Sept. 26, 2004
Columbia men's soccer lost to Fairleigh Dickinson, 2-1, at Baker Field. The Lions scored early in the second half to cancel out a first half FDU goal, but dropped the match as an FDU free kick ran through a crowd and into the net with one minute remaining. Ajene Green (Elmont, N.Y.) scored Columbia's goal in the 46th minute on a header off a Thorsteinn Gestsson (Saudaukrokur, Iceland) corner kick. The Lions record falls to 2-5-2 with the Ivy League opener against Brown their next match.
The Light Blue held off early pressure from the Knights and had the game's first good chance in the 16th minute. Sekou Cox (Brooklyn, N.Y.) headed a clearance from midfield towards Scott Waddell (Beltsville, Md.). The sophomore forward sent a pass over the top of the FDU defense that the Knight keeper Elveer Prasovic raced to punch away near the edge of the box. The loose ball deflected to Waddell, who side stepped the FDU keeper, and attempted to lob the ball over the two Knight defenders covering the goal. A defender cleared the ball away from the net and two ensuing Lion shots were unable to find the target.
The Knights (2-3-1) opened the scoring eight minutes later as Pino Tubito ran onto a FDU clearance and caught the Lions pushing forward. Tubito fired a shot off the crossbar and that rebounded directly to Mirza Rusevic at the far post. With Columbia keeper Dean Arnaoutakis (Dunedin, Fla.) covering the near post, Rusevic calmly slid a ball back across the goal where Antonio Nunziata slotted home for the goal.
The first half ended at 1-0 to the visitors as the match was tightly called by the referee, 24 fouls were whistled in the opening period.
The Lions came out strong in the second half, controlling possession and attacking the FDU. Just over a minute into the second half Ajene Green latched onto a Gestsson corner kick and headed powerfully past into the net. The goal was Green's second of the season, his first coming last weekend against UC-Santa Barbara.
Arnaoutakis stifled the Knight's first chance of the second half as he made a save on a Nunziata free kick.
Columbia continued to create the better chances, but were unable to take the lead. With ten minutes remaining, Thorsteinn Gestsson appeared to have scored the go ahead goal, but it was called back due to offsides. Tom Davison (Brandon, Fla.) had made a nice move to get space inside the box near the endline. He cut the ball back inside to the penalty spot for Oladero Ola-Niyi (Oklahoma City, Okla.) whose mishit went to Gestsson to hammer home. Unfortunately for the Lions, the officials ruled that Gestsson was offsides.
In the 88th minute, Mirza Rusevic scored the game winner after the second to last of the match's 47 fouls was called on Columbia inches outside of the penalty area. Rusevic fired a low bouncer into the crowd in front of the net. The ball remained untouched and hit the net inside the back post.
Columbia opens its Ivy League campaign next weekend as it takes on defending league champion Brown in Providence, R.I. The match pits two of the Ancient Eight's best teams in a rematch of last year's 1-0 overtime thriller. The 7 p.m. game will be shown on College Sports TV on tape delay.
