Box Score PRINCETON, N.J. – An early goal by senior midfielder Kat Jordan secured a lead the Lions would not give up for the remaining 73 minutes as Columbia earned a 1-0 victory against Princeton to punch its ticket into the inaugural Ivy League Tournament starting next Friday, November 3 in Providence, Rhode Island.
 
"We talked all week about controlling what we could and the entire team played very well tonight," Columbia Head Coach Tracey Bartholomew said. "Our back line along with Paige shutdown a talented team and limited their chances all game. The team has been driven all year to be organized and defend well."
 
Columbia finishes the regular season with an overall record of 9-3-3 and a 3-2-2 mark in Ivy League play. The win over Princeton marks back-to-back shutout wins to wrap up the regular season with an exclamation point.
 
"I think it was a great team effort," Jordan said. "Princeton is an amazing team. This game, we knew we needed a win in order to keep going and I am so proud of all the girls for putting in the hard work. We really played with heart today and it paid off."
 
The Lions entered Saturday tied with Dartmouth at fourth place in the Ivy League standings. A win or tie by either team would secure a spot in the inaugural Ivy League Tournament. Dartmouth got started at Brown an hour before Columbia and Princeton got underway. By halftime at Princeton, the Lions were in front and Dartmouth had lost to Brown. The road to the Ivy League Tournament was clear for the Lions.
 
"We were trying to just really keep our head in this game and just play against Princeton, which is obviously a very difficult challenge. There was lots of talk about what the other scores were going to be and what was going to happen in order for us to go through. We were really just focused on this game, which I think was really huge in winning."
 
Jordan notched her seventh goal of the season and her fourth game-winning goal of the season as she took a free kick and fired it to the bottom right part of the goal to score in the 16^th minute. Jordan finished the day with a team high three shots in the contest.
 
"Anyone who has watched us this season, knows that Kat Jordan has an unreal left foot when she hits it," Bartholomew said. "That shot was prefect. She buried it. Every player on this team has been working hard since last spring to have a successful fall season."
 
Senior goalkeeper Paige Nurkin played all 90 minutes in the net to secure back-to-back clean sheets to wrap up the regular season. Nurkin tallied three saves in the shutout win over Princeton.
 
With the 1-0 shutout win, Columbia secured its first win against Princeton since a 2-0 shutout victory at Princeton in 2017.
 
"We are proud of everyone's effort to make the top four and play in the first-ever Ivy League Women's Soccer Tournament," Bartholomew said. "We will enjoy this great team win and carry the momentum to the tournament. It's championship time and we know anything can happen.  Let's go Lions!"
 
UP NEXT
The Lions will travel to Providence, Rhode Island next weekend to play in the Ivy League Tournament as the No. 4 seed. Columbia will meet top-seeded Brown in the first round on Friday, November 3 at Brown's Stevenson-Pincince Field. First kick is set for 5 p.m. Friday. The championship game will be played at 1 p.m. on Sunday, November 5. Tickets can be purchased HERE.
 
FOLLOWING THE LIONS
For the latest on the Columbia women's soccer program, follow @CULionsWSOC on Twitter,  Instagram, Facebook at Facebook.com/ColumbiaWSoccer and on the web at GoColumbiaLions.com.