NEW YORK — After playing three of its last four matches on the road, the Columbia men's soccer team (1-2-2) begins a stretch of three straight matches at home. The homestand starts up on Tuesday, hosting Drexel (2-4-0) at Rocco B. Commisso Soccer Stadium with kickoff set for 7 p.m. ET.
 
Fans unable to attend the match can watch live on ESPN+. Live stats will be available through GoColumbiaLions.com.
 
Fans attending games at the Baker Athletics Complex must adhere to Columbia Athletics and the University's venue protocols. Please find Columbia's venue policies here.
 
Here are five things to know heading into Tuesday's matchup.
 
 
#1 | HOME SWEET HOME
The Lions return to their home venue, where they hold a record of 1-0-1 this season and have doubled up their opponents in goals, 4-2, scoring two goals in each contest. All four of Columbia's home goals have come from different scorers – Ryan Kipness, Jake Novoshelski, Bryan Cosman and Will Todd. Columbia has not lost a non-conference match at home since Sept. 23, 2019 against LIU, 3-1. The Lions are 3-0-1 at home since that time, outscoring their opponents by a combined margin of 7-2.
 
 
#2 COLLODI CLIMBING THE CHARTS
Junior goalkeeper Michael Collodi is among the national leaders in goals against average (0.27) and save percentage (.938). Heading into Monday, he ranked No. 5 in save percentage in the NCAA, as well as No. 7 in GAA. Those numbers top the Ivy League by a wide margin – the closest to Collodi in GAA is Jack Roberts from Princeton (0.75), while the closest in save percentage is Harvard's Oskar Nilsson (.867).
 
Collodi has played and started four matches this season, totaling 334:18 minutes. He has two shutouts to his credit along with 15 total saves. #3 | TRACKING ALL OF 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)
 
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) #4 | NEW YORK STATE OF MIND
Columbia closed out a run of four straight matches against in-state opponents with its 0-0 draw on Saturday against LIU. The Lions began the stretch Sept. 6 at Stony Brook, where they fell 1-0, before returning home to host Manhattan College, drawing the Jaspers, 2-2. Last Monday, Columbia visited St. John's out in Queens, contesting a highly competitive matchup that ultimately resulted in a 1-0 victory for the Red Storm.
 
Including their home opener against George Washington on Sept. 3, the Lions play their first 10 matches of the season in New York state. Columbia doesn't travel out of state for a contest until Oct. 16 when it heads to Princeton. In total, only two matches this season (Princeton, Dartmouth) take place outside of the New York state.
 
 
#5 | THE OPPONENT
Drexel (2-4-0) is looking for its first positive result on the road this season. The Dragons are currently 0-3-0 away from Philadelphia, falling to Syracuse, 2-0, Lafayette, 2-1, and most recently Hofstra, 2-1, on Saturday.
 
Senior Chris Donovan was named the CAA Offensive Player of the Week back on Sept. 13 after scoring two goals and adding an assist as part the Dragon's 2-0-0 week against St. Peter's and UNC Wilmington. Donovan leads the team with three goals and a pair of assists on the campaign. He and the Drexel attack average an impressive 1.83 goals per game, but the defense also allows 1.67 goals per game.
 
Tuesday will mark the third matchup between the two programs in a series that began in 2015. Columbia is an undefeated 2-0-0 against the Dragons, coming away victorious, 1-0, on the road in 2015, followed by a 2-0 win the next season in New York.

--
 
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.