On Saturday, the Columbia men’s soccer team suffered a devastating 4-2 loss to Yale at Reese Stadium in New Haven. The pain of defeat was intensified by the fact that several aspects of the game seemed eerily reminiscent of last year’s match against the Bulldogs on Oct. 27, 2007.
History repeated itself as the Lions scored first, earning a 1-0 lead before allowing a total of four goals by the time the final whistle blew.
The first of Columbia’s two goals was the result of a beautifully executed set play in the 11th minute of the game. After a Yale handball, sophomore Pepe Carotenuto directed a curving pass to freshman Mike Mazzullo from outside the box. Mazzullo then deflected a header off an unfortunate Bulldog defenseman and into the goal.
Yale forward Aden Farina-Henry scored the equalizer almost 15 minutes later. Freshman Andy Hackbarth, a midfielder, maintained the Bulldogs’ momentum by putting his team up 2-1 with a goal in the 30th minute with an assist by junior Jordan Raybould.
In the 39th minute, senior walk-on Sam Post scored his first goal of the season with a powerful shot into the lower left-hand corner of the net, increasing Yale’s lead to 3-1.
Columbia was able to capitalize on another set play when Carotenuto scored on a long, bending free kick, which brought the Lions within one before the half.
Going into the half with a 3-2 deficit, Columbia’s offense struggled to get past Yale’s back line, releasing only 50 percent as many shots as it had taken during the first half of play.
The Lions held on until, in the 71st minute, Kevin Pope drove a low, hard ball past goalkeeper Alex Aurrichio, achieving the final score of 4-2 and sealing the game for the Bulldogs.
Columbia nonetheless made a valiant offensive effort on Saturday, outshooting Yale, 15-13. The team got off an impressive 5.2 shots above its season average.
The main problem seemed to be the lack of defensive stability. Head coach Leo Chappel predicted last week that the team had a good chance of succeeding as long as it did not give up a goal. The Lions fell short of this ambition, as the defense collapsed in the second half, just as it did when the Lions played the Bulldogs at Columbia Soccer Stadium in the fall of 2007.
On Saturday, Nov. 8, the Lions will travel to Cambridge to play its final road game of the season against Harvard. The Crimson currently sit atop the Ivy League.
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