NEW YORK — The Columbia men's soccer team concludes the 2023 season this Saturday when it hosts Cornell at Rocco B. Commisso Soccer Stadium. First kick is set for 6 p.m. ET.
SENIOR DAY:
The Lions will be honoring their senior class before the start of Saturday's game. This year's eight seniors are Michael Collodi, Matthew Leong, Jack Muoio, Jake Novoshelski, David Walley, Yusuf Hafez, Will DeNight and Ryan Wallace. Collodi and Walley have been serving as the 2023 team captains
GAME COVERAGE:
Fans unable to attend the game can watch live on ESPN+. Fans can also track the live stats courtesy of GoColumbiaLions.com. In-game updates will also be provided on the @CULionsMSOC Twitter and Instagram accounts.
HOME SWEET HOME:
Columbia (2-8-3, 0-5-1 Ivy) has enjoyed nearly all of its success on its home turf this season. Entering Saturday's contest, the Lions are 2-2-2 at Commisso Soccer Stadium, accounting for eight of their nine points on the campaign. In those games, they have outscored the opposition 8-6, including a 2-0 win against Quinnipiac on September 19, as well as a 1-1 draw against Ivy League-leading Dartmouth on October 13.
COLLODI CLIMBS THE CHARTS
Michael Collodi has entered Columbia's top-five all-time in saves. The senior keeper from Frisco, Texas has totaled 227 in his career, passing the late Alexander Aurrichio (2008-10) for fourth earlier this season. Also within reach for Collodi are Jeff Micheli (1984-87) and Steve McAnulty (1992-95), who had 231 and 235 saves, respectively. The all-time leader is John McElaney (1976-79) with 334.
DEVELOPING THE ATTACK
Columbia has made huge strides on the attack this season. Last year, they ranked 200th or worse out of 203 teams in NCAA Div. I soccer in scoring offense (0.50), total goals (8), total points (19), total assists (3), shots on goal per game (2.94), shot accuracy (0.343), points per game (1.19) and assists per game (0.19). This season, the Lions are averaging just shy of a goal per game through 12 matches, which includes a team-high four goals from
Joao Lima, as well as three apiece from
Will DeNight and first-year
Chad Baker. DeNight is also top 25 in the NCAA in shot accuracy (.565). Both Lima and DeNight average at least 1.00 shot on goal per game.
A LOOK AT CORNELL
Cornell (8-4-2, 2-2-2 Ivy) is playing for its Ivy League Tournament berth. The Big Red are currently in fifth, one spot outside the tournament and two points behind fourth-place Brown (2-0-4 Ivy). They would need to win on Saturday and get some help from Yale against Brown to play their way in. Cornell is ranked No. 6 in the United Soccer Coaches Northeast Region Rankings.
The attack is spearheaded by Alex Harris and his Ivy League-leading 12 goals. He has scored twice in four different games this season, including a 5-1 win against Princeton. Nine other Big Red have found the back of the net. Balazs Feher is second to Harris with three goals. Overall, Cornell has outscored the opposition 25-16 on the campaign.
THE SERIES
The Lions lead the all-time series, 35-26-12. Cornell has had the better of it over the last four matchups, going on unbeaten 3-0-1 against Columbia with a combined 10-3 goal differential. Columbia's last series victory came in 2017, a 2-0 win up in Ithaca. The Lions won three straight from 2015-17.
FOLLOW THE LIONS:
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.
