Hall of Fame Series; 1979 Men's Soccer
10/10/2016 10:27:00 PM | General
Over the next few weeks, GoColumbiaLions.com will take a look at the teams, student-athletes, coaches and staff members set to be inducted in the Columbia University Athletics Hall of Fame this October. Our next installment features one of the best men's soccer teams of all time.
The 1979 men's soccer team thrust Columbia into the national spotlight. With an overall record of 14-4-1, the Lions won what was then the most games in program history. A 6-1-0 Ivy League record captured the program's second consecutive league title and propelled the Lions to an NCAA Tournament run unlike anything they had ever seen.
The Lions entered the 1979 campaign ranked No. 18 school in the Intercollegiate Soccer Association of America's (ISAA) preseason poll. They began the year with four straight victories, outscoring opponents by a wide 22-2 margin. It set up a big early season showdown with rival Hartwick, who won the 1977 NCAA title but was looking to exact some revenge after being eliminated by Columbia in the 1978 NCAA regionals. The Warriors, Hartwick's nickname at the time, accomplished just that, defeating Columbia, 3-1.
Though they didn't know it at the time, the Lions would get a second crack at Hartwick on a much bigger stage. Following the loss, Columbia won six straight and went unbeaten over the course of nine consecutive matches. The last of those games came at Cornell, who the Lions had never defeated at Schoellkopf Field in Ithaca. With a chance to clinch the Ivy League title, Columbia pulled through in a big way, dominating the Big Red, 6-1, to capture the crown.
Columbia rose to No. 6 in the next week's ISAA rankings, five spots ahead of Hartwick. However, when the national committee determined seedings on November 13, it gave Hartwick the No. 1 seed in the state and Columbia No. 2. It meant the Lions would have to travel back to Oneonta.
With seemingly everything going against it in the days leading up to a much-anticipated rematch, Columbia delivered an absolute stunner. Behind two second-half goals from Shahin Shayan and Steve Charles, the Lions ended Hartwick's season for a second consecutive year, 3-2, to move on to the quarterfinals against Rhode Island.
Just a year prior, the Lions advanced to their first quarterfinals and fell to St. Francis Brooklyn, 2-0. This time, the experience proved beneficial, as Columbia took it to Rhode Island for 90 minutes on its way to a convincing, 5-1, thrashing, earning the program's first trip to the NCAA Final Four.
The Lions traveled to Tampa, Florida, with the likes of Clemson, Southern Illinois and Penn State. Columbia was paired on its side of the bracket with Clemson, falling to the Tigers to end the magical run.
At the end of the season, the Lions placed four members on the All-Ivy League First Team: forward Shahin Shayan, midfielder Steve Charles, defender Barry Nix and goalie John McElaney. Nix and Charles each went on to become First Team All-Americans, and remain the only duo in program history to be named First Team All-Americans in the same year.
