Men’s Soccer Welcomes Yale for Ivy Home Opener Saturday

MSOC Starting Lineup 2024 Luka Peric Center

Photo by: Columbia University Athletics / Stockton Photo, Inc.

Men’s Soccer Welcomes Yale for Ivy Home Opener Saturday

10/4/2024 1:30:00 PM | Men's Soccer

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Lions and Bulldogs kickoff at 7 p.m.

NEW YORK — The Columbia men's soccer team (0-7-0, 0-1-0 Ivy) hosts Yale (4-4-1, 1-0-0 Ivy) for its first home match of the Ivy League season on Saturday. First kick from Rocco B. Commisso Soccer Stadium is scheduled for 7 p.m.

GAME COVERAGE:
Fans unable to attend Saturday night's game can watch live on ESPN+. A subscription is required to access the live video. Fans can also track live stats courtesy of GoColumbiaLions.com. In-game updates will also be provided on the @CULionsMSOC social media accounts.

LAST TIME OUT
Columbia traveled to No. 20 Penn for its Ivy League opener last Saturday. The Lions withstood an 11-0 shot disadvantage in the first half to go into halftime 0-0. The Quakers broke through in the second half courtesy of Romeo Dahlen, who got behind the back line in the 52nd minute to finish a through ball played ahead by Patrick Cayelli. That proved to be the only goal in the match and the lone blemish on an otherwise solid night for the first-year Columbia keeper Alexander O'Brien. The rookie from Toronto made five saves on 17 shots faced, going on to earn a spot on the Ivy League Weekly Honor Roll.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
Yale opened the Ivy season at home last Saturday with a 1-0 victory over Cornell. TJ Presthus converted on a penalty kick in the 68th minute to give the Bulldogs the victory.

Yale has scored 18 goals on the year, ranking No. 2 in the Ivy League and top 40 in the NCAA. Sophomore Joseph Farouz leads the Bulldogs with an Ivy League-best six goals, which ranks No. 21 in the NCAA. Three of those goals came earlier this week in a 6-0 non-Division I win against Albertus Magnus. Presthus has scored four goals, while Quanah Brayboy has netted three. Eight different Bulldogs have found the back of the net.

Chris Edwards has served as Yale's primary goalkeeper, starting eight of the nine games with a 1.75 GAA. Constantin Jung started the game against Albertus Magnus. Edwards has made an Ivy League-best 33 saves and holds a save percentage of .702. His 4.13 saves per game are tops in the league.

THE SERIES
The all-time series between Columbia and Yale dates back to 1907. Over the last 117 years, the programs have met 72 times, with Yale holding a slight 33-30-9 edge. The Bulldogs are unbeaten against the Lions over the last four matchups at 3-0-1. Last season, they took a 2-1 decision in New Haven. Columbia won five straight meetings from 2014-18 and had a series-best nine-match unbeaten streak from 2010-18.

2024 PRESEASON NOTES

RETURNING
The Lions return 18 players from last year's team. Eight of this year's returners played in 10 or more matches last season, while nine players started at least six matches. Columbia's two returning goal scorers are Joao Lima and Chad Baker. Lima netted four goals and took a team-high 28 shots with 14 shots on goal on his way to an All-Ivy League Honorable Mention. Baker scored three times and assisted another as a first-year in 2023. Midfielder Alessandro Fraciosa played and started nine matches and was third on the team with 14 shots taken.

NEW-LOOK LIONS
Columbia announced the addition of 11 players to the roster last month. The newcomers included eight first-years and three sophomores. Two of those sophomores, Joe McDaid and Jack McDaid, transferred in after playing the 2023 season at Maryland.

Among the incoming defenders are Rafa Romo, Joe McDaid, Andrew Hilton II and Will Carnoy. Alexander O'Brien will also look to make an impact on the defense as the lone incoming goalkeeper. The midfielders are Luke Zielinski, Jack McDaid, Peter Chang and Will Case. Meanwhile, forwards Andres Garcia and Luka Peric hope to make the most impact on Columbia's goal-scoring efforts.

A CHANGE IN GOAL
Columbia will have a new primary starting goalkeeper for the first time since 2018 after the graduation of Michael Collodi last year. Collodi started 57 matches and played in 58 during his four-year career – Columbia's 2020 season was canceled due to COVID. He graduated with 237 career saves, which ranks second all-time behind program leader John McElaney (1976-79), who had 334. Collodi now plays for North Texas SC of MLS Next Pro.

Among this year's returning keepers, junior Dean Kelliher has made one collegiate appearance and senior Andreas Zamanian has played in four games with two starts.

BUILDING FROM 2023
Columbia looks to build from a 2-8-4 campaign a year ago in what was the first under head coach Michael Casper. The Lions improved from back-to-back single-win campaigns in 2021 and 2022, defeating Manhattan, 3-0, for Casper's first win before going on to down Quinnipiac, 2-0.

ABOUT COLUMBIA MEN'S SOCCER
The 2024 season marks the 77th varsity season of men's soccer at Columbia University. The program was established in 1906 but discontinued as a varsity sport from 1916-57. The program regained its varsity status in 1957 and played 63 straight seasons until the 2020 campaign was canceled due to COVID.

Columbia men's soccer came to prominence in the late '70s, advancing to their first NCAA Tournament in 1978 before going all the way to the Final Four in 1979. After multiple NCAA Tournament appearances and Ivy League championships through the early '80s, the Lions made a run to the NCAA Tournament Championship Game in 1983. Columbia defeated UConn, 4-0, in the Final Four to take on Indiana for the National Championship. The Hoosiers outlasted Columbia, 1-0, in overtime.

Columbia owns 10 Ivy League championships and 13 NCAA Tournament appearances all-time.

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.