NEW YORK — The Columbia men's soccer team (1-10-4, 0-4-2 Ivy) plays its final game of the season on Saturday, traveling north to Ithaca for an in-state battle against Cornell (11-3-1, 4-2-0 Ivy). Kickoff from Berman Field is set for 4 p.m. ET.
Fans can watch the action live on
ESPN+.
Live stats be available through CornellBigRed.com.
Here are five things to know heading into the matchup.
#1 | THE LATEST
Columbia rallied back from 3-0 down with two goals in the final 10 minutes to make for an exciting finish last Saturday against Harvard. The Crimson scored their third goal in the 80th minute to seemingly put the game away, but the Lions weren't finished. Thirty seconds after the restart,
David Walley found the back of the net with a right-footed rocket from outside the box. Minutes later,
Paolo Primavera scored from an almost impossible angle to suddenly make it a one-goal game.
Unfortunately, the deficit just proved to be too much to overcome. The Lions were able to bring the ball deep into the Harvard half during those final moments, but the equalizer never came as the clock hit triple zeros.
#2 | A GAME OF FIRSTS
Three different Lions tallied either their first collegiate goal or first collegiate assist in last Saturday's home finale against Harvard. Sophomore
David Walley netted his first goal with a strike in the 81st minute to get the Lions on the board. Sophomore
Jack Muoio sent in the initial ball that was chested down by Walley and was credited with his first collegiate assist. On the ensuing goal, Walley recorded his first assist after sending a ball in for
Paolo Primavera, who scored for the first time in his career.
#3 | SENIOR FAREWELL
Columbia honored the careers of seniors
Blake Willis,
Andrew Stevens,
Sebastian Gunbeyi and
Will Todd prior to the start of last Saturday's contest. All four Lions are four-year members of the team. Willis, a 2017 First Team All-Ivy League honoree, joined the Lions in 2017 and was part of that year's squad that won Columbia's first NCAA Tournament game since 1990. Gunbeyi, Todd and Stevens all joined in 2018. Stevens is a two-time All-Ivy League selection. All four have become starters in their time at Columbia and contributed significant minutes. Gunbeyi wound up with two assists on the night.
#4 | TRACKING THE FIRSTS
Due in part to the 2020 season being cancelled from the COVID-19 pandemic, the Lions have had a lot of firsts for the players on their roster this season. Many of them are tracked below:
First Collegiate Starts:
- #4
Matthew Leong vs. George Washington (Sept. 3)
- #5
Jake Novoshelski vs. Stony Brook (Sept. 6)
- #7
Adrien Wheaton-Schopp vs. LIU (Sept. 18)
- #9
Paolo Primavera vs. George Washington (Sept. 3)
- #11
Ryan Kipness vs. George Washington (Sept. 3)
- #13
Jack Muoio vs. George Washington (Sept. 3)
- #16
David Walley vs. St. John's (Sept. 13)
- #19
Will DeNight vs. George Washington (Sept. 3)**
- #23
Hugo Hamilton vs. Stony Brook (Sept. 6)
- #24
Ryan Wallace vs. Manhattan (Sept. 10)
- #25
Bryan Cosman vs. Stony Brook (Sept. 6)
First Collegiate Goals:
- #11
Ryan Kipness vs. George Washington (Sept. 3)
- #5
Jake Novoshelski vs George Washington (Sept. 3)
- #27
Will Todd vs. Manhattan (Sept. 10)
- #25
Bryan Cosman vs. Manhattan (Sept. 10)
- #19
Will DeNight at Hofstra (Oct. 5)**
- #7
Adrien Wheaton-Schopp at Dartmouth (Oct. 23)
- #24
Ryan Wallace vs. La Salle (Oct. 26)**
- #16
David Walley vs. Harvard (Nov. 6)
- #9
Paolo Primavera vs. Harvard (Nov. 6)
First Collegiate Assists:
- #5
Jake Novoshelski vs. George Washington (Sept. 3)
- #11
Ryan Kipness vs. George Washington (Sept. 3)
- #9
Paolo Primavera vs. Manhattan (Sept. 10)
- #19
Will DeNight vs. Penn (Oct. 9)**
- #13
Jack Muoio vs. Harvard (Nov. 6)
- #16
David Walley vs. Harvard (Nov. 6)
** First as a Lion (transfer)
#5 | THE OPPONENT
Cornell (11-3-1, 4-2-0 Ivy) is coming off a thrilling 2-1 double-overtime victory at Dartmouth last Saturday night. Tyler Bagley scored the gold goal in the 101st minute, which was his Ivy League-leading 13th goal of the season. Bagley is No. 6 in the nation in total goals, No. 7 in goals per game (0.87), No. 3 in total points and No. 2 in points per game (2.20).
Goalkeeper Brady McSwain has played every minute of the season between the posts for the Big Red. He carries a 1.22 goals against average with 49 saves and a .721 save percentage.
Columbia and Cornell first met in 1906. The Lions hold a 35-25-11 all-time series lead and have won three of the last five. The last time the two teams met in 2019, the Big Red walked away 4-0 winners. It marked Cornell's second straight series win.
--
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.