NEW YORK — Fresh off its first win of the season, Columbia men's soccer (1-2-1) will look to make it two in a row at home when it takes on LIU (4-2-0) Saturday night. The match is scheduled to kick off at 7 p.m. from Rocco B. Commisso Soccer Stadium.
Fans who can't attend the match can watch the action live on
ESPN+, or track the action with
live stats provided by GoColumbiaLions.com. Fans can also keep up with the match on Twitter by following
@CULionsMSOC.
All 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.
5 THINGS TO KNOW:
#1 | IN THE WIN COLUMN
Columbia got in the win column for the first time this season by defeating cross-borough rival St. John's, 1-0, on Monday at Rocco B. Commisso Soccer Stadium. The Lions went on top in the 27th minute courtesy of
Joao Lima's first collegiate goal.
Jack Muoio sent in the cross that led to the goal, which Lima headed perfectly inside the far post. St. John's, which came into the night averaging more than 12 shots per game, was limited to just one in the first half and five on the night. The Red Storm's first shot on goal didn't come until the 52nd minute and goalkeeper
Michael Collodi was up to the task every time, earning his first fourth collegiate shutout.
#2 | CLOSE CALLS
All four of Columbia's results this season have been in games decided by a goal or less. Last year, 11 of Columbia's 16 matches came down to a single goal, with the Lions holding a record of 0-6-5 in such matches. This year, the Lions are 1-2-1 after defeating St. John's. The victory was Columbia's first in a one-goal affair since Oct. 29, 2019, when they defeated Fordham, 1-0. Between the 2021 and 2022 seasons combined, 15 of the team's last 20 matches have been decided by a single goal.
#3 | NEW YORK STATE OF MIND
Saturday night's match concludes a stretch of four consecutive matches against New York State competition. So far, Columbia is 1-1-1 over those three contests, falling, 2-1, at home to Stony Brook (Sept. 6), drawing Manhattan last Friday (Sept. 9) up in the Bronx and defeating St. John's, 1-0, this past Monday. Two more in-state non-conference matches await Columbia on September 24 at Iona and October 4 against Hofstra.
#4 | DEBUT LIONS
Ten Lions have made their Columbia debuts to this point in the season —
Ryan Yang,
Brandon Newman,
Ben Sidley,
Alessandro Franciosa,
Carmine Falco,
Cy Sokolowski,
Joao Lima,
Jesse Greissman,
Nicolas Jandeleit and
Evan Kim. Yang, Newman, Sidley and Franciosa appeared in the Starting XI in the season opener against George Washington. Sokolowski, Falco, Kim and Lima have since each also earned their first starts. Lima's first start included his first collegiate goal, which helped Columbia defeat St. John's, 1-0.
#5 | THE SERIES
LIU was formerly split between LIU Brooklyn and LIU Post before the Brooklyn and Brookville athletic departments merged over the summer of 2019. Eight years ago, Columbia walked out of Brooklyn 3-2 winners, coming back from a 2-1 deficit with second-half goals by Ron Zori and Jack Gagne. Columbia leads the all-time combined series 19-12-5, which includes all games against the Brooklyn and Post campuses. Last season, the two sides played to a goalless draw in Brooklyn.
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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.
