Bwog brings you everything you need to know about each fall sport’s most recent season and their next.

Cross Country, Field Hockey, Football, Men’s Soccer, Volleyball, Women’s Soccer

Whether you’re looking for an excuse to chat up that cute soccer player, wanting to learn more about Columbia’s athletics, or simply just trying to get in the know, this is the place for you! Welcome to the very first and only 2022 Fall Bworts Preview. In this roundup, you can find information about each fall sport’s past season such as their records, highlights, and troubles and find out more about this year’s season

*Bold indicates home event

Cross Country

Although not their most successful year in recent memory, the men’s and women’s cross country teams are poised to give the rest of the Ivy League a run for their money (pun wholeheartedly intended). The women’s cross country team will look to reclaim the Ivy League title after losing it to Harvard in 2021 while the men continue to work with and build up a young but promising team. In fact, both the men’s and women’s teams are dominated by first-years and sophomores. 20/31 members of the men’s team and 16/28 members of the women’s team are underclassmen. While possibly posing as a challenge at first, the larger recruiting classes will give the Lions more than enough depth and experience in the future. After both teams finished first in the Eastern College Athletic Conference last year, it appears they already have a strong starting point. Not including Ivy and NCAA Championships, the teams will attend seven meets, with their home meet on Friday, October 7 at Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx. Both teams’ first meet will be at Stony Brook on Saturday, September 3rd.

Schedule:

September 3, 10:30 am @ Stony Brook Invite – Stony Brook, NY

September 16, 10:30 am, @ Indiana XC Invite – Bloomington, IN

September 16, 10:30 am v. Iona Meet of Champions – Van Cortlandt Park, Bronx, NY

September 30, 9:30 am, @ Paul Short Run – Bethlehem, PA

October 7, 10:30 am, v. Mets XC Championships – Van Cortlandt Park, Bronx, NY

October 14, 9:30 am, v. ECAC XC Championships – Van Cortlandt Park, Bronx, NY

October 14, 12:20 pm, @ Wisconsin Nuttycombe Invite – Madison, WI

October 28, 11:00 am, v. Ivy League XC Championships – Van Cortlandt Park, Bronx, NY

November 11, 11:00 pm, v. NCAA XC Regionals – Van Cortlandt Park, Bronx, NY

November 19, 12:00 pm, v. NCAA XC Championships – Stillwater, OK

Field Hockey

(8-9, Ivy 1-6)

In the past 10 years, the only two field hockey teams to be crowned champions of the Ivy League have been Harvard and Princeton. It certainly hasn’t been easy for the Lions as of late. The last time the Columbia Field Hockey team had a 10 win season was in 2014. Since then, Columbia has boasted more losing records than winning records. Despite having another frustrating season, the Lions still managed to have three All-Ivy selections. To try and return to winning ways, Columbia has prioritized attacking in this year’s recruiting class while also securing an additional goalkeeper. The Lions have also made changes to their coaching staff, adding a goalkeeper coach from Yale. Columbia will begin play at home against LIU at 1:00 pm on September 2.

Schedule:

September 2, 1:00 pm v. Long Island University – New York, NY

September 4, 1:00 pm @ Syracuse – Syracuse, NY

September 9, 1:00 pm @ Old Dominion – Norfolk, VA

September 11, 1:00 pm @ Virginia Commonwealth University – Richmond, VA

September 17, 1:00 pm v. Wagner – New York, NY

September 23, TBD @ Harvard – Cambridge, MA

September 25, 1:00 pm @ University of Massachusetts Amherst – Amherst, MA

October 1, 10:00 am v. Cornell – New York, NY

October 2, 1:00 pm v. University of Delaware – New York, NY

October 8, 1:00 pm @ Brown – Providence, RI

October 9, 3:00 pm @ Monmouth – New York, NY

October 14, 7:00 pm @ Yale – New Haven, CT

October 21, 6:00 pm v. Dartmouth – New York, NY

October 23, 1:00 pm v. University of New Hampshire – New York, NY

October 28, 3:00 pm @ University of Pennsylvania – Philadelphia, PA

October 30, 1:00 pm @ Lehigh – Bethlehem, PA

November 5, 1:00 pm v. Princeton – New York, NY

Football

(7-3, Ivy 4-3)

A frustrating Ivy season was certainly not reflected in the team’s overall record, but the Columbia Football Team definitely had their ups and downs last year. A school record 13 players received All-Ivy honors while winning the Empire State Bowl against Cornell and the Lou Little Cup against Georgetown. Yet, in their losses to Princeton and Harvard, the Lions had a hard time gaining momentum, which proved to be an extremely deciding factor for Columbia last year. When the Lions were able to strike first and continue their rally, touchdowns came easily. After tying for third in the Ivy League last year, the Lions have brought in a well rounded yet defensively based recruiting class to try and bring success grounded in defensive prowess and experience in the future. Dartmouth and Princeton split the Ivy League Championship last season and are expected to be strong contenders for the 2022 season as well. The Lions will play their first game at Marist on Saturday, September 17 and will have to wait for their home opener against Princeton until Saturday, October 1.

Schedule:

September 17, 6:00 pm @ Marist – Poughkeepsie, NY

September 24, 12:30 pm @ Georgetown – Washington, DC

October 1, 1:00 pm v. Princeton – New York, NY

October 8, 1:00 pm v. Wagner – New York, NY

October 15, 1:00 pm @ University of Pennsylvania – Philadelphia, PA

October 22, 1:30 pm v. Dartmouth – New York, NY

October 28, 6:30 pm v. Yale – New York, NY

November 5, 1:00 pm @ Harvard – Cambridge, MA

November 12, 12:00 pm @ Brown – Providence, RI

November 19, 1:00 pm v. Cornell – New York, NY

Men’s Soccer

(1-10-5, Ivy 0-4-3)

The 2021 season was a season to forget for the Lions after they posited one of the worst records in program history. Suffice it to say, the Columbia Men’s Soccer Team was not happy with last year’s results. Although the team has a stellar defense, they were only able to defend against so much. Too much time spent defending has shown the team they lack a midfield presence that can keep the ball instead of giving it up before momentum can be gained. Offense was another area of concern for the Lions last year. Columbia simply could not find a way to put the ball in the back of the net because they spent a majority of their game on the back foot, constantly trying to defend. The Lions coaching staff took their recent struggles to the new recruiting class, bringing in five midfielders and two forwards alongside a defender and goalkeeper. The new recruits will also give the Lions some support height wise, something that proved to be an issue last year. Columbia opens its season on September 2 at George Washington University.

Schedule:

September 2, 1:00 pm @ George Washington – Washington, DC

September 6, 7:00 pm v. Stony Brook – New York, NY

September 9, 6:00 pm @ Manhattan College – Riverdale, NY

September 12, 7:00 pm St. John’s – New York, NY

September 17, 4:00 pm v. Long Island University – New York, NY

September 20, 6:00 pm @ Drexel – Philadelphia, PA

September 24, 11:00 am @ Iona – New Rochelle, NY

October 1, 7:00 pm v. Brown – New York, NY

October 4, 7:00 pm v. Hofstra – New York, NY

October 8, 7:00 pm @ Harvard – Cambridge, MA

October 15, 3:00 pm v. Princeton – New York, NY

October 22, 7:00 pm @ Dartmouth – Hanover, NH

October 25, 7:00 pm @ La Salle – Philadelphia, PA

October 29, 7:00 pm v. Yale – New York, NY

November 5, 7:00 pm @ University of Pennsylvania – Philadelphia, PA

November 12, 4:00 pm @ Cornell – Ithaca, NY

Volleyball

(5-19, Ivy 2-12)

The Columbia Volleyball Team will try to rebound from their disappointing season. After announcing that Head Coach Allison Keeley would not be staying with the team, Columbia rushed to find another coach to take her position. The Lions found an answer in Patric Santiago, who has worked as an assistant coach with Duke University’s volleyball team for the past three years. He will surely try to promote a winning culture and bring Columbia back into the Ivy League’s top three, a place the Lions have not been back to since 2016. Of course, coaching staff changes come with new ideas and new recruiting priorities and Coach Santiago, gathering his first recruits at Columbia, has brought in a defensively based recruiting class that also features a setter and an outside hitter. The Lions will host NYU for an exhibition game on Sunday, August 28 and will begin Ivy play on Saturday, September 24 at Cornell.

Schedule:

August 28, 7:00 pm v. NYU – New York, NY

September 2, 7:00 pm v. St. Peters – New Britain, CT

September 3, 1:30 pm v. Binghamton – New Britain, CT

September 3, 6:30 pm @ Central Connecticut State – New Britain, CT

Big Apple Tournament

September 9, 7:00 pm v. Lafayette – New York, NY

September 10, 1:00 pm v. Manhattan College – New York, NY

September 10, 7:00 pm v. St. Francis Brooklyn – New York, NY

September 16, 12:00 pm @ St. John’s – Queens, NY

September 16, 4:00 pm v. Middle Tennessee – Queens, NY

September 17, 11:00 am v. Boston College – Queens, NY

September 24, 2:00 pm @ Cornell – Ithaca, NY

September 30, 7:00 pm v. Yale – New York, NY

October 1, 5:00 pm v. Brown – New York, NY

October 7, 7:00 pm @ University of Pennsylvania – Philadelphia, PA

October 8, 5:00 pm @ Princeton – Princeton, NJ

October 14, 7:00 pm v. Dartmouth – New York, NY

October 15, 5:00 pm v. Harvard – New York,, NY

October 22, 2:00 pm v. Cornell – New York, NY

October 28, 7:00 pm @ Brown – Providence, RI

October 29, 5:00 pm @ Yale – New Haven, CT

November 4, 7:00 pm @ Harvard – Cambridge, MA

November 5, 5:00 pm @ Dartmouth – Hanover, NH

November 11, 7:00 pm v. Princeton – New York, NY

November 12, 5:00 pm v. University of Pennsylvania – New York, NY

Women’s Soccer

(9-6-1, Ivy 3-4)

The past five years have featured a steady, yet competitive Lion team that has repeatedly held winning overall records but have not been able to contend for the Ivy League Championship. In the Ivy League, the Lions have consistently been a mid-table team, generally taking 4th or 5th often. This year, Columbia will attempt to iron out its mistakes and prevent the devastating late-game losses it dealt with in Ivy games against Princeton, Harvard, and Cornell. The new recruiting class is incredibly balanced, featuring two defenders, two forwards, and a midfielder this year. The women’s soccer team has large sophomore and junior class sizes, something that will definitely help them succeed this year while gaining momentum and experience for next year as well. The Lions have what it takes to do very well this year. After losing their goalkeeper coach to Seton Hall, the two-person Lion coaching staff will be on the hunt for a replacement. The lions will begin their season at home against Fairleigh Dickinson on August 26.

Schedule:

August 26, 6:00 pm v. Fairleigh Dickinson – New York, NY

August 28, 2:00 pm v. St. John’s – New York, NY

September 1, 7:00 pm @ Loyola Maryland – Baltimore, MD

September 4, 1:00 pm @ Georgetown – Washington, DC

September 8, 7:00 pm v. Stony Brook – New York, NY

September 11, 1:00 pm v. La Salle – New York, NY

September 15, 6:00 pm @ Seton Hall – South Orange, NJ

September 18, 1:00 pm @ Hofstra – Hempstead, NY

September 24, 6:00 pm v. Cornell – New York, NY

October 1, 3:00 pm @ Brown – Providence, RI

October 5, 7:00 pm v. Fordham – New York, NY

October 8, 2:00 pm @ University of Pennsylvania – Philadelphia, PA

October 15, 6:00 pm v. Princeton – New York, NY

October 22, 6:00 pm v. Dartmouth – New York, NY

October 29, 1:00 pm @ Yale – New Haven, CT

November 5, 4:00 pm @ Harvard – Cambridge, MA

WSOC via Mike McLaughlin