NEW YORK — A flurry of second-half goals carried La Salle to a come-from-behind victory over the Columbia men's soccer team, 4-1, late Tuesday afternoon at Rocco B. Commisso Soccer Stadium.
 
Columbia (1-8-4, 0-2-2 Ivy) took the lead in the 25th minute on sophomore-transfer Ryan Wallace's first goal as a Lion. The early tally was created when Columbia earned a set piece a few yards outside the top of the penalty area. Senior Blake Willis took the direct shot and had it saved but Wallace was there to clean it up, splitting between two defenders and poking in the second-chance with his left foot to make it 1-0.
 
That lead carried into halftime but La Salle (5-10-0, 1-6-0 A-10) quickly turned things around in the second half. The Explorers leveled in the 53rd and took the lead just three minutes later. With Columbia still chasing the game late, the visitors took advantage of numbers and tacked on two more in the final 10 minutes to bring the game to its final tally.
 
"La Salle made some tactical changes in the second half and started to send some balls in over the top. Even so, those first two goals were the result of mistakes we made that they simply took advantage of," Columbia head coach Kevin Anderson stated. "Those are things we have to clean up. We just didn't deal with the pressure they applied and made mistakes that allowed them those opportunities. Then, we're chasing the game and we have to make a decision to go forward late, which created the mismatches for them to score those final two goals."
 
Columbia nearly leveled just seconds before La Salle scored its third goal. Will DeNight gained possession near the touch line and passed a ball inside for Sebastian Gunbeyi, who one-touched it right back out toward the corner for David Walley. The opportunity allowed Walley to freely send in a cross toward the near post which Paolo Primavera met with his head. The header was hard and on target, but it went right to Werner, who had to only react and have the ball bounce off his arm.
 
As La Salle tried to clear, Walley came in from the corner and tackled the ball away. He then provided Primavera a second opportunity, but the first-year's hard right-footed shot was stopped by a diving Werner.
 
Less than a minute later, La Salle took advantage of a 3-on-3 opportunity that left Nigel Buckley with an open net for his second goal of the night. Buckley went on to complete his hat trick in the 84th minute, slipping behind the back line on a long overpass and beating Collodi one-on-one.
 
When the final whistle sounded, La Salle had taken 17 shots with 10 coming on goal. Junior goalkeeper Michael Collodi made six saves. Columbia attempted a dozen shots and put four on goal.
 
The Lions now turn their attention to Yale, hosting the Bulldogs Saturday night from Rocco B. Commisso Soccer Stadium at 7 p.m. ET. The women's team takes on Yale earlier that day at 3 p.m.
 
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