ITHACA, N.Y. – In the home opener for men's soccer Friday afternoon, Daniel Haber and the Big Red gave the fans a performance they won't soon forget.

Haber scored three goals – the first Cornell hat trick in more than five years – and added an assist as the Big Red remained undefeated with a 4-0 victory over Buffalo.

“It was just a great team performance, and I was able to get a couple goals, but my teammates really made me look great,” Haber said. “They fed me the ball in dangerous spots and did their part.”

After three games on the road to begin the year, Cornell (4-0) showed a decisive home-field advantage with two goals in each half against the Bulls (1-4-1). The Big Red is now 4-0 for the first time since 1996 and has not lost in its last 12 non-conference games.

Patrick Slogic opened the floodgates with a floating header goal in the 22nd minute off a corner kick by Haber. The ball landed squarely on the 6-foot-5 defender's head in the left side of the penalty box and arced perfectly to the upper right corner of the goal, giving Buffalo's Jonathan Viscosi no chance at a save.  The goal, Slogic's first of the season, was also his 10th career point.

Six minutes later, Haber was on the score sheet with a goal as sophomore Atticus DeProspo took the ball down the left flank. Taking one step in toward the middle of the field, DeProspo played a nifty ball along the grass and into the penalty box, where Haber redirected the ball over the goal line to give the Big Red a 2-0 advantage.

After halftime, the goals didn't stop coming for Haber. In the 61st minute, a nice breakout started when senior Nico Nissl stole the ball from Buffalo's Garfield Williams right at the center of the field. Nissl threaded the ball through traffic to a streaking Conor Goepel, and Goepel one-touched it to Haber. Already past the last defender, Haber fired low and right to best Viscosi.

As the game wound down, Haber completed his hat trick with an 85th-minute effort. Standing with possession on the right side of the offensive zone, Haber took the ball inside. No Buffalo defender put enough pressure on Haber to cause him any trouble, and he whipped a shot into the net from the top of the box.

Haber's goal was his sixth of the still young season – he scored nine all of last year – and was the first Cornell hat trick since Brian Kuritzky scored three goals against IUPUI on Sept. 2, 2007.

While the offense was on fire, the defense was terrific as well in holding Buffalo scoreless. Cornell senior goalkeeper Rick Pflasterer had to make only one save as he earned his third consecutive shutout, and the starting back line of Slogic, Jake Rinow, Jake Kirsch and Peter Chodas flummoxed the Bulls throughout the affair.

“I can't say enough about the back four and the goalie,” Haber said. “Everyone on the team is playing well defensively. It was a great team performance.”

Holding midfielder Ben Williams and midfielder Nico Nissl also contributed to the great defensive effort. Buffalo took just one shot on goal and nine shots total, with Richard Craven's six leading all players.

By the time the game was winding down, coach Jaro Zawislan was able to give some members of the roster their first playing time of the season. Freshman defender Skyler Erickson made his Big Red debut, while classmate Sanath Shettigar got in his first ever home game. Sophomore defender Devin Morgan also played his first minutes ever for Cornell, as did juniors Ian Panzica and Kurtis Teskoski. Aaron Oder, Tyler Conway, Matt Kagie, Stephen Reisert and backup keeper Zach Zagorski all saw significant playing time off the bench.

The Big Red managed to maintain its impressive scoring streak with Slogic's goal. The team has now scored in 20 consecutive contests and is just one short of tying the school's all-time record, set back in the 1970-71 seasons.

Cornell will have a chance to tie that record on Friday when Vermont comes to Ithaca for the first game of the second CU Inaria Classic at 7 p.m. The team could break the record against Wofford on Sunday in another CU Inaria Classic contest.

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