On October 4th, 1973, the Big Red soccer team, known colloquially at the time as the “Booters,” won their first game of the season against Syracuse, shutting them out 2-0. The first goal came from Keith Garde, a junior that transferred from Nassau Community College. Grade scored off a strong offensive drive that began with a thrown-in by fullback Andy Rosenberg to Kip Jordan. Jordan then headed the ball to Garde, who shot the ball into the corner of the goal. This was Garde’s first game starting as center forward and his second goal in two games.
The second goal, by Joe Mui, came off of a penalty kick before the end of the first half. The penalty occurred when a Syracuse fullback tried to use his hands to stop the ball after a frantic tussle in front of the net left the opposing goalie on the ground. This was Mui’s first goal as a varsity player and the beginning of his record leading the Booters in goals for the 1973 season. He went on to earn All-Ivy second team honors and in 2005 he was inducted into the Big Red Hall of Fame. This helped boost the morale of the team after a rough start to the season, having lost two games to Hartwick and Brockport. Ironically, head coach Dan Wood was not impressed with the performance in the Syracuse game. He claimed they played better in their two previous games, despite the fact they had lost. However, he did praise the Cornell’s defensive performance here for preventing the Orangemen from scoring. They were able to keep the ball on Syracuse’s half of the field, and even when they faltered, goalie John Ross was able to save the ball when needed. This season was a solid performance by the Booters despite their rocky start. They went on to have a record of 8-4-2 and tied for third place in the Ivy League.
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