PRINCETON, N.J. - Columbia's Ivy League title hopes were dashed after a 2-1 loss at the hands of Princeton, which reached the NCAA Final Four last season.
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In a makeup game of a rained-out match originally scheduled for Oct. 15, Princeton (7-6-2, 4-2 Ivy) jumped out to a quick start in the third minute, as Ashley Beyers took a feed from Diana Matheson and fired one home at the 2:04 mark to give Princeton a 1-0 edge.
Resilient all season, Columbia (9-6-1, 3-3 Ivy) held strong and tallied the equalizer midway through the first half. The Lions' two seniors connected on the goal as Jana Whiting (CC-Halifax, Mass.) fired a cross from the deep right corner that found the foot of Courtney Nasshorn (CC-Newtown, Pa.) who redirected it inside the left post at the 23:26 mark to knot the score at 1-1.
Whiting had a chance to put Columbia ahead later in the half in the 37th minute. With the ball dangerously close to the goal line's intersection with the right post, Romy Trigg-Smith earned a team save for Princeton, stretching to knock away Whiting's shot, keeping the game knotted at 1-1.
Ten minutes into the second half, Princeton's Emily Behncke put the Tigers ahead 2-1 after a pass into the middle from Aarti Jain, as Behncke scored her league-leading 13th goal of the season, which proved to be the game-winner.
Sophomore keeper Allison Vespa (CC-Franklin Lakes, N.J.) made four saves in net for Columbia, which at 3-3 in the league is now mathematically eliminated from earning the Ivy League's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Columbia will close out the regular season on Saturday, November 5 against Harvard at Columbia Soccer Stadium. Saturday is Senior Day, as seniors Courtney Nasshorn and Jana Whiting will be honored in a brief ceremony prior to kickoff.
