NEW YORK — Columbia men's soccer (2-3-2) kicks off the 2019 Ivy League season on Saturday with a 1 p.m. contest against Brown (1-5-1). The Lions will host their annual Alumni Day at Rocco B. Commisso Soccer Stadium and also wear pink warm-up shirts in support of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
Students attending Saturday's game will receive 100 student rewards points by scanning their valid CUID. Additionally, the first 100 fans in attendance will receive a pink wrist sweatband in support of breast cancer awareness. There will be a post-game autograph at the conclusion of the game.
Fans unable to attend Saturday's festivities can watch the action live on
ESPN+.
Live stats will be provided by GoColumbiaLions.com. Fans can also keep up with the match on Twitter by following
@ColumbiaMSoccer.
5 THINGS TO KNOW
1. THE IVY LEAGUE OPENER
Columbia is unbeaten in three straight Ivy League openers, including wins each of the last two years, and will play Brown to start the league season for a 12th consecutive season. Last year, the Lions took all three points, 3-1, over the Bears in Providence.
Danny Laranetto notched a brace in the victory to go with a 59th-minute goal from
Beto Carrillo. Since 1960, the Lions are 27-26-6 in Ivy League openers.
2. HISTORICAL RUN OF GOALS
Columbia has run its streak of games with a goal to 15 matches dating back to last season. The streak is the longest since the Lions scored in each of the first 15 games of the 1993 campaign. Prior to that, Columbia put together 18-match streaks between both 1980-81 and 1986-87. The program record for consecutive matches with a goal is 24, spanning every match of the 1979 Final Four season and the first five matches of 1980.
3. COLLODI NAMED ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
Michael Collodi earned his first Ivy League Rookie of the Week selection on Monday. The first-year goalkeeper made a season-high seven saves on the way to earning his first collegiate shutout in last Friday's 2-0 victory over Monmouth. His two biggest stops came off a Monmouth penalty in the 75th minute. Collodi made a diving save off the initial attempt before quickly getting to his feet and coming up with another spectacular save to preserve the clean sheet. He also stopped a header with a diving effort in the first half. Collodi enters Ivy League play ranking third in the league in total saves (23) and second in saves per game (3.83).
4. ZEITZ'S QUICK STRIKE
First-year midfielder
Uri Zeitz scored a goal 54 seconds into last Friday's 2-0 win over Monmouth. The goal was the fastest by the Lions in a match since Oct. 1, 2005, when John Mulhern scored 34 seconds into Columbia's Ivy League opener against Brown. Zeitz enters Saturday's matchup having scored in two of the last three games, both of which resulted in Columbia victories.
5. THE SERIES
Columbia trails the all-time series against Brown 17-35-6. The Lions dominated the series with an 8-2-0 record through the 1980s, including six straight victories from 1982-87. The Bears turned the tide starting in 1993, going unbeaten against Columbia until a 2-1 double-overtime victory by the Lions in 2011. Columbia has won each of its last two meetings against the Bears, outscoring them by a margin of 6-1.
ABOUT THE OPPONENT
Brown comes into its Ivy League opener having lost three straight matches. The Bears were turned away at home by San Diego State on Sunday, 2-0, and lost one-goal games on the road to Providence and Bryant. Brown's lone victory came back on September 12, using a late goal by Malcolm Johnson to get by Howard, 1-0. On the season, the Bears have only managed four goals while allowing 10. Matthew Chow, who is goalless so far, has taken a team-high 14 shots. Johnson is second on the team with eight attempts, five of which of been on goal. Meanwhile, the Bears have started three keepers to this point. Max Gross started in Brown's last match against the Aztecs and carries a 1.20 goal against average.
--
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.
