CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Columbia used a second-half equalizer to answer an early goal and leave Jordan Field with a, 1-1, draw against Harvard on Saturday afternoon in Ivy League men's soccer action.
First-year
Joao Lima had the heroics for the Lions (1-5-4, 0-0-2 Ivy).
Ryan Yang gained control of a failed clearance on the far side of the field and played it through for Lima. The rookie out of Rio de Janeiro was in behind his defender, used one touch to play the ball down and poked it past the Harvard keeper to level the score 10 minutes into the second half.
Harvard (5-4-2, 0-1-1 Ivy) had led nearly the entire game up until that point. The Crimson scored in the fourth minute on the first shot attempt of the game, as Nik White one-timed a corner kick in at the back post.
That was all
Michael Collodi and the Columbia defense would allow. The senior keeper made a diving stop with just under five minutes left in the first half and kept Harvard from retaking the lead with four more saves in the second half.
The final minutes of the game provided a chance for both teams to walk away with three points. Collodi came off his line and reached back to stop a ball destined for the back of the net off the foot of Ebbinge. Seconds later, Lima put a shot on goal from 15 yards that Oskar Nilsson barely got a hand on to deflect away from goal. Collodi was ultimately credited with six saves to Nelsson's three.
Saturday's results put the Lions in fifth place with two points in the Ivy League table.
Columbia has a week before its next match, returning home to prepare for a battle with defending champion Princeton (9-1-0, 2-0-0 Ivy). Kickoff at Rocco B. Commisso Soccer Stadium is set for 3 p.m. ET.
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