing common opponents, Cornell beat Colgate 1-0 in the season opener. From this it might seem as if the Bonnies will pose a serious threat, as they have put up seven goals in their past two games alone.
Their scoring potency, “will be a handful for our back four [defenders],” said Scales.
Nonetheless, Scales has confidence in his defenders as they have played well so far this season. Freshman Scott Palguta is one of the main cogs in the defense and can help Scales be assured of the resiliency of his backfield. Palguta has been clearing the ball routinely with confidence and beating all of his opponents to the air for head balls.
In coming off a big win against Adelphi 5-0 last Saturday, the Red knows better than to rest on its laurels.
“After watching some of the tape we feel that the midfield needs to be incorporated into the flow of the offense more… to create more options,” said sophomore forward Doug Charton.
This game has some added importance in that it is a regional contest and thus has a large role in determining both teams’ NCAA bid fates. The tournament committee picks only the top ranked teams within each region.
“It is easy to get a little lax for a weekday afternoon game like this. The weekend and Ivy League contests are very easy to get up for,” said Palguta.
Scales will not allow Cornell’s no. 21 ranking in the country go to his players’ heads. Yesterday in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NCSAA)/Adidas coaches poll, the booters came out in front of no. 22 Yale and no. 25 Princeton and thus poses itself as the highest ranked Ancient Eight club this week.
Archived article by Donald Lee