HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. — Will DeNight found the back of the net for the first time as a Lion but the Columbia men's soccer team surrendered three goals and fell to Hofstra, 3-1, Tuesday Night at Hofstra Soccer Stadium.
 
DeNight's goal was a beauty, finding the back of the net off a free kick from outside 30 yards. It was set up when Gannen Headrick was fouled away from the ball and the referee blew for the restart. With four Lions standing over the ball, it was DeNight who fired a perfectly placed right-rooted shot just inside the top-left corner, bending away from a diving Wessel Speel to cut Hofstra's lead in half.
 
That moment was the highlight of the night for the Lions, who went down a goal less than 20 minutes in and were on the opposite end of a magnificent strike from Hofstra's Matthew Vowinkel in the 34th minute to put the Pride up two at the half. Hofstra doubled its lead back to two goals in the 75th minute to earn its 10th victory of the season.

"I want to first congratulate Hofstra head coach Richard Nuttall, whom I had the privilege of being teammates with, on his 300th career victory," Columbia head coach Kevin Anderson stated. "With that said, we faced a very talented team this evening and I thought there where parts of our game that we did well, particularly in the last 15 minutes of the first half and then the majority of the second. We created more opportunities in the final third and made better passes to get us there more consistently. It's a step in the right direction and helps us prepare for this weekend's second round of Ivy play. We will be ready."
 
The Lions (1-6-2) ended the night with eight shots, four on goal, while Hofstra (10-1-0) took 19 shots and had eight come on target. Columbia keeper Michael Collodi had five saves. The Lions were able to best the Pride in corners, 5-4, and very much made a game of things in the second half despite the shot count. DeNight nearly scored in the final two minutes of the first half. Jake Novoshelski took the ball into the far side of the penalty area and played a low bouncing cross through the six-yard box. A deflection off a Hofstra defender set the ball up for DeNight, who had his volleying attempt saved off the right hand of Speel. Gannen Headrick was there for the follow toward the bottom left corner, but Speel barely got to it in time before the shot crossed the line to keep Columbia off the board.
 
DeNight's second-half goal put new life into the Lions but Hofstra used a set piece of its own to cushion the lead right back to two. A ball sent into the area from more than 40 yards out bounced untouched through the 18-yard box and found the head of George O'Malley, who deposited his attempt from inside the six.
 
The Lions hope to find the win column on Saturday when they play host to visiting Penn (4-3-1, 0-1-0 Ivy). Kickoff from Rocco B. Commisso Soccer Stadium is set for 7 p.m. ET.
 
For the latest on Columbia men's soccer, be sure to follow the team on Twitter and Instagram (@CULionsMSOC), on Facebook (ColumbiaMensSoccer), or by visiting GoColumbiaLions.com.