Lacrosse Ready for Midweek Clash Against Villanova

Wednesday, March 6

New York, N.Y.

6:00 p.m.

Columbia University

Villanova

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

Lacrosse Ready for Midweek Clash Against Villanova

3/5/2024 5:30:00 PM | Lacrosse

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Lions seek second win of the season against Wildcats

NEW YORK - The Columbia lacrosse team returns home on Wednesday evening for a midweek clash against the Villanova Wildcats at Robert K. Kraft Field. The Lions look to improve back to .500 on the season against the Big East foe. Opening draw is scheduled for 6 p.m.

LAST TIME OUT
Columbia opened Ivy League play last weekend against #13 Penn, but the Quakers were too much to handle and handed the Lions their second loss of the season. #13 Penn came away with a 16-5 victory.

The Lions struck first, as first-year Michelle Zhai found the back of the net to give Columbia an early 1-0 lead. However, the Quakers would have a quick response scoring four unanswered goals to take a 4-1 lead.

#13 Penn would seize control of the game in the second, scoring five goals while holding the Lions scoreless. The Quakers led 9-2 at the half, and it would be too much for Columbia to overcome.

Natalia Raiszadeh and Cecelia Messner scored back-to-back goals less than a minute a part in the third quarter, and Julia Sullivan found the back of the net later in the period, but that would be the Lions' final goal of the afternoon. #13 Penn's defense held Columbia scoreless again in the fourth quarter, as the Quakers went on to win 16-5.

Falcone led Columbia with two points and two assists in the game, while five different Lions found the back of the net. Cordelia Flemming caused three turnovers and scooped up three ground balls. Messner added a team-high two draw controls and one caused turnover. First-year goalkeeper Ava Kimche had a career-high seven saves.

SCOUTING VILLANOVA
Villanova enters Wednesday's contest with a 2-4 overall record, with three of those losses coming against a ranked opponent.

The Wildcats have lost three games in a row, most recently falling to #12 Stony Brook, 20-8. Nova's last win came against La Salle on February 21.

Prior to the start of the season, the Wildcats were picked to finish third in the 2024 Big East Preseason Poll, after finishing fourth in the conference last season and falling to the top-seeded University of Denver in the first round of the Big East Tournament. Sydney Pappas was named to the Preseason All-Big East team.

Pappas leads Villanova with 23 goals on the season. Sami Carey has 17 points on nine goals and eight assists. Emma Verhoest has a team-high 43 draw controls.

The Wildcats are 2-0 all-time against Columbia, with both wins coming in NYC. The last matchup between the Lions and Cats came in 2019, with Villanova earning an 11-10 victory in overtime.

ON DECK
Columbia will have a quick turnaround, hitting the road to take on Cornell in an Ivy League game on Saturday at 1 p.m. in Ithaca.

The Lions' full 2024 schedule can be found HERE.

HOW TO FOLLOW
All Columbia home games and all Ivy League contests will be streamed via ESPN+. You can find tomorrow's game HERE.

Live stats will be available via gocolumbialions.com, HERE.

For the latest on Columbia lacrosse, follow @CULionsLax on Twitter and Instagram, on Facebook at Facebook.com/ColumbiaLax and on the web at GoColumbiaLions.com.