ITHACA, N.Y. - The Columbia lacrosse team traveled upstate on Saturday afternoon for an Ivy League game against Cornell. The Big Red came away with a big win, taking down the Lions 13-5 at Schoellkopf Field. 

Cornell scored the first goal of the game, but Sophie Zachara had a quick answer. She found the back of the net for the second time this season at the 8:32 mark of the first quarter to even things up at one goal apiece.

Less than a minute later, Michell Zhai tallied her team-high eighth assist of the season, finding Cecelia Messner who connected to give the Lions a 2-1 lead. 

That goal would spark the Big Red, as they went on to score six unanswered goals to close out the first quarter and take a 7-2 lead. 

Both defenses stepped up in the second quarter, allowing one goal each. For the Lions, it was Messner with her second goal of the day, but Cornell took an 8-3 lead into halftime. 

Columbia would only score two goals the rest of the way, with Messner notching a hat trick in the third quarter and Zachara tallying her second of the game on the free-position with 3:39 left to play in the fourth. 

Cornell's Mackenzie Clark would put the finishing touches on an impressive game between the pipes for both her and Ellie Horner by denying Dani Falcone's last-second shot attempt to collect their combined 16th save of the afternoon and close out the 13-5 win. 

Falcone led the Lions with four draw controls and four ground balls on the afternoon. Zachara and Alison Surace both had a team-high two caused turnovers. First-year goalie Ava Kimche collected a career-high nine saves. 

Columbia will have a short turnaround, and look to bounce back on Wednesday, March 13 up in Poughkeepsie against the Marist Red Foxes. 

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