NEW YORK — First-years
MK Myklebust and
Sophia Abate found the back of the net in their collegiate debuts as Columbia field hockey (1-0) defeated LIU (0-3), 3-1 in Friday's season opener. One of the top 50 recruits in the class of 2022, Myklebust scored twice in the victory.
Columbia shot out to an early lead when Myklebust collected the ball off the LIU goalkeeper's pads, lifting the opening tally into the net just three minutes into play.
Abate struck early in the second half, extending the Lions lead to 2-0 off a penalty corner. Poised on the post, the New Jersey product was able to best LIU's fallen goalkeeper.
While the visiting Sharks knocked home a penalty corner opportunity of their own with just under eight minutes left to play (2-1), Myklebust struck gold yet again to keep the Lions up two. The rookie skillfully deflected an initial penalty corner feed from sophomore
Lindsey Yu to tally her second goal of the afternoon.
In goal,
Katie Wimmer earned her first career start making seven saves for the win. Wimmer was busiest in the last 15 minutes of competition, turning away five shots in the final quarter.
Her Long Island counterpart, Maggie Streichert, made seven saves while allowing three goals.
Next up, Columbia will travel to #10 Syracuse on Sunday for a 1:00 p.m. start in Upstate New York.
For the latest on the Columbia field hockey program, follow @CULionsFH on Twitter and Instagram, on Facebook at Facebook.com/ColumbiaFieldHockey and on the web at GoColumbiaLions.com.
