Gabby played hero with her double OT goal

This week’s sports contests featured a number of nail-biters, keeping fans on the edge of their seats until the final whistle. In Field Hockey, senior sensation Gabby Kozlowski scored a breakaway goal in double overtime to beat Penn and put her one goal away from the all-time career goal record. Unfortunately, not all these close contests came out in favor of the light blue. Football saw their 10-point fourth quarter lead slip away as Penn tallied two touchdowns in the closing minutes of Saturday’s game. Men’s Soccer’s game, too, came down to the wire, but ended in a scoreless draw after 110 minutes of play.

Find out more about your Columbia Lions after the jump, including one of the best Cross Country performances in program history. And don’t forget, next weekend is HOMECOMING!

Field Hockey (8-5, 3-1 Ivy League):

Results:

Penn 3-2 (W) (2OT)
#15 Drexel 0-1 (L)

Overview:  The Lions pulled out a thrilling double overtime victory over Penn on Friday in their fifth come-from-behind victory of the season. In the first half, the Quakers got on the board first just 14 minutes after a long, high shot got past senior keeper Christie O’Hara. The Lions struck back just seconds before halftime off a penalty corner, when junior Danielle Constentino deflected senior Paige Simmons’s shot into the back of the net. In the second half, Penn reclaimed the lead but only momentarily. Just minutes after falling behind, the Lions equalized with a goal from Christina Freibott. Though both teams had chances in the final minutes of regulation and the first period of overtime, it wasn’t until senior Gabby Kozlowski came powering down the field on a breakaway was the tie broken. The game-winning goal that saved the day for the Lions was Kozlowski’s 39th of her career, just one goal short of tying the all-time record. With the win, the Lions enter a three-way tie for second place in the Ivy League with Dartmouth and Cornell.

This afternoon, the Lions dropped a close contest to #17 Drexel at home, 0-1.

Up Next: The Lions look for their fourth Ivy League win against on Dartmouth on Sunday at noon at home.

Cross Country:

Results:

University of Wisconsin Adidas Classic
5th Place (Men’s)
36th Place (Women’s)

Overview: Both the Men’s and Women’s Cross Country teams competed in the University of Wisconsin Adidas Classic on Friday against some of the best teams in the nations. On the Men’s side, it was a historic occasion for the #17-ranked Lions, who took down 14 ranked opponents and finished in a tie for fifth place in a field of a whopping 45 teams. Among the teams the Lions left by the waste side were #1 Wisconsin, #5 Portland, and #11 Princeton. Senior Mike Murphy was the first Lion across the finish line in 22nd place, followed by junior Jacob Sienko in 55th place. It might be time to bump up that #17 ranking.
In the Women’s race, the Lions faced 19 nationally ranked opponents in the 48-team field without star runner and All-American Waverly Neer. The team 36th overall.

Up Next: The Lions will head to Princeton on October 27th for the biggest meet of the season so far: the Ivy League Heptagonal Championships.

Volleyball (8-8, 3-4 Ivy League):

Results:

Dartmouth 3-1 (W)
Harvard 0-3 (L)

Overview: In Levien Gymnasium on Friday, the Volleyball girls took on Dartmouth to start a weekend of Ivy League action. After dropping the first set, the Lions found their groove in the second set, scoring 22 points before the Big Green even got to double digits. With a set under their belt, the Lions didn’t look back, taking the third and fourth sets 25-14 and 25-12, respectively. Senior Megan Gaughn notched a double-double in the win – her third straight – with 12 kills, 10 digs, and 2 aces. Backing Gaughn up was junior Colleen Brennan who tallied 46 assist, a season high, and added eight digs.

On Saturday against Harvard, the Lions dropped three close sets in only their second home loss of the season. In the opening set, the Lions were neck and neck with the Crimson, leading 21-20 before Harvard powered back and closed out the set, 23-25. The second set went much like the first, with 15 ties over the course of another close set. The Lions were within one of the Crimson at 22-23, but again Harvard closed out the set. In the final set, the Crimson maintained a slight lead from early on, hanging on to hand the Lions their fourth Ivy League loss of the season. With the loss, Columbia falls to 5th in the league.

Up Next: The Lions look to repeat their first victory against Cornell on Saturday in Ithaca.

Women’s Soccer (6-7, 2-2 Ivy League):

Results:

NJIT 2-0 (W)
Princeton 1-2 (L)

Overview: In their final non-conference game of the season, the Lions dominated NJIT, holding them to just four shots and winning 2-0. Junior Colleen Rizzo got the Lions on the board in the first half off a free kick from fellow junior Maya Marder. Rizzo battled in the box to get up for the header and slotted it past the keeper for an early lead. After a one-sided first half, sophomore keeper Grace Redmond recorded her only save of the game in the second half as Columbia continued to outplay NJIT. With twenty minutes left, junior Beverly Leon scored off an assist from junior Natalie Melo, giving the Lions a comfortable 2-0 lead that they would hold to the final whistle.

Against Princeton on Saturday, the Lions were unable to get on the board in the first half and conceded two early goals that would make the difference in this important Ivy League contest. The Tigers struck first in the 13th minute, when the league’s leading scorer received a pass at the top of the box, beat a defender, and buried the ball in the back of the net. Then, on a set piece outside the box 15 minutes later, Princeton served the ball into the penalty area and slotted it past Redmond to put them up by two. In the second half, both teams traded shots until the Lions finally got on the board with ten minutes left. Marder’s corner found Rizzo’s head to put the Lions within one goal of forcing overtime, but Columbia was unable to equalize in the final minutes. With the loss, the Lions fall to 5th in the Ivy League.

Up Next:  The Lions take on Dartmouth at home at 4pm

Men’s Soccer (3-6-3, 1-1-1 Ivy League):

Results:

Providence 1-1 (T) (2OT)
Princeton 0-0 (T) (2OT)

Overview: The Lions had a very record-neutral week with two ties, one non-conference and one Ivy League. Against Providence on Tuesday, senior Nick Scott gave the Lions an early lead when he handled a ball from sophomore Kofi Agyapong in the box and slotted it past the Providence keeper 15 minutes in. Columbia held the lead until the 74th minute of play, when the Friars equalized. The game remained tied through regulation and two overtime periods, resulting in the Lions second tie of the season.

Against Princeton on Saturday, neither team was able to find the back of the net over 110 minutes of play. The first half so no remarkable chance for either side, as the play remained mainly in the middle third of the field and neither team recorded a shot on goal. Midway through the second half, the game began to open up, and both sides saw some good opportunities to take the lead. The Tigers outshot the Lions with ten and five on target compared to Columbia’s two shots, with zero on target. The Lions best opportunity of the game came late in the second half when David Najem was played a through ball at the top of the box. Battling with a defender, Najem fell to the floor on the edge of the penalty area, but no foul was called. Lions keeper and Ivy League Rookie of the Week Kyle Jackson had a stellar performance, keeping the Lions alive through double overtime.

Up Next: The Lions face Dartmouth at home on Saturday at 7 pm.

Football (1-4, 0-2 Ivy League)

Results:

Penn 20-24 (L)

Overview: The Lions lost a tough one to Penn on Saturday as the watched their 10-point fourth quarter lead disappear in the final minutes of the game. After a scoreless first quarter, Penn scored first with a 37-yard field goal, but the Lions answered with two of their own from senior kicker Luke Eddy, giving the Lions a 6-3 advantage going into halftime. In the third quarter, Penn tallied a quick touchdown off a 13-yard pass to reclaim the lead. It looked like the Lions were in trouble two series later deep in their own territory and second and 10 when junior running back Marcorus Garrett rushed for 36 yards, breaking several tackles on his way. The drive resulted in a 15-yard touchdown pass to Garrett, putting the Lions ahead, 13-10. After a blocked field goal attempt, the Lions started another long drive, featuring the Garrett and Brackett show as the running back and quarterback found their groove. Garrett ended the drive with a 31 yard touchdown run. Just as the Lions seemed to take control of the game, the Quakers came roaring back with an 86 yard drive resulting in a touchdown. Then, with 50 seconds on the clock and the score at 20-17 in favor of the Lions, the Quakers completed an 8-play, 62-yard drive with a 6-yard touchdown pass to beat the Lions.

Up Next: HOMECOMING. DARTMOUTH. ROBERT K. KRAFT FIELD. 1:30 PM. ALL CAPS MEANS YOU SHOULD GO!