NEW YORK — Columbia women's soccer (5-2-1) closed out its non-conference slate with a 1-0 victory over visiting Quinnipiac (5-1-0) for its fifth straight win. The Lions scored in the first half and, powered by an impressive defensive showing, hung on until the 90
th minute to hand the Bobcats their first loss of the year.
"I thought we came out really organized, really strong. We were really determined to shut down their offense; I was really impressed by their effort," said head coach
Tracey Bartholomew after the win. "We had some great opportunities, we won the ball often, and I thought we created some really good chances. One of our goals was to limit their corner kicks and they did not get one. I was super proud of us for that." Even when you win though you need to have to look at where you can improve. Our goal is to keep getting better and continue to create chances on both sides of the field."
Columbia put the pressure on early, registering the first shot on goal of the contest off the boot of
Nata Ramirez in the first minute. Ramirez recorded three shots on the day while
Ally Clark led the offense with a team-best four shots of her own.
Midway through the first half, Ramirez collected a loose ball in the Bobcat box before breaking away from a Quinnipiac defender and bypassing the goalkeeper to net her fourth goal of the season. Now, Ramirez leads Columbia with the most goals and points on the season with four and 10, respectively.
Marcia Ojo and
Paige Nurkin proved to be the protectors of Rocco B. Commisso stadium, holding Quinnipiac to just nine shots on the day as opposed to their season average of 13. Ojo was fantastic on the back line, turning breakaway Bobcats back to the midfield before applying offensive pressure of her own. In the tenth minute, the rookie defender was victorious in a head-to-head matchup against Quinnipiac's leading scorer, Rebecca Cooke, in what would prove to be one of the visitor's best opportunities of the afternoon.
In goal, Nurkin earned her third solo shutout, refusing to allow a single goal to a Quinnipiac team that entered today's contest averaging three goals per game. The six-foot tall keeper has not allowed a goal in over 269 minutes of play, accumulating four total shutouts on the season.
Columbia will begin Ivy League play next Saturday, September, 25, on the road at Cornell. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:00 P.M. in Ithaca, NY.
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