NEW YORK - The Columbia lacrosse team took the turf of Robert K. Kraft Field on another rainy afternoon on Saturday and squared off against Brown. Through the elements, the Bears emerged with a 19-7 victory to improve to 7-2 on the year and 1-1 in the conference. The Lions drop to 2-7 overall and 0-3 in the Ivy League. 

Brown took control of the match right away, and never looked back. The Bears struck first just over a minute into the game with a goal from Leah Caputo, which ignited a 4-0 run. Brown went on to score eight goals in the first quarter, while limiting Columbia to just two. 

First-year Natalia Raiszadeh broke Columbia's scoring drought on a free-position attempt with 5:13 left in the first. Michelle Zhai was responsible for the Lions' second goal of the quarter, capitalizing off a beautiful pass from Raiszadeh.
 
The second quarter played out very similarly, with Brown expanding its lead to 10, but back-to-back goals from Anna Becker and Cecelia Messner cut the lead back to single digits. The Bears led 13-4 at the half.

Messner and Zhai contributed two more Lions goals in the third quarter, but Columbia's defense was unable to find away to stop Brown's attack. The Bears would go on to win by double digits. 

Zhai was incredible for Columbia, matching her career-high with five points while notching her second career hat trick. Ellie Eisner and Messner had three caused turnovers each. Sophie Zachara led the team with three draw controls. 

The Lions will have a week off before returning to action on Wednesday, April 3 in Staten Island for a contest against the Wagner Seahawks. First draw is set for 6 p.m.

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