NEW YORK — The Columbia women's soccer team put its talents on full display Sunday afternoon in a crushing, 8-0, victory over visiting Fairleigh Dickinson University at Rocco B. Commisso Soccer Stadium.
With eight goals, Columbia (4-1-1) scored its most in a game since netting a program-record 11 in a shutout win over Wagner on September 24, 2017. Sunday's tally tied for the third-most in a game in school history with an 8-0 margin against Drexel in 1994. It was one off of second place, defeating Iona, 9-0, in 1987.
"We didn't want to give up a goal. We're in the top 10 in the country [in goals allowed] and we wanted to keep that going," head coach Tracey Bartholomew said. "We just have some great attacking players. They get in a rhythm and it's hard to stop and hard to defend. It's not just one or two players … it's a great team attack, which we've been working on quite a bit."
When the final horn sounded, six different Lions had found the back of the net. Kat Jordan started things off in the 18th minute with her team-leading fourth goal of the season and third in the last two games. The Lions never looked back, leading 5-0 at the half before tacking on three more in the opening 20 minutes of the second half.
"This game was definitely important to us," said senior defender
Ania Prussak, who tallied a brace on Sunday. "This game is going to give us confidence going into our next game. Getting a bunch of people on the scoreboard definitely helps."
Prussak's first of the day came just a minute after
Sam Cohn doubled the advantage. This time,
Maia Tabion played a ball into the far side of the penalty area for Jordan, who used her left to send it back through the box to a streaking Prussak. The senior beat her marker and slotted a shot with her right foot off the far post and in to make it 3-0 in the 29th minute.
Columbia made it three goals in the span of exactly four minutes with an absolute stunner off the left foot of
Claire Pinnie. She gained possession outside the 18 and brought the ball into the near side of the box. Pinnie switched to her left and fired a perfectly weighted strike, curling the ball inside the far post and into the back corner of the net to the delight of the home crowd.
Tabion scored her first of two goals just before the half when she pickpocketed an FDU (0-8-0) defender 12 yards from goal and had only the keeper to beat. That made it a five-goal advantage after 45 minutes.
What was perhaps the goal of the match came six minutes into the second half. Columbia won a corner, one of five on the afternoon, which was lined up by Jordan. She sent a low-driving cross to the near side for Prussak, who redirected it perfectly with her head across goal and inside the far post.
The onslaught kept coming, as
Kendall McBride scored her second of the season less than five minutes later. The eighth and final goal was set up from a
Maia Beltran tackle that freed Tabion up the near side. With no FDU defenders in her path, Tabion drove the ball 35 yards before firing a shot to the goalkeeper's left to turn it into an 8-0 game.
Despite needing only three more goals to tie the program record for the most in a game, the Lions pulled off and seemed content to run out the clock. They outshot FDU, 24-8.
UP NEXT
The Lions return to Rocco B. Commisso Soccer Stadium Wednesday afternoon to take on NJIT (3-1-4). The game is set to begin at 7 p.m. ET.
FOLLOWING THE LIONS
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