Men’s Soccer Hosts Dartmouth Saturday Night

Saturday, October 11

New York, N.Y.

6:00 p.m.

Columbia University

Dartmouth

Men's Soccer Lineup Starters 2025 46734802

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

10/10/2025 3:06:00 PM | Men's Soccer

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Lion to hold Breast Cancer Awareness Game

NEW YORK — The Columbia men's soccer team (1-4-3, 0-1-1 Ivy) puts its unbeaten home record on the line on Saturday when it hosts Dartmouth (1-4-3, 0-2-0 Ivy). Kickoff at Rocco B. Commisso Soccer Stadium is scheduled for 6 p.m.

BREAST CANCER AWARENESS
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Columbia men's soccer is supporting the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, which invests in research that changes how we think about breast cancer. That means more answers, faster breakthroughs and personalized treatment for every patient.

Click here to join Columbia men's soccer in raising funds to support the Breast Cancer Foundation.

GAME COVERAGE:
Fans unable to make it to the game can watch live on ESPN+. Fans can also track the live stats courtesy of GoColumbiaLions.com. In-game updates will also be provided on the @CULionsMSOC social media accounts.

HOME SWEET HOME
The Lions are unbeaten in three home games this season, holding a record of 1-0-2. They drew Villanova, 0-0, in the home opener, defeated Manhattan, 2-0, back on September 15, and drew Penn, 2-2, in the Ivy League opener on September 28. Columbia is outscoring opponents, 4-2, outshooting opponents, 43-39, and putting 34.9 percent of their shots on goal. Defensively, Dean Kelliher has played all 270 minutes in goal with a home goals against average of 0.67, 10 saves, two shutouts and a save percentage of 83.3 percent.

In contrast, the road has not been kind to the Lions. They are 0-4-1 away from home, getting outshot 71-66, putting just 21.2 percent of their shots on goal. Opponents average 1.40 goals against Columbia, put 39.4 percent of their shots on goal, and allow the Lions just 0.60 goals per game.

LAST TIME OUT
Columbia visited Yale last Saturday but could not solve the Bulldogs, falling by a score of 1-0. Columbia fired off 18 shots, but only three of them came on goal. Meanwhile, Yale scored on a 58th-minute goal by Joseph Faroux and held on for its first win of the season.

ABOUT THE LIONS
Columbia has scored seven goals in eight matches so far this season. Leading the way is junior midfielder Jack McDaid with three, followed by a pair from senior Alessandro Franciosa, one from first year Henning Myrvang and one from first year Stepan Kapranov. Sophomore Andres Garcia and junior Joe McDaid have tallied a team-leading two assists apiece. Jack McDaid also has an assist for a team-leading seven points.

In goal, senior Dean Kelliher has played and started seven of the eight matches. He owns a goal against average of an even 1.00, which ranks top 60 in the NCAA, and a save percentage of .767, ranking No. 63 in the NCAA.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
Dartmouth has started Ivy League play 0-2-0 and enters the weekend on a three-game losing streak overall. Last Saturday, they surrendered six goals in a 6-2 home loss to Cornell. The Big Green's lone victory on the season came on September 17 against Northeastern, 3-2. However, their best result of the season came on September 9 in Burlington, Vermont, when they drew defending national champion Vermont, 3-3.

Dartmouth averages 1.50 goals per game but allows an Ivy League-worst 2.25 goals per game. Their team goals against average ranks 200th out of 210 in the NCAA. Offensively, Eidur Baldvinsson has scored a team-leading three goals. Olly Spicer and Will Lulka have scored twice.

THE SERIES
The Big Green lead the all-time series, 31-23-11. Each of the last two series meetings and four of the last five series have resulted in draws. Last year, Columbia went up a man after Dartmouth was issued a red card, then fell down by two goals, and later scored twice for a wild, 2-2 draw, in Hanover. Jackson ten Oever and Andres Garcia scored Columbia's two goals. Two years ago, in Dartmouth's last visit to New York City, Joao Lima scored in the 79th minute in a 1-1 draw.

2025 SEASON NOTES

MCDAID NAMED OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Junior midfielder Jack McDaid was named the Ivy League Offensive Player of the Week for games played September 22-28. A native of Havertown, Pennsylvania, McDaid scored two goals during the week, one in each of Columbia's matches. His first came at Hofstra, when he blasted home a perfectly placed free kick to cut the Pride's lead in half in the 70th minute. Then, in the Ivy League opener against Penn, he opened the scoring with a left-footed blast from outside the box in the game's 13th minute.

This was the first Ivy League Offensive Player of the Week selection for McDaid. It was the first time a Lion had been named a player of the week for an offensive performance since John Denis in 2019.

NON-CONFERENCE RECAP
Columbia went 1-3-2 entering Ivy League play and will play two additional non-conference matchups in October against Army West Point (Oct. 14) and Fordham (Oct. 28). After dropping a close battle in their season opener at Lehigh, 2-1, the Lions went on a three-game unbeaten streak, drawing Villanova, 0-0, drawing Fairfield, 1-1, and defeating Manhattan at home, 2-0. The unbeaten streak was the team's longest since 2018, as head coach Michael Casper looks to bring a historically strong Columbia program back to prominence.

Junior midfielder Jack McDaid scored two of Columbia's five goals through its first six non-conference matches. He had the opening goal against Manhattan, heading home a short corner sent in from Joao Lima. He scored his second goal in Columbia's last match, blasting home a free kick from just outside the 18 to cut Hofstra's 2-0 lead in half in the 87th minute. McDaid also owns an assist for a team-leading five points. Five of his eight shots have been on frame.

The Lions outshot their opponents by a total of 81-75. Their 13.5 shots per game ranked fourth in the Ivy League. Columbia took a season-high 23 shots in the win over Manhattan, its most shots in a game in eight years.

Defensively, the Lions allowed an even 1.00 goals per game. They've shut out both Villanova (Sept. 5) and Manhattan (Sept. 15), with both of those matches coming at home.

RETURNING
The Lions return 22 players from last year's team. Of them, 18 returners played in eight or more matches last season, while 10 players started at least half of last season's 14 matches.

In goal, senior Dean Kelliher returns with the most experience. He started nine matches a year ago in his first season as the primary keeper. It included his first collegiate shutout in a 1-0 victory over the previous season's Ivy League tournament champion, Yale. He would later make a career-high six saves in a one-goal loss to Harvard. Alexander O'Brien played and started four matches in his rookie season. They will both compete for the starting spot alongside first-year Aris Taki.

The defensive half and the back line also return a lot of game experience. Staples to last year's defensive formation included senior Carmine Falco, junior Joe McDaid, junior Jack McDaid, junior Jackson ten Oever and sophomore Andrew Hilton II. All five started at least 12 of 14 matches, with Falco and Joe McDaid starting all 14. Jack McDaid and ten Oever each scored twice and shared the team lead in goals. McDaid was named Second Team All-Ivy League, while ten Oever earned All-Ivy Honorable Mention.

Returners in the attacking half include senior Ryan Yang, senior Joao Lima, sophomore Luke Zielinski and senior Alessandro Franciosa. Those four started at least half of last season's matches with Lima earning one goal and one assist.

Columbia returns 89 percent of its scoring from last season, but will look for an uptick in goal production. They managed to find the back of the net just nine times last season, averaging just 0.64 goals per game. Will Case, Luka Peric, Peter Chang and Andres Garcia also got plenty of experience last season, all playing in 10 or more matches. Garcia came away with a goal and an assist as a rookie.

THE CAPTAINS
Columbia men's soccer announced that its captains for the 2025 season are senior Carmine Falco and junior Jackson ten Oever. Falco has played in 38 matches and started 37 of them heading into his senior year. Last season, he totaled 1,075 minutes on the field and went the full 90 four times. Ten Oever was a 2024 All-Ivy League Honorable Mention and was also named to the College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District Team. He was named Ivy League Player of the Week following his game-winning goal while preserving a shutout against Yale. The Brooklyn native has played and started 27 matches in his career.

THE NEWCOMERS
In late June, Columbia announced the addition of eight new players to the 2025 roster. In the announcement, head coach Michael Casper stated, "We want players that fit the model of what we want Columbia men's soccer to look like – hard-working and technical with the ability to become difference makers."

Among the newcomers are goalkeeper Aris Taki, defenders Conor Owen and Sage Kinner, midfielders Yianni Goulandris, Stepan Kapranov, Oli Sacks and Amir Yahalom, as well as forward Henning Myrvang.

YEAR THREE UNDER CASPER
In what is now his third season leading the Lions, head coach Michael Casper will look to turn the corner and bring the program back to prominence. Last year saw a step in the right direction, when Columbia put an end to a five-year Ivy League winless drought by defeating the 2023 tournament champion Yale, 1-0, at Rocco B. Commisso Soccer Stadium. With key defensive pieces returning, he will look to a talented group of returners and newcomers to increase goal production.

ABOUT COLUMBIA MEN'S SOCCER
The 2025 season marks the 78th 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.