Men’s soccer continued its strong start to the season with back-to-back wins against Bucknell and the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, improving its record to 4-0-2.
On Tuesday, Sept. 17 at Berman Field, the Red showcased a commanding performance, defeating Bucknell 3-0. The team’s defensive strategy was key in countering Bucknell’s possession-heavy style.
“Bucknell is a team that likes to play a lot of possession through the middle, which is what we love from an opponent,” said sophomore forward Adam Schaban. “We tucked our wingers inside to outnumber them, forcing them into either congested areas or wide plays where our fullbacks were ready to anticipate.”
Senior forward Alioune Ka led the charge for the Red, scoring twice — once in each half. His first goal came in the 24th minute, breaking through the Bison defense after a quick series of passes. Ka’s second goal, assisted by sophomore forward Alex Harris, came late in the game and provided critical insurance. In the final moments, sophomore midfielder Balazs Feher added the finishing touch, converting on a breakaway to seal the 3-0 victory.
Junior goalkeeper Ryan Friedberg secured his third win of the season with a clean sheet.
Schaban compared the team’s preparation to studying for a prelim: “All we did was prepare ahead of time and iron out the little details we noticed through watching film. … Taking care of the small boring details might mean doing your readings ahead of time and paying attention during your lecture.”
The Red was home again on Saturday, Sept. 21 to take on UMBC. The Red looked to stay undefeated in 2024 in UMBC’s visit to Ithaca, after Cornell dropped a 2-1 decision at the Retrievers last year.
With just one goal finding the back of the net, Cornell secured a tight win over UMBC.
The first half passed without any scoring but both goalkeepers were active. Cornell had four shots on goal, all saved by UMBC’s Emigdio Lopez. UMBC put two shots on junior goalkeeper Ryan Friedberg, but none found the back of the net.
The action picked up quickly in the second half. Three minutes in, freshman left back Aidan Martin placed a free kick onto the left boot of junior center back Andrew Johnson for the opening goal. This marked Johnson’s second goal of the season in only five games, the first two of his collegiate career. The defender had previously not scored in his combined 31 games played for Cornell in 2022 and 2023.
The remainder of the game was scoreless, but not without excitement. In the 55th minute, Cornell faced a close range shot from Giuseppe Indelicato. Friedberg, with a quick reaction and full extension, got a finger on the ball to send it off the post and out.
In the 68th minute, the Red looked to add to its lead as junior midfielder Westin Carnevale received the ball at the top of the box, tapped it around a defender and curled the ball toward the top right corner. Though he froze the goalkeeper, the ball rang the crossbar and stayed out of the goal.
Time expired following a rushed UMBC corner kick for a 1-0 Cornell victory. The Red’s 4-0-2 record marks the longest undefeated start to the season since 2013 when the team started 6-0-2.
Cornell makes the short drive up to Syracuse on Tuesday, Sept. 24 for a 7 p.m. contest against the Orange. The Red look to build on its two-game regular season win streak against the Orange that began in 2022, the season in which Syracuse won its fourth national championship.
William Cawley is a Sun Contributor and can be reached at [email protected].