Lacrosse Defeats Lehigh at Baker Field to Even Record at 5-5

The sound of chatter is the sound of a good defense. When Columbia’s defense is playing well, voices from the field bounce off the unoccupied benches, filling the largely empty Wien Stadium with sound. The noise was deafening last night.

After grabbing a 7-0 halftime lead, Columbia spent most of the second half on defense. But while Lehigh controlled the ball, Columbia remained in complete control of the scoreboard, cruising to an 8-5 win at home.

The win evened Columbia’s record at 5-5 and ended a four-game losing streak.

It was a game in which the Lions were beaten in all the possession statistics, which are usually keys to victory in lacrosse. But last night it didn’t matter.

The Lions jumped on the Mountain Hawks (3-8) early, scoring seven consecutive goals in just over 10 minutes. Six different players scored for Columbia with junior Liz Gilroy netting two.

The Lions got most of their goals by turning first-half Lehigh turnovers into fastbreak chances.

“We look for [transition opportunities] when we’re faster than the team we’re playing,” Head Coach Celine Cunningham said. “I was really pleased with the first half.”

And when Columbia got the chances, it did not miss often. Including free position shots, the Lions scored on seven of 11 first-half shots. Yet at the half, the statistics told a different story. The possession numbers were even. Columbia and Lehigh split the center draws and the Lions held a narrow edge in ground balls.

That edge would turn to a deficit in the second half. The lead would not.

Lehigh owned the ball for most of the final 30 minutes. But possession did not necessarily mean scoring chances. The Mountain Hawk offense was stagnant. The edge in possession did little good because Lehigh’s attackers were stationary targets.

“I think [Lehigh] was intimidated to attack us,” first-year defender Whitney Booker said. “They were standing around and throwing the ball.”

With the offense funneled away from goalkeeper Jessica Valadez, the sophomore had time to react.

“When they were challenging we were really disciplined on defense and not trying to swing or go for the stick check and they got low angle shots,” Cunningham said.

Valadez finished the night with 16 saves.

“Jess played a great game,” Cunningham said.

But just as Valadez and the defense shone in the second half, Columbia’s attack broke down as the Lions were unable to have any prolonged possession. The Lions scored once in the second half off a free position shot by sophomore Maggie Via. The Lions had very few opportunities for extended possession in the offensive third of the field.

“I was pleased with the way our defense was playing,” Cunningham said, “but I wish we would have done a better job with the ball on attack.”

What is most important for the Lions is that their losing streak is snapped. A team in a slump cannot afford the luxury of being unhappy with wins.

“It would have nice to have a better second half. We would have left the game feeling better about ourselves. But we’re still happy with winning,” Cunningham said.

The win came after a 16-7 loss against Penn in Philadelphia. The Quakers were ranked as high as No. 16 this season but have since fallen from the polls. The Lions and Quakers were even at 2-2 with 11 minutes to go in the first half when Penn ran off eight straight goals to take a 10-2 halftime lead. Columbia was unable to crawl out of that hole.

But now the losing streak is over. The Lions have an even record and are feeling good about themselves. Columbia lacrosse has a real chance to achieve two firsts for the program.

Columbia has three Ivy League games left, two against teams not in the top 20: Brown on Friday and Harvard on Apr. 20. A game at No. 12 Yale is on Apr. 10. The Lions are 0-32 all-time in Ivy League play and are looking for that first win. They will need to win one Ivy League game to have a chance for a winning record, which would also be a first for the program.

Columbia is ready to make runs at both those goals.

“We’re very confident. We’re a strong team,” Booker said.