Tonight will be an eventful night for the men’s soccer team; not only will the players be celebrating International Student Day — an event planned in honor of the team’s six represented countries — but they will also be returning to their home turf to face off against local rival Binghamton.

There is no doubt that Binghamton (3-3-0) will prove to be quite the challenge. With a young roster and a solid defensive line, the Bearcats will definitely be putting the Red (3-2-1) to the test.

“We’ve got a challenging opponent coming up,” said head coach Jaro Zawislan. “They’ve always been in or on the verge of making the NCAA playoffs, so our team has to be ready from the first minute on.”

Cornell leads Binghamton, 8-3, in the all-time series between the two teams. However, the last time the Bearcats showed up at Berman Field, the Red emerged with a stinging 1-0 loss.We gonna run this town tonight: Matt Bouraee has provided senior leadership for the Red.

But this is a new year, and a new team for Cornell. A fresh, reenergized roster has allowed for a great deal of depth and frequent rotation of subs. And with three wins and seven goals in six games, the Red has already far surpassed its 1-15 record from last season.

“We’ve scored in every game, and our defense has done well so far,” said senior forward Matt Bouraee. “We seem to be very motivated, and very excited to play and make up for last season.”

That is precisely what the Red has been doing seemingly every time the players step onto the field. In fact, this weekend’s matchup against Fairleigh Dickinson resulted in a satisfying 1-0 victory for Cornell — an achievement that can be utilized as momentum for tonight’s game against the Bearcats.

“We’re on a high note from that win,” said junior midfielder Scott Caldwell. “So we don’t want to change our game plan up too much … it’s been working well for us.”

But that’s not to say the players have become complacent with their recent success on the field. Instead, the Red is constantly striving to improve as a whole, in order to be prepared for every opponent that it encounters this season.

“Each game is a fresh start. … I expect the guys to be prepared and organized, and execute the game plan on the given day,” Zawislan said.

Regardless of the game plan’s specifics, there’s no denying the presence of positive energy for the Red. And as if that wasn’t enough, tonight’s international celebration could possibly enhance the team’s excitement level even more.

“We have quite a few international students on the team, so we’re trying to get as many … people as we can to come out and support them,” Caldwell said.

With players hailing from Brazil, China, Bulgaria and Canada — not to mention a head coach from Poland — International Student Day looks to be a great success, and will likely provide an extra spark in the spirit of the game.

Perhaps, then, there will be more to celebrate once the game is over.