Update, 3:15 pm: Columbia just beat Marist 10-9. Roar, lion, roar.

Your CU Lions have their opening game today against Marist at 12:30 PM!  Make the trek out to Baker Field (map) with free shuttles from 116th and Broadway starting at 11 am.  Once you get there, enjoy free t-shirts for the first 500 students, free beverages in the pre-game picnic area, and free admissions to the game itself with your CUID.  So come out, support your team, make some noise, and keep laundry at bay for one day more.  Here’s to hoping the team beats last year’s record!

 

Real sports fans via Wikimedia Commons

Sports Sunday returns for another edition of athletic journalism. This week featured a number of Ivy League match-ups. A choice stat from the week: all the home teams won, while CU’s away teams all lost at least one of their road games. Home court advantage… Could it be?

Women’s Soccer (4-5):

Latest Result: Lions hold on in second half to beat Brown (6-3-1) 2-1

Overview: The Lions advanced to 2-0 in the Ivy League on Saturday after a pair of first half goals from freshman Alex Yow. Dominating the field from the opening whistle, the Lions tallied their first goal just ten minutes in as Yow beat her defender at the top of the box and placed a shot nicely in the far corner of the Bears’ net. Nine minutes later Yow struck again, this time off a cross from senior Ashlin Yahr. Yow’s header flick finish put the Lions up 2-0 midway through the first half. In the second half, the Bears gained traction and put pressure on the Lions, scoring a looping shot over the from a long cross in the 72nd minute. Strong defense from junior Isabel King and solid goalkeeping from senior captain Lillian Kathryn kept the Lions alive through regulation.

Highlights: Freshman Alex Yow was a breakout star in the Ivy League match-up, leading the Lions in goals and shots. Bwog predicts Ivy League Rookie of the Week honors for the little freshie.

Upcoming Contest: The Lions travel to Lehigh (3-5-1) on Monday and return home for an Ivy League match-up against Penn (7-2-0) on Friday at 7pm

More coverage after the break…

Here it is, the inaugural Bwog Sports Sunday. Most people don’t have the time to go spectate and support our athletes; even more casually forget that we have athletics. In this maiden installment, Bwog’s finest athletic correspondent, Kevin Powers, informs the busy fans and remind the ignorant masses of this week’s sporting news.

Men’s Soccer (3-3-1):

Latest Result: Lions fall 1-0 to Monmouth University (5-2) in third straight loss.

Overview: Despite a strong 3-0 start to the season, the Lions have had trouble finding the back of the net in their latest contests, losing the past three by a score of 1-0. On Thursday, the Lions faced a formidable opponent in Monmouth University (5-2), who controlled most of the play in the first half. Monmouth’s Derek Luke tallied the only goal of the game with a one-touch finish off of a cross from Hawks defender RJ Allen in the 17th minute. The Lions came out in the second half much stronger, possessing well and and creating chances. Most notably, a corner kick from freshman Kofi Agyapong found the foot of senior captain Mike Mazzulo, but his shot was saved and the Lions were unable to capitalize on the opportunity.

Highlight: Bwog enjoyed some fancy footwork from freshman newcomer Kofi Agyapong and senior Francios Anderson, who megged* a Monmouth midfielder in the second half. Also, senior goalkeeper Alex Aurrichio looks, sounds, and smells like a caveman. Roar on, Lion.

Upcoming Contest: The Lions will be away against Seton Hall (4-4-2) on Tuesday and then back home at Columbia Soccer Stadium to take on Brown (5-2) on Saturday at 4pm in their Ivy League opener.

*a nutmeg, or meg for short, is when one player puts the ball through the legs of an opposing player. This is incredibly embarrassing and is a sign of significant personal failure.

Full coverage of other autumn sports after the break…

Bwog’s Dane Cook (yep, it’s the same name, let’s just move on) reports from last night’s meeting.

The unceasing plea for student support at Columbia sporting events found voice yet again at the outset of Monday’s SGA meeting. Assistant director of sports marketing, Dan Spiegel, attended to encourage council members to attend Saturday’s homecoming football game against the University of Pennsylvania Quakers. Spiegel pointed out that the athletic department represents an especially unique element of the Columbia-Barnard relationship, and also noted the important contributions Barnard athletes bring to their teams under Columbia’s name. Citing lack luster attendance at last year’s event, he appealed to the council, “This is not just Columbia’s homecoming: this is your homecoming as well.” With the provision of free shuttle service and free admittance, Columbia athletics hopes more Barnard students will be at Baker this weekend to unleash the roar. 

Sharmin Ahmed, VP of Finance, took the floor to present recommendations following last Sunday’s co-sponsorship meeting. Seven groups pitched requests for co-sponsorship from SGA for specific club events, and after reviewing the appraisals the council allocated funds accordingly. Engineers Without Borders, the Chinese Students Club, Kappa Phi Lambda, the Muslim Students Association, and Club Dimensions can all expect their piece of the pie along with this year’s CU Dance Marathon. Sadly, however, the Table Tennis Club may have to go elsewhere for the $1,400 they sought to fund training from world class table tennis extraordinaire Wang Chen. (more…)

Football: After the season-opening win over Fordham, the football team has its home opener against Central Connecticut State (12:30, Baker Field). Ivy League Offensive Player of the Week Millicent Olawale looks to continue his strong start to the year, while the defense hopes to stop Central Connecticut running back James Mallory. Students get in free (and the game is the first part of the Lions Den program, in which loyal fans who go to certain games during the year can win enter a drawing to win prizes), while those who can’t make it can listen to the game on gocolumbialions.com or WKCR.

Fencing: Columbia senior Daria Schneider got into a swordfight with the leader of the free world earlier this week, though only as part of a promotion for Chicago’s 2016 Olympics bid. Video from CBS’s website can be found here, and Schneider and teammate Kurt Getz will be competing in the 2009 World Fencing Championships (aired on Universal Sports, one of NBC’s digital channels) at the beginning of October.

Soccer: The men’s soccer team rebounded from a close loss on Sunday to nationally-ranked Boston University to claim their first home victory of the season, 2-1 in overtime on Friday over Bryant. Junior Bayo Adafin scored both goals for the Lions, including the game-winner less than three minutes into overtime. The women’s team similarly rebounded from a Sunday loss (2-1 to St. John’s) to beat Central Connecticut State 3-2 midweek on 2 goals from Melissa Schultz and 1 from Kelly Hostetler. The men do not play again until Tuesday against Fordham, but the women open their Ivy League play against Cornell tonight before facing Colgate on Sunday. (more…)

The Columbia Lions football team has made the national media as extras for a GQ magazine feature on ESPN sideline reporter Erin Andrews. Andrews is mostly known for being “that girl” on the sidelines during ESPN college football and basketball coverage. The photoshoot is attracting extra attention because Andrews was filmed by a peephole perv earlier in the summer, leading some to question the timing of the photo spread (though shooting took place in April).

As for the Columbia kids, they appear to have been rolling around in some very thick mud. How glamorous. We’d identify the specific players for you, but, well, we’ve only really been at this sports thing for a year, and we still have to rely on numbers. As for sexiness, it’s an okay effort by the football team, but the ladies women and gays man-lovers on staff still give the advantage to the swim team.