Coming off an all-time-best Ivy record of 5-2 in 2007, the Columbia field hockey team began this year with a bang. The Lions bested William & Mary 2-0 and University of Richmond 2-1 on Saturday and Sunday respectively.
In the shutout of William & Mary, junior forward Christine Buszczak scored the first goal for the Lions at the 14:32 mark, assisted by junior back Catherine Campbell. Buszczak’s goal came on a tip-in off of Campbell’s shot.
“That [the tip-in] is something we’ve been working on, and Christine does a really great job at it,” senior forward Jackie Klatsky said. “We practice tipping a lot—we have a ball machine that shoots out ball at about 70 miles per hour. She was able to utilize that skill and get us our first goal.”
At 15:42, Light Blue freshman back Desi Scherf scored the first goal of her Columbia career after intercepting a William & Mary pass. The Lions’ defense held on for the rest of the game to ensure the shutout, thanks to standout senior goalie Gena Miller. Her efforts are the first of what will likely be quite a few shutouts over the course of the year. Miller notched five last year, giving up only .95 goals per game.
“It’s always nice to start out the season with a shutout to build our confidence and set the tone for the season,” Klatsky said.
In Sunday’s contest, Richmond’s Katelin Peterson began the scoring in the first half with an unassisted goal. However, the Lions responded in the second half with two goals of their own. Klatsky nailed the first at 40:14 off a corner, and junior midfielder Ariel Leon provided the second score at 45:50.
“Christine had the ball and drew the defender and goalie over to her. I was in front of the goal and she flipped it back to me, and I popped it right in,” Klatsky said. “We were down by one but we didn’t panic or get hectic, we stuck to the game plan, stayed disciplined and came back.”
The Light Blue is looking ahead to its home opener against Rutgers this weekend. Last season, Columbia defeated Rutgers, 2-1, and according to Klatsky, the team is aiming for a repeat performance.
“We have a lot of energy and momentum to build off of, and we’re very excited to carry it over to our home opener,” she said.
The Lions will face off against the Scarlet Knights on Friday at 7 p.m.
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