By wpengine October 24, 2003
The two remaining undefeated Ivy teams will battle for first place at Berman Field on Saturday at 7 p.m., as the men’s soccer team (5-4-1, 2-0-1) and No. 14 Brown (7-3-1, 3-0-0) face off. This will be the second straight weekend that the Red will face a team ranked in the top 25, as it defeated the then No. 16 Yale Bulldogs last Saturday in New Haven. It was the first win at Yale for the team since 1975. On Wednesday, the team’s five-game unbeaten streak was snapped at Syracuse, as the Orangemen downed the Red 4-0. The booters have little time to dwell on the loss, as they must prepare for a strong Brown team. “I’m sure the guys are going to be ready to play on Saturday night. It’s a big game for both teams,” said head coach Bryan Scales. During the team’s 4-0-1 streak, junior goalie David Mahoney only allowed one goal, in a tie against Harvard. Mahoney’s four shutouts is good for second in the league, while he is tops in saves, with 55 on the season. A transfer from Brown, Mahoney is very familiar with the Bears, as is the rest of the Red. Jeff Larentowicz was a teammate of sophomores Andrew George and Sean Shannon on FC Delco Arsenal, which won its second straight United States Youth Soccer Association championship this summer. “We’ve seen Brown play on tape a number of times this year, and we’ve also seen them a few times in person,” remarked Scales. “David knows their guys pretty well, we know their guys pretty well. I don’t think there will be too many surprises. They know our group pretty well also.” Brown’s game on Tuesday against Fairfeld was called 20 minutes into the first half, but not before the Bears scored in the third minute. Last Saturday, Brown shut out Harvard, 3-0, in Cambridge. Marcos Romaneiro was named Ivy League Player of the Week, after scoring two goals against the Crimson, and Brown rose from No. 20 to No. 14 in the NSCAA/adidas ranking. Yale, ranked 16th last week, fell from the rankings after losing to the Red. Cornell has faced one other ranked team this season, Coastal Carolina, and will play No. 20 Hartwick in mid-November. Romaneiro is second on the team in scoring with five goals and four assists, while Adom Crew is first in scoring with seven goals and two assists. In goal, Christopher Gomez has started in nine games this season, with a 1.07 goals against average. Both Cornell and Brown have played in some close games this season, with each team playing in six one-goal games. “We’re going to have to be good defensively. They’re a dangerous team, they’re 14th in the country, they have a couple of Ivy Players of the Week, and they’re going to be a good team,” said Scales. “I’m sure we’ll have a good crowd with it being Homecoming. That energy will be important and the guys are looking forward to playing in front of a home crowd on Saturday.” With the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA College Cup on the line, this match will be critical for the Red if it is to win its first Ivy title since 1995. “We’re the underdogs going into this game, and that’s a good position for us to be in. These Ivy games are huge, so [the team knows] that, and they’re excited about it,” said Scales. The Red will be home again on Tuesday for a 7 p.m. game against Oneonta, and will resume its Ivy schedule next Saturday at Princeton.Archived article by Jonathan Auerbach
By wpengine October 24, 2003
So, this is supposed to be some special weekend at Cornell. It’s supposed to be the weekend when all those fabulous alums come back to Ithaca, go drinking and consequently get drunk together, and reminisce about their great times on the East Hill. Everything is supposed to be special — the band should play a little bit louder, the football team should play a little bit better, and heck, Jansen’s might even serve something tastier than cube steak. But you know what? Homecoming’s not special at all — at least it isn’t for Cornell. The student body doesn’t get into it, and only a few alums actually come home. University President Jeffrey S. Lehman ’77 officially came home last week with his inauguration, but even he won’t be here this weekend. I’m sure whatever he’s doing in Oregon is important business, but it does show you how much the University administration cares about this weekend. How many of you even knew that it’s Homecoming weekend before seeing the Homecoming football supplement? It’s just not that big of a deal. Some writers in The Sun have bemoaned the relative apathy surrounding Homecoming and have urged all Cornellians to go out and support the teams. But come on, we all know that’s not going to happen and all the begging in the world won’t get people out at Schoellkopf Field, Berman Field, or Oxley Equestrian Center. At the end of the day, the loyal fans who regularly attend the sporting events will still be the only ones out there. No more, no less. To be honest, I’m not bothered by this relative apathy at all. You see, I went to a relatively large high school in San Francisco, Calif. with a student body of over 2,500. I don’t think we ever got more than 200 fans at any of our school sporting events. I remember playing in the band at our Homecoming game during my freshman year. Our band of 70 was joined by about 20 fans. To me, the attendance of 3,000 (or so the Athletic Department claims — you make that up, right?) that go to the football games is a great turnout. Would it be great to have more fans? Sure. Will it happen? No. We can admire Michigan’s Big House and Duke’s Cameron Crazies all we want. But Cornellians, like those kids at my high school, just aren’t hard-wired for that sort of thing. This apathy can be traced all the way back to the day we filled out the Big Red Packet that Cornell sent to us during our senior years in high school. It can be traced to the fact that Cornell’s part of the Ivy League. When my friends decided to go to Cal-Berkeley, Stanford, and various other scholarship schools, they immediately starting thinking about getting season basketball and football tickets. When I sent in my forms, I didn’t even know Cornell had basketball and football teams. I’m sure many of you were the same way. I came here for an education, and I’ve gotten a damn good one, just like Cornell promised. So this weekend, forget the games. Football’s playing a horrible, bottom feeder in Brown, the hockey team’s going to beat up on some minors (isn’t that illegal?), and really, it’s just too cold to go out to Berman Field to watch soccer. Will I be at the games? Yeah, it’s my job and I get to sit in a nice, warm press box. But I won’t blame you if you don’t go. Ithaca’s just not pleasant this time of year. So, contrary to what we at the paper and some of those diehards out there want to have happen, Homecoming will be just another weekend. Well, not exactly. If you’re cheap and want some free food and beer, head up to Schoellkopf before the game and grab some grub. After all, those tailgaters made all that food expecting alums (they should know better by now). Make someone happy and eat it. Not watching football — forgivable. Not eating that free food — now that’s a crime.Archived article by Alex Ip