Columbia
Villanova
Women’s Soccer Hosts Villanova on Thursday
8/26/2026 5:45:00 PM | Women's Soccer
The Lions look to remain unbeaten to begin 2026
HOW TO FOLLOW
All Columbia home games and all Ivy League contests will be streamed via ESPN+. Thursday's game against Villanova can be found HERE. You can find Sunday's game also on ESPN+, HERE.
Live stats for Thursday's game will be available via gocolumbialions.com, HERE. Live stats for Sunday's contest against La Salle can be found on their website, HERE.
Follow @CULionsWSOC on X and Instagram for live updates and results during every match.
LAST TIME OUT
The Lions are coming off a 0-0 draw with St. John's in Sunday's home opener from Rocco B. Commisso Stadium.
After a tight first half, Columbia controlled the offensive tempo early in the second half. The Lions fired off three straight shots, with two on net. In the 52nd minute, Elder took a shot low and center. Nearly seven minutes later, Javers aimed for the bottom left corner and was denied. St. John's goalkeeper Kayla Bower was able to keep both attempts out.
Columbia's biggest scoring chance of the day was in the 88th minute. From just inside the penalty box, Andrzejewski ripped a shot to the top right corner but Bower punched it out for her third save of the half.
The Lions had five corners in the second half to the Red Storm's one, but ultimately couldn't put a goal on the board to take the win.
SCOUTING VILLANOVA
The Wildcats enter Thursday's contest with a 1-0-1 record. After a tie against Syracuse to open the season, Villanova took down Lehigh 9-0 on Sunday
Last season, the Wildcats finished 9-8-1 overall and 4-5-1 in the Big East, including a 1-0 win over the Lions in Pennsylvania. In the 2026 Big East Preseason Poll, Villanova was projected to finishfifth in the conference, four spots ahead of St. John's. Hannah Dickinson was named Preseason Goalkeeper of the Year.
Morgan Kotch leads the team with two goals on the seaosn, while Preseason All-Big East selections Avrie Nelsen and Gabby Koluch have combined for a goal and two assists.
ROSTER - SCHEDULE - STATS
SCOUTING LA SALLE
La Salle enters Sunday's contest with a 1-2 record to begin the 2026 campaign. The Explorers opened the season with a 2-1 win over American, and most recently lost 4-0 to Bucknell. In between, #13 Virginia took them down 7-0.
Last season, La Salle finished 7-8-3 overall and 4-4-2 in Atlantic 10 play. This also included a 1-1 draw with the Lions in New York City, and a 3-1 loss to Dayton in the A10 Quarterfinals.
The Explorers are led by Sienna Mount and Taylor Jourdanais who each have a goal on the season, both assisted by Ella Cadigan. Samantha Widnick has 13 saves on the year.
ROSTER - SCHEDULE - STATS
Columbia will honor the memory of Rocco B. Commisso '71SEAS '75BUS throughout the 2026 season with a commemorative patch featuring his initials, "RBC," on its kits. Commisso, who passed away on Jan. 16, 2026, at age 76, was a standout Columbia men's soccer player, longtime supporter of Columbia Athletics and accomplished business leader.
A three-year All-Ivy League honoree as both a defensive and offensive player, he helped lead the Lions to winning records in each of his four seasons. As co-captain of the 1970 team, he helped guide Columbia to its first NCAA Tournament appearance.
Commisso went on to become a successful entrepreneur, founding Mediacom Communications in 1995 and building it into one of the nation's largest cable television providers. He remained closely connected to soccer throughout his life, including ownership roles with the New York Cosmos and Italian Serie A club ACF Fiorentina.
Columbia will travel to California next week, with the first game on the west coast trip scheduled against St. Mary's on Thursday, September 3 at 8 p.m. EST.
The Lions' full 2026 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.
