Women’s Soccer Hosts Rutgers in First Round of NCAA Tournament

Sunday, November 12

New York, N.Y.

12:00 PM

Columbia University

Rutgers

Buy tickets

Photo by: Columbia University Athletics / Lem Photography

Women’s Soccer Hosts Rutgers in First Round of NCAA Tournament

11/10/2023 11:07:00 AM | Women's Soccer

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Columbia is looking for its first NCAA Tournament win in program history

By: Garret Sulak

NEW YORK – The Columbia women's soccer team will be looking to make history Sunday when the Lions meet Rutgers in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. First kick is set for 12 p.m. at Rocco B. Commisso Soccer Stadium. The game will be streamed through ESPN+ and tickets can be purchased HERE.

THE MATCHUP
Rutgers earned a berth into the NCAA Tournament for the 12^th consecutive season. The Scarlet Knights have a strong tradition of playing in the tournament, earning a spot in the field for the 14^th time in the last 16 years.

The Scarlet Knights are 9-6-4 and finished in a tie for sixth place in the Big Ten with a 5-4-1 conference record. The Big Ten admitted a record nine teams into the NCAA Tournament. Rutgers is unbeaten in five of its last six matches, including four wins over the final five regular season matches of the season. The defense has combined on 10 shutouts, with redshirt freshman goalkeeper Olivia Bodmer ranking 16th in the NCAA with nine solo shutouts.

Rutgers owns three shutout victories over NCAA RPI Top 50 teams, including No. 34 Ohio State on the road, No. 42 Providence, and No. 50 Michigan. They earned three draws on the road against teams in the NCAA RPI Top 25, including shutouts against No. 17 Princeton and No. 21 Wisconsin, and a 2-2 draw at No. 23 Nebraska.

The winner of Sunday's game will move on to the second round to face the winner of 1-seed Clemson and Radford. The game will be played at Clemson if the Tigers advance out of the first round.

DANCING FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE 2006
Columbia is back in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2006 when the Lions won the Ivy League and clinched the automatic bid into the tournament. The Lions used a strong push at the end of the season to secure an at-large bid and a seed to be one of the 32 school hosting the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Columbia will be looking for its first NCAA Tournament win in program history. The Lions went on the road to face Connecticut in the first round of the tournament in 2006. UCONN took a 2-1 win in the game to eliminate the Lions.

THE ROAD TO THE NCAA TOURNAMENT
Columbia rattled off back-to-back shutout wins over Yale and Princeton to wrap up the regular season and a secure one of four spots in the Ivy League Tournament. The Lions shocked No. 14 Brown in the Ivy League Tournament semifinals before falling to Harvard in the championship game. Three wins in the last four games boosted Columbia's RPI up the No. 20, which helped Columbia secure an at-large bid and a seed to host the first round.

KNOCKING OFF #14 BROWN
Columbia used overtime to secure a 2-1 win over No. 14 Brown, securing a spot in the Ivy League Tournament Championship against Harvard. The Lions became the first Ivy League team to defeat Brown since 2018. The win also secured the first 10-win season of Columbia Head Coach Tracey Bartholomew's career with the Lions. Trailing after halftime, senior midfielder Kat Jordan scored her eighth goal of the season in the 53rd minute to level the score. Neither team could convert any opportunities down the stretch and the game went to overtime. Senior forward Shira Cohen shined in overtime as she came up with her second game winning goal of the season when she scored with 45 seconds remaining in the first overtime period.

FOUR BID IVY
Four Ivy League women's soccer programs – Brown, Columbia, Harvard, and Princeton - heard their names called on Monday afternoon's selection show and will compete in the NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Championship. All four schools will host their opening game of the tournament. Last year, both Brown and Harvard advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, defeating Rutgers and New Hampshire, respectively.

RECORD WATCH
• Columbia has tied the program record of 10 shutouts for a single season that was set in 1998. One more shutout would set a new program record of shutouts in a single season.
• Goalkeeper Paige Nurkin is one shutout away from tying the program record for shutouts in a single season. Ali Ahern currently holds the record for eight shutouts in 1998.
• Nurkin's current save percentage is .841 for the season. The current single season record is .861 and was set by Ali Ahern in 1996.
• Kat Jordan is one goal away from joining the record list for goals scored in a single season. With nine, Jordan would be tied at eighth in program history.

COLUMBIA IN THE POLLS
Columbia has appeared in the Top Drawer Soccer National poll for three weeks this season. The Lions checked in at No. 23 in the most recent poll, improving from their No. 25 ranking in the previous poll. Columbia was ranked for the first time this season on September 25. The Lions checked in at No. 22 after jumping out to a 7-1-1 start to the season. The ranking in September marked Columbia's first recognition in a national poll since 2008 when the team received votes in the NSCAA national poll, now known as the United Soccer Coaches rankings.

ALL-IVY LIONS
The Columbia women's soccer team had five individuals honored in this year's All-Ivy awards following the completion of the regular season. Senior goalkeeper Paige Nurkin and senior midfielder Kat Jordan highlighted the list by earning First Team All-Ivy honors. Junior defender Ania Prussak and senior forward Nata Ramirez took home Second Team All-Ivy honors, while junior Courtney Ruedt earned honorable mention status.

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.