NEW YORK — The Columbia women's soccer team (0-2-1) competes at home for the second time in four days when it welcomes Bucknell (2-2-1) to Rocco B. Commisso Soccer Stadium on Sunday. Kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m. ET.
 
Fans who can't attend the match can watch the action on ESPN+. Live stats will be provided by GoColumbiaLions.com. Fans can also keep up with the match on Twitter by following @CULionsWSOC.

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.

Below are five facts Columbia fans should know heading into the contest.
 
 
#1 | BATTLE TESTED
Columbia has faced some quality opponents through the early portion of the 2021 campaign. The Lions opened the year at St. John's, which was ranked No. 5 in the United Soccer Coaches East Region poll at the time of the match, and came away with a hard-fought 3-3 draw. Junior Ally Clark opened the scoring in the sixth minute, followed by second-half goals by sophomores Nata Ramirez and Madi Pilla. The scores by Ramirez and Pilla were the first of their collegiate careers.
 
This past Thursday, the Lions welcomed 25th-ranked Hofstra to Commisso Soccer Stadium, marking the second straight season Columbia faced a nationally ranked opponent in the home opener – Tennessee was ranked 11th when they visited on Sept. 1, 2019. With the help of two spectacular saves by first-year keeper Audrey Byrne, the Lions kept the Pride off the scoreboard to go into the half goalless. Hofstra cracked the defense for three goals in a five-minute span in the second half to spoil the home debut.
 
 
#2 | SECOND TIME'S THE CHARM
Columbia hopes to bounce back from Thursday's performance, where it was outshot 21-3 in a 3-0 loss to No. 25 Hofstra. Historically, the Lions have done well to recover from a home-opening defeat. In fact, they have turned around to win their next home match each of the last five times they were defeated in a home debut (2019, 2016, 2013, 2008 and 2005). The last two such occasions have come in Tracey Bartholomew's head coaching era. #3 | TALLYING UP THE DEBUTS
Entering the season, 21 of Columbia's 32 players had never played in a collegiate contest. Below, we detail how many of those underclassmen have now made their collegiate debuts and when those debuts occurred.
 
Friday, Aug. 27 at St. John's
- #1 Paige Nurkin, GK *
- #5 Marcia Ojo, D *
- #6 Ania Prussak, D *
- #8 Sophia Cavaliere, M *
- #14 Madi Pilla, F *
- #15 Mia Ferrentino, D*
- #21 Annie Diaz-Silveira, F *
- #26 Nata Ramirez, F *
- #3 Grace Hurren, M/D
- #32 Claire Pinnie, F
- #34 Ava Zlatchin, D
- #99 Sam Gordon, D
- #0 Audrey Byrne, GK
 
* Started the match
 
Sunday, Aug. 29 at Stony Brook
- #35 Spencer Robbins, M
 
Thursday, Sept. 2 vs. Hofstra
- #00 Lauren Rodriguez, GK
- #12 Sam Cohn, D
- #31 Ola Weber, M


#4 | WEEKLY HONOR ROLL
Junior Ally Clark and sophomore Nata Ramirez were named to the Ivy League Weekly Honor Roll on Monday, Aug. 30. Clark and Ramirez each both scored and assisted a goal in Columbia's season-opening draw at St. John's. Ramirez assisted Clark's opening goal in the sixth minute, while Clark assisted Ramirez's first collegiate score in the 57th minute.
 
 
#5 | THE OPPONENT
Bucknell (2-2-1) is coming off at 2-0 victory over Mount St. Mary's on Friday. Freshman Paige Temple scored her first collegiate goal in the 23rd minute and junior Abby Gearhart followed with another less than five minutes after to post the match's final tally. Claire Mensi and Rylee Donaldson lead the Bison with two goals apiece on the campaign. Jenna Hall has started all five matches between the posts and carries a 1.48 GAA into the matchup. Bucknell has scored seven goals and surrendered seven goals through the first five matches.
 
Columbia is a perfect 4-0-0 against Bucknell in the all-time series, but all four of those contest have been decided by just a single goal. The teams first met in 1995 in New York, a match which Columbia won 2-1. Their last set came in 2019 and resulted in a thrilling overtime victory for the Lions. After Shira Cohen scored an 82nd-minute equalizer, Columbia won in overtime when Maddie Temaras was fouled in the box with three seconds left in the first 10-minute session. Temaras had her penalty kick saved, but Gracie Wall swooped in to score off the rebound just ­before time expired.

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For the latest on the Columbia women's soccer program, follow @CULionsWSOC on Twitter and Instagram, on Facebook at Facebook.com/ColumbiaWSoccer and on the web at GoColumbiaLions.com.