NEW YORK – Columbia women's soccer continued its late-season surge with an emphatic 3-0 victory over Yale on Saturday night at Rocco B. Commisso Soccer Stadium.
Thanks to a dominant second-half performance, the win helped the Lions (5-5-3, 3-1-1 Ivy) climb into a tie with Princeton atop the Ivy League standings.
After a scoreless first half, the Lions erupted with three goals in a four-minute span early in the second. In the 55th minute, freshman forward Evelyn Javers broke through off an assist from Maia Tabion, finishing calmly to the far post for her second goal of the year. Just 58 seconds later, the roles reversed. With the Yale keeper out of position, Tabion slotted home a strike from the middle of the box off a return pass from Javers to double the lead.
Columbia wasn't done there, as
Gabby Chan added the exclamation point in the 59th minute, burying her third goal of the season off a feed from
Maia Beltran.
Goalkeeper Samantha Mahoney anchored a disciplined defensive effort, recording four saves and earning her second shutout of the year—and first in Ivy League play. Columbia's back line, led by Aoife Turner, Justina Bitzer, and Leila Hawkins, limited Yale (3-9-0, 1-4-0 Ivy) to nine total shots and just four on frame.
Columbia outshot Yale 15-9 overall, including a 9-4 edge in shots on goal, and earned five corner kicks to the Bulldogs' four. The Lions also committed just six fouls while forcing Yale into 12.
The win marked Columbia's third straight victory over the Bulldogs and extended a streak of four consecutive wins in NYC dating back to 2017.
Spanning the last six matches, the Lions have now scored nine of their 10 goals in the second half, continuing their season-long trend of late-match execution. With all three goals coming between the 55th and 59th minutes, the outburst bucked Columbia's recent trend of scoring decisive or equalizing tallies in the final 15 minutes or later in five of its last six matches.
ON DECK
The Lions the road for the final time in 2025 next weekend, traveling to New Jersey to take on Princeton on Saturday at 1 p.m.
Columbia's full 2025 schedule can be found
HERE.
For the latest on the Columbia women's soccer program, follow @CULionsWSOC on X, Instagram, Facebook at Facebook.com/ColumbiaWSoccer and on the web at GoColumbiaLions.com.
