Soccer Showdowns: Cornell vs. Crimson

The Harvard men and women soccer squads both enter a key stretch of their squads both enter a key stretch of their schedule today when they entertain their Cornell counterparts today at Ohiri Field.

With both Crimson squads vying for NCAA tournament berths, today's games are instrumental for both national and Ivy League hopes.

The Crimson men (3-1-1 overall, 1-0-0 Ivy), who suffered their first loss of the season last week by falling to nationally ranked Hartwick, 3-1, will face stiff opposition.

Though unranked, Cornell (4-1-2, 1-0-1) recently lost to fifth-ranked Virginia, 2-0, at the Virginia Tournament and last year the Big Red shutout Harvard, 2-0.

The contest should be an intense one since both teams will be trying to protect their unbeaten Ivy League records.

The Cat

John Catliff, Harvard's leading scorer with 14 points, will lead the Crimson attack. Catliff was just one goal short of tying the school single-game goal record when he was the Crimson offense in a 4-1 victory over Columbia on September 20.

Other leading scorers for Harvard are Nick Hotchkin (2 goals, 6 assists, 10 points), Drory Tendler (2-1-5), and Nick D'Onofrio (2-1-5). The Crimson goalkeeping tandem of Stephen Hall and Chad Reilly have combined for a .741 save percentage and a 1.29 goals-against average.

Cornell's strength is goalkeeper Mike Zaremsky, who already has three shutouts, a save percentage of .857, and a 4-1-0 record. The Big Red has given up less than a goal per game. John Bayne (5-3-13) and John Hastings (2-3-7) lead the Cornell offense.

The Women

The Harvard women have had even better success than the Crimson men. Their 6-1-0 overall record (1-0-0 Ivy League) has earned them a 17th-place national ranking. Cornell, however, is one notch ahead of them at 16th.

Harvard is coming off a 1-0 loss to Boston College (a top team in New England).

"This game is evenly matched," Harvard Coach Bob Scalise said. "The losing effort to B.C. may give us the edge. It showed we could play at a high level."

As for the impact this game has on the Ivy League season, Scalise calls it "essential."

Karin Pinezich (3-1-7) directs the offense for the Crimson, but it is the superb goalkeeping of two-time All-America Tracee Whitley that dominates Harvard's game. In seven games, Whitley has four shutouts and has given up an average of less than half-a-goal per game.

The Big Red has its own offensive machine in Laurie Collier, whose six goals and four assists are main reasons why Scalise calls Cornell "very talented."