After starting the season with three away games in 10 days, the Red stayed at home for the second leg of a three-game homestand.
No. 24 men’s soccer (4-1) cruised to a 3-0 win over the New Jersey Institute of Technology (2-4-2). This moved the Red to 4-1 going into Ivy League play.
It took Cornell a while to get going, with its first shot coming over 10 minutes into the game. Despite taking 12 shots to NJIT’s three, the scoreline was level at half.
In the 49th minute, senior midfielder Westin Carnevale played a ball through for junior midfielder Connor Miller, who put away a shot to the far post. Miller has been dynamic for the Red this season, and the Cornell captain is very likely to be one of the top picks in this year’s MLS SuperDraft.
Cornell continued pouring shots on the NJIT net, but the Red did not convert again until the 82nd minute. Sophomore forward Kasper Wollstein dribbled past his defender and tucked home the shot.
Wollstein, a junior college transfer from Iowa Lakes Community College, has two goals in the past two games and has likely worked himself into contention for a starting spot next week. The rest of the Cornell forward group has scored just one goal on the season, which was a poke home by senior midfielder Sam Latona against Le Moyne.
Cornell added to the lead again in the 89th minute. Wollstein and freshman forward Sergio Zapata found themselves with a two-on-one on the counterattack. Wollstein played Zapata alone in front of the goal, but Zapata sent the shot straight at NJIT goalkeeper Devin Armstrong. He collected his own rebound and played Carnevale, who scored from close range.
The game would end as a 3-0 win for Cornell. The shutout for senior goalkeeper Ryan Friedberg ties him with Jon Ross ’74 for most career shutouts, at 18.
Although the game was not close, the final score didn’t reflect the Red’s dominance. Cornell took 32 shots, with 15 on goal. While Armstrong had some fantastic saves, there were plenty of poor finishes by Cornell.
Cornell will now turn its attention to the Yale Bulldogs, whom the Red will face on Saturday, Sept. 27, at Berman Field. Yale has had an underwhelming start to the season, going winless in six games. However, the Bulldogs upset the Red in the Ivy League opener last year, so Cornell will be looking for revenge.
Despite its 4-1 record, Cornell currently sits at 75th in the RPI (the primary criteria used for NCAA tournament selection) due to the weak strength of the Red’s schedule. But, with more than half of non-conference play completed, the Ivy League currently ranks seventh out of 22 conferences in the RPI. If the League can keep up this rating, it will likely earn at least two at-large bids to the NCAA tournament, plus the league autobid.
Cornell’s clash with Yale will be available to stream on ESPN+.
