Ronald Smith, king of King’s College for a day, after his game-winning TD.

This weekend, Columbia Football captured the imagination of Ivy League (and other!) fans when they won a dramatic victory against the Princeton Tigers, 28-24. Why shouldn’t fans be excited? Columbia hasn’t had a winning season since 1996, before most members of the sophomore Class of 2020 were even born. Going into this weekend, the Lions were a miserable 3-14 against the Tigers since 2000, when the two teams began facing off in the Ivy opener. Factor in a highlight reel game-winning play and an American focus on college football as a revenue sport, and it makes sense why so many students are excited for Columbia Football’s shiny new 3-0 record.

But the football team isn’t the only undefeated squad playing up at Baker. Fresh off an Ivy League Championship campaign, the Men’s Soccer team has flown out to an undefeated 5-0-2 record and a national ranking. As the team seeks to prove that their 2016 title was not merely a result of Harvard’s disqualification (remember?), they do so in front of junior Dylan Castanheira, the best goalie in the league last year by save percentage (.903!) and goals against average (.290!!). Men’s Soccer will host its next Ivy game on Sunday, September 8th against Penn.

Women’s Soccer is also undefeated at home, including their recent 11-0 rout of Wagner. Led by a five-strong senior class featuring twin sisters Holly and Natalie Neshat and All-Ivy defender Natalie Ambrose, the team will get the athletic weekend started on Friday, September 6th against Penn at home at 7 pm. The currently 6-4-1 Lions faded from title contention at the end of last season, but they will end the season at home this year against defending champions Harvard.

Volleyball also has high hopes, aiming to build off of last year’s 9-5 Ivy season. The team has adjusted to the loss of their libero, Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year Cassie Wes, by refusing to identify one libero, splitting the digging duty across the squad. Sophomore setter Grace Campbell returns from a season of leading the Ivy League in assists, and currently leads the League in service aces per set. She is joined on the attack by Rookie of the Year middle blocker Chichi Ikwuazom and the team’s lone senior, Anja Malesevic. The team returns home on Friday, October 13th to take on the Penn Quakers.

Roar, Lion, Roar via @ColumbiaLionsFB