Columbia Avenges Weekend Ivy Loss

With a 2-0 win Wednesday at Lehigh, the Columbia field hockey team rebounded from its loss to Penn on Sunday, looking to carry that momentum into Sunday’s contest with Ivy foe Dartmouth.

According to head coach Katie Beach, the Light Blue was weakest on Sunday when it came to basic skills like getting shots in the circle. The Lions demonstrated a renewed vigor in their play after working to sharpen these skills during the last two days of practice.

“I think we started out with our basics a bit stronger, and we came out with more confidence,” Beach said. “We were more prepared mentally to come out and start the game from the beginning.”

The Light Blue overpowered Lehigh on offense throughout the game, though the scoring started and ended early. Sophomore Caitlin Mullins scored the first goal in the eighth minute with a penalty corner and senior Jacqui Munro followed with a second goal five minutes later.

Although the Lions did not score for the remainder of the game, they continued to play aggressively and maintained a defense that kept their opponents scoreless and allowed few looks at the goal.

They out-shot the Mountain Hawks 23-9 with a 7-3 advantage in corners.
“We set the tempo and really got an advantage, especially on our attacking end,” Beach said. “And we had more people step up to the plate in terms of their individual performance today.”

Sunday’s home game against Dartmouth will be pivotal in the outcome of Columbia’s season in terms of Ivy League standing, and for the rest of the week the team will be putting its efforts towards preparing for the all-important match-up.

“We’re going to work on little things with our positioning, being more threatening on attack with our forward line, being more deceptive in carrying the ball, and getting the ball past the goalkeeper,” Beach said. “We’re not looking to make a whole lot of change—just a little correction to make us sharper come Sunday.”