NEW YORK — One of four teams tied for third place in the Ivy League standings, Columbia men's soccer (3-5-3, 1-1-1 Ivy) has a chance to separate from the pack on Saturday when it takes on second-place Dartmouth (5-6-1, 2-1-0 Ivy). Kickoff from Burnham Field in Hanover, New Hampshire is scheduled for 7 p.m.
 
Saturday night's game can be seen live on ESPN+. Live stats will be provided by DartmouthSports.com. Fans can also keep up with the match on Twitter by following @ColumbiaMSoccer.
 
 
5 THINGS TO KNOW
 
1. IVY LEAGUE TABLE
Columbia hits the halfway point of the Ivy League season tied for third place in the league standings. The Lions have four points through three matches, defeating Brown in its Ivy opener, 3-2, drawing Penn and falling by a goal at Princeton. Yale sits at the top of the table with all nine points, earning victories over Harvard, Dartmouth and Cornell, all by scores of 3-1. A win over Dartmouth would propel the Lions into second place with a home matchup against Yale scheduled for next Saturday.
 

Rk.	Team	Record	Points	GF	GA
1.	Yale	3-0-0	9	9	3
2.	Dartmouth	2-1-0	6	3	3
3.	Brown	1-1-1	4	6	4
	Columbia	1-1-1	4	5	5
	Penn	1-1-1	4	4	4
	Princeton	1-1-1	4	3	3
7.	Cornell	1-2-0	3	9	6
8.	Harvard	0-0-3	0	1	12

 
2. HISTORICAL RUN OF GOALS
Columbia has run its streak of games with a goal to 19 matches dating back to last season. The Lions have scored 31 goals over those 19 matches, averaging 1.63 goals per match. The current scoring streak is the second-longest in program history and is Columbia's longest since a program-best 24-game streak that spanned every match of the 1979 Final Four season and the first five matches of 1980. The Lions had three 18-game streaks that took place through the 1980s.
 
    Longest Goal-Scoring Streaks in Columbia History:
    24 Games: 1979-80
    19 Games: 2018-present
    18 Games: 1980-81
    18 Games: 1983
    18 Games: 1986-87
 
3. STATISTICAL TRENDS

• First year Uri Zeitz has seven points over his last five matches, including a goal in each of his last two.
• Through his first three Ivy League games, Zeitz has taken 13 shots and seven shots on goal, both of which lead the league. He ranks among the top five in goals (2) and points (5).
• On the season overall, Zeitz shares the Ivy League lead with 16 shots on goal and ranks among the top five in shots (27), goals (4) and points (11).
• Senior John Denis ranks No. 3 in the Ivy League in points (13) and goals (5), while ranking fifth in total shots (25).
• Denis' two goals and five points in Ivy play tie Zeitz for top-five marks.
• Denis ranks inside the NCAA's top 50 in points per game (1.44) and just outside the top 50 in goals per game (0.56).
• Zeitz's shot accuracy (0.593) ranks 17th nationally.
• Columbia's shot accuracy as a team (0.476) ranks top 25 nationally.

 
4. ZEITZ'S FIRST-MINUTE STRIKES
Columbia has scored twice this season in the first minute of the match and both goals have come by first-year Uri Zeitz. The latest occurrence came two weeks ago against Penn as Zeitz sent in his third goal of the season just 38 seconds into the contest. The goal was the fastest by a Lion since Oct. 1, 2005, when John Mulhern scored just 34 seconds into a match against Brown. Zeitz's other first-minute goal came in a 2-0 win over Monmouth, as the first-year scored with only 54 seconds on the clock.
 
5. THE SERIES
The all-time series between Columbia and Dartmouth began in 1960. The Lions trail the series 23-30-7 after snapping the Big Green's four-match winning streak with a 1-0 overtime victory last season in New York. Sebastian Gunbeyi netted the game-winner less than five minutes into overtime, taking advantage of a misplayed header by a Dartmouth defender and beating the keeper 1-on-1. It was Gunbeyi's first collegiate goal. Columbia's last series victory on the road came in 2013 by a score of 2-0.
 
 
ABOUT THE OPPONENT
Dartmouth comes into Saturday having lost three of its last four matches, including a 1-0 home loss to Hartford this past Tuesday. The Big Green took three points last Saturday at Penn to snap a two-match losing streak that included a 3-1 road loss to Yale and 1-0 home loss to Vermont. They are still ranked No. 9 in the United Soccer Coaches Northeast Region poll after a challenging non-conference schedule that included games against then-No. 1 Wake Forest and nationally ranked New Hampshire.
 
Dawson McCartney and Tiger Graham have each scored a team-best three goals on the season. McCartney has also tallied four assists, which leads the team and ranks third-most in the Ivy League. His 10 points on the season are a top-five mark, but none of those points have come against league competition. The Big Green have only scored three league goals but have held up defensively with just three goals allowed. Expect Alex Budnik to start in goal, who has started 11 of the 12 matches and carries a 1.43 GAA.
 
--
 
For the latest on the Columbia men's soccer program, follow @ColumbiaMSoccer on Twitter and Instagram, on Facebook at Facebook.com/ColumbiaMensSoccer and on the web at GoColumbiaLions.com.