The Lions lose 2-0 to Brown at their first Ivy League home game of the season.

The Lions knew they were going into a difficult game on Saturday. Brown boasted a record of 6-3 and had outscored their opponents 23-12 through those nine games. Five of Brown’s six wins were won by a margin of two or more goals. Moreover, Brown has a goals-per-game average of 2.5 and posts an average of nearly 15 shots per game. Columbia was well aware of Brown’s offensive prowess and clearly had strategized how they were going to combat the aggressive playstyle: possession was going to be incredibly important. By keeping possession and allowing defenders time to pass the ball, Columbia would be able to strictly limit an offensive powerhouse such as Brown in what they can do, and cause them to tire themselves out chasing after the ball.

Throughout the first 30 minutes, the Lions performed extremely well and accurate passing helped them keep possession for long periods of time. The Bears were given an extremely limited amount of time to attack, and Columbia was able to keep the offensive pressure on its opponents. However, a breakaway led to an excellent shot from a Brown striker that made its way into the back of the net and Brown took over. For the remainder of the first half, constant barrages from Brown attackers forced the Lions to step back and effectively halted the possession-based style of play they needed to keep the Bears at bay.  

Halftime: 1-0 Brown

In the 48th minute, just three minutes after the start of the second half, winger Madi Pilla was taken down inside the penalty box, resulting in a penalty kick. In what was perhaps the best chance of the game for the Lions, Brown’s goalkeeper stepped up and made the one-on-one save. The Lions were nearly even on the scoreline, but faltered at the worst moment. In the 60th minute, a Brown striker sent the ball curling around goalkeeper Paige Nurkin’s hands into the right side of the netting. During the last ten minutes of the game, Columbia regained control of the game and consistently pounded the ball into the offensive third of the field yet remained unable to capitalize on their attacks. Midfielder Sophia Cavaliere ended the match as the best attacker for the Lions with three shots, two of which were on goal. An “on-goal” shot refers to a shot that is directed towards the goal, is on target, and either is saved by the goalkeeper, hits the post or crossbar, or is scored. In future games, if they are able to follow through with offensive counters and attacks, Columbia should be able to score at least three goals each game; however, it will take a bit of improvement in the final third to reach that mark. 

Final Score: 2-0 Brown

The Lions (5-4-1) will return home on Saturday, October 9 at 3 pm to battle the University of Pennsylvania (6-2-2), who are fresh off of a 2-0 home win against Cornell (2-6-2). Penn (state) has only lost to undefeated Ivy League conference leaders Harvard (8-0-1) and Hofstra (10-1), which is currently ranked 11th nationally.

Commisso Soccer Stadium via Bwarchives