This is a busy stretch for the men’s soccer team, as the squad will have played three games from Saturday to Saturday by this weekend. Playing its last nonconference game of 2009 last night under the lights of Berman Field, the Red (5-4-4, 0-1-2 Ivy) received some mixed results, as the Cornell defense held visiting Lafayette (7-5-2) to a scoreless tie. The visiting team, however, outshot the Red, 20-13.

“There was definitely a lot of action,” said Cornell head coach Jaro Zawislan. “It was 0-0, but that game could have been 3-3.”

Having made some changes in the starting lineup, the Red’s hero of the night was a red-headed rookie making his first collegiate start. Freshman goalkeeper Rick Pflasterer finished with 11 saves. Zawislan praised Pflasterer’s consistency from start to finish.Nothing to it: Junior midfielder Scott Caldwell was responsible for two of the Red’s 13 shots on goal in yesterday’s contest against Lafayette. Double overtime ensued.

“His kicking and distribution was very sound,” said Zawislan, a former goalkeeper himself. “His command of the box was excellent. He took care of so many crosses and services into the box for us, which takes the pressure off the defenders. And he made some very good saves.”

On Saturday, Pflasterer had entered the game in the second half of the Red’s 4-3 loss to Yale and impressed Zawislan.

“We don’t forget what [junior and previous starting goalkeeper] Scott Brody has done for us,” Zawislan emphasized, “but after the Yale game, we also thought that after that performance Rick had, he deserved to be considered to start in the game today.”

The back line, which Pflasterer was vocal in directing from the goal, came up big for the Red last night. Anchored by freshman Ben Kenyon at center back, who was often the Red’s stopper and go-to guy for clearing the ball, the defense held Lafayette scoreless.

“We were competing, that’s the main word,” Pflasterer said. “A couple of great attacks were turned away by guys recovering. [Senior midfielder J.J. Bain] had an awesome recovery right in the middle of the box that easily could have been a goal. [It] was a great job tracking back and saved me.”

While the defense kept Cornell in the game, neither team was able to finish on offense.

“We didn’t connect too well,” said senior forward Matt Bouraee. “The timing was a little off. Everyone was one step behind or one step too quick. The timing wasn’t precise and it didn’t lead to any connections within the 18 or any good shots. Kind of sloppy.”

Zawislan, however, noted that the Red rebounded well from Saturday’s last-minute loss to Ivy foe Yale.

“A tie is not what we play for, we’re not really satisfied with a tie,” Zawislan said. “But on the other hand, I am really proud of how the players here in the program turned it around from a tough loss to Yale … with a good performance and a very good effort from the beginning of the game all the way through the overtimes.”

There was no lack of passion in this game. One of the things that stood out most in 110 minutes of competition was the number of Cornell players who ended up splayed out on the grass. One player knocked to the ground by a head-to-head collision going for the header in the first overtime, one player fuming mad after a slide tackle brought him down mid-run and got no response from the refs, even Bouraee was kicked in the shins mid-leap and lingered on the ground, drawing sounds of concern from the crowd and a yellow card for Lafayette’s Sam Feldbaum.

The intensity of the game rose as each period ended with the same numbers on the scoreboard. Five of Pflasterer’s 11 saves came in the second overtime, but there was a close call in the final minute or so of the period when a Lafayette shot got by Pflasterer but ricocheted off the right post.

“They got through a couple times,” Pflasterer said. “It’s just what happens. I have to stay on my toes and be ready, and the post helped me out on one of them. I’ll take all the help I can get.”

The Red might have a similar attitude when the squad hosts Ivy opponent Brown this Saturday at 7 p.m. The Bears are ranked third in the conference but, according to the rankings released just yesterday, are ranked 18th in the nation. Brown, however, has had its own struggles recently, coming off of a tough 1-0 loss last weekend to now No. 11 Harvard.

“They have a tremendous season going on already,” Zawislan said. “Nothing is 100 percent until NCAA selection day, but they look like an NCAA caliber team. That will be a tough game. That will be a very hard game here. We have to play at least at the same level as well as we played against Harvard or even better to make sure that we match up with them well.”

Just over 10 days ago, the Red played the Crimson to a double overtime 1-1 tie at this very same field.

“Obviously we tied Harvard and they lost to them, but we can’t depend on that,” Bouraee said. “But if we play the way we played against Harvard, bring that type of intensity and connect well as a team and stick to our strategy, I don’t think we can lose.”