Sept. 24, 2004
Box Score
CORVALLIS, Ore. - Nick Leonard scored off his own rebound at the 96:10 mark as Cornell University snapped a 12-match men's soccer winless streak with a 1-0 overtime win over Gonzaga University on Friday in the Diadora/Clif Bar Classic hosted by Oregon State University.
Leonard's initial shot was stopped by Gonzaga keeper Sean Sosnovec, but the rebound went right back to Leonard who made no mistake with the second attempt.
Gonzaga's woes in this tournament continued as the Bulldogs dropped their fifth straight match in the Diadora/Clif Bar Classic since winning both matches in the 2001 event. The Bulldogs (3-4-0) dropped a pair of matches here in both 2002 and 2003. The Bulldogs also suffered a 6-0 loss to OSU at Paul Lorenz field last week in a non-conference match.
The Big Red (1-5-0) picked up their first win of the season and won for the first time in 13 outings after going 0-6-1 in the final seven matches of the 2003 campaign. The Big Red not only defeated Gonzaga, but handed an alum a loss as Bulldog head coach Einar Thorarinsson graduated from Cornell in 1975 after playing soccer his junior and senior seasons of 1973-74 upon transferring from Monroe Community College in Rochester, NY.
Gonzaga held a 22-7 advantage in shots, out-shooting Cornel 8-1 in the first half, 10-4 in the second and 4-2 in the overtime. But Cornell keeper David Mahoney had eveight saves, including two in the overtime. Sosnovec had four saves as half of Cornell's eight shots were on goal.
Gonzaga had the territorial advantage, reflected in part by the 8-1 edge the Bulldogs held in corner kicks in addition to the one-sided shots advantage.
The match featured the return of senior forward Arni Pjetursson, who had missed the last three Gonzaga matches with a sore hamstring. He played 23 minutes in the first half, 27 in the second. The Bulldogs were still without senior midfielder Mike Herzog, who missed his fourth straight match with a sprained ankle.
The Bulldogs will return to action at noon Sunday against St. Bonaventure University. That match will be the final tune-up for the Bulldogs prior to entering West Coast Conference play next weekend at Loyola Marymount University and the University of San Diego. In other matches in the Diadora/Clif Bar Classic, the host Beavers were to meet the Bonnies in Friday's late game, then OSU wraps up the tourney against Cornell at 2 p.m. on Sunday.
