Men’s soccer opened the 2025 season with a dominant 3-0 win over Le Moyne followed by a 1-0 thriller against the University of California, Santa Barbara.
This year, the Red is anchored by a talented and experienced defense and central midfield, but after losing elite players like Alex Harris ’27, Danny Lokko ’25 and Alioune Ka ’25, there are massive holes for the Red to fill on offense.
The first starting lineup of the year for the Red had senior captain Andrew Johnson and freshman Caden Bredeman at center back, with sophomore standouts Justin Melly and Aidan Martin at outside back. Center midfielders were senior Westin Carnevale and junior captain Connor Miller, with senior Giorgos Diakos and freshman Calvin Momanyi on the wings. Forwards were senior captain Sam Latona and freshman Blake Donahue, and, for the fourth year in a row, the Red were backed by senior Ryan Friedberg in goal.
The Red jumped on the Dolphins from the start, ringing the crossbar in the eighth minute and sending the rebound just high. However, it took Cornell until just before halftime to net its first goal of the game.
In the 43rd minute, Martin launched an inswinging ball into the box off of a corner kick, which Johnson put into the back of the net with a header.
The second half was also dominated by the Red. In the 63rd minute, a ball from a Cornell free kick bounced around and found the feet of Martin. Martin wove through three defenders, nutmegging one, and finished the ball off of the far post from a tough angle, earning him an early contender for the goal of the year.
In the 80th minute, the Red made it 3-0. Martin passed to Diakos off of a corner, who lofted a ball into the box. In a scrum in front of the goal, Latona buried the ball in the back of the net.
The game ended 3-0, with all three Cornell goals coming shortly after set pieces.
Following an explosive season opener, the Red flew out to the West Coast to face the University of California, Santa Barbara on Friday. The Red trotted out a similar lineup, but with Melly sliding to center back and sophomore Colin Johnson slotting into the lineup at right back.
The game started slow, with just three shots on goal between both teams in the first half. The same trend continued through the second half until the 81st minute.
Carnevale headed a ball through for sophomore forward Kasper Wollstein, who beat the goalie but hit the post with his shot. The rebound came back to his left foot, but Wollstein was not able to convert.
Then, in the 83rd minute, Wollstein played a ball through for Carnevale, who tucked a shot around the keeper to the far post, but the goal was ruled offside.
With Cornell feeling the momentum in the final minutes of the game, freshman forward Sergio Zapata laid the ball off for junior midfielder Liam May, who rocketed home a shot from outside the box. The goal came with just a minute and 13 seconds to go, and the Red were able to hang on for the win.
The Red’s final goal was thanks to two substitutes in May and Zapata. Cornell tapped into its deep bench all week, with 22 players seeing action across the first two games.
Friedberg made three saves to lock down his 16th career clean sheet. With two more, he would tie the all-time record for clean sheets at Cornell.
The Red remains on the West Coast for its next game against the University of California, Irvine at 7 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 8. The Anteaters are undefeated on the season and have only conceded one goal through the first four games.
