NEW YORK - The Columbia lacrosse team secured its first victory of the year on Saturday afternoon, defeating the Lafayette Leopards, 8-7, in a thriller at Kraft Field.
For the second consecutive season, it was the first-year class that stepped up and led the Lions to a massive season-opening win over the Leopards. The only difference this year was it was in front of the home crowd at Wien Stadium.
Ava Kimche set the tone between the pipes, notching six saves in her collegiate debut.
Michelle Zhai led the offense, netting a hat trick in her first game while dishing out two assists. First-year
Anna Becker scored two goals in the contest, and first-year
Natalia Raiszadeh added a goal of her own.
"We had a hard-fought test against Lafayette today," Head Coach
Anne Murray said. "Our defensive unit played consistently strong and came up with some great takeaways and saves. Our midfield group played fast and came up with so many 50/50 opportunities. And on offense, we kept attacking for 60 minutes and finished when we needed it. The Lions will get back to work on Monday and for now, we are enjoying the win!"
It wasn't an ideal start for Columbia, as Lafayette won the opening draw and Anna Romano found the back of the net just 19 seconds into the game for the Leopards. However, the Lions' defense would stiffen from that point on, not allowing another goal in the first quarter.
Three different first-years notched goals in the first period, helping the Lions take a 3-1 lead. First it was Zhai, who scored Columbia's first goal of the season with 3:08 left to play. Becker scored under a minute later, and Raiszadeh joined the party with 1:22 left on the clock.
Once again it was the Leopards who opened the second quarter with a goal, and once again it was Romano, but once again the Lions had an answer.
Kate Cunning netted her first goal of the season on a free-position shot less than 60 seconds later, and the Lions would take that 4-2 lead into halftime.
Zhai scored her second goal of the day to open the second half, and quickly made it a hat trick with her third goal of the afternoon to extend Columbia's lead to 6-2. Lafayette would score two goals to close out the third quarter and cut the Lions' lead to two goals heading into the final frame.
After another Cunning goal four minutes into the fourth quarter, Becker had the highlight of the night. After a beautiful set up from Zhai, Becker went no look and behind-the-back, beating the Leopards' keeper and finding the back of the net with what would ultimately be the game-winning goal for the Lions.
Becker's goal gave Columbia an 8-4 lead, but Lafayette would not go down without a fight. The Leopards would score three unanswered goals late in the period to pull within one goal of tying things up, but the Lions' defense survived and Columbia came away with an 8-7 victory.
Besides the small hiccup late in the fourth quarter, Columbia's defense was astounding all night. The Lions forced 22 Leopard turnovers, and held Lafayette to just 75% on clear attempts.
Julie Griswold,
Ellie Eisner, and
Alison Surace led the way, each causing two turnovers and combining for four ground balls.
Columbia will continue the 2024 season and look to make it two wins in a row next weekend at Kraft Field when the Monmouth Hawks will trek over the George Washington Bridge to Kraft Field for a battle at 1 p.m.
For the latest on Columbia lacrosse, follow @CULionsLax on Twitter and Instagram, and on the web at GoColumbiaLions.com.
