Columbia lacrosse falls in Ivy opener

Despite a hard-fought second half, the Columbia lacrosse team suffered a close, 11-8 loss to Cornell in its Ivy League opener. The defeat snapped the Lions’ five-game streak and extended the team’s Ivy winless streak to 26 games.

Columbia jumped ahead against the Big Red after just four minutes courtesy of an unassisted tally by midfielder Taylor Gattinella, but that would prove to be the last Light Blue lead of the game. Cornell immediately answered to draw the score at one, and 10 minutes later took their first lead of the game on an unassisted goal by Halsey Diakow. The Lions quickly drew even on a Lizzie Lee goal, but three straight Cornell scores gave the Big Red the 5-2 advantage going into the break.

The Columbia offense picked up in the second half, pulling the Lions within two of the Big Red at 6-4. Cornell went on another three-goal run to push the lead to five, however, and despite a number of Columbia rallies, the Light Blue couldn’t make up the distance.
Gattinella and Holly Glynn led the Lions with two goals each, half of Columbia’s offensive output in the game. The eight goals were the lowest output for the Light Blue this year. In the loss, goalkeeper Emma Mintz notched 14 saves.

After a short break, the Lions resumed nonconference play with a trip to Bethlehem, Pa. to face Lehigh. Once more, an early game deficit proved insurmountable for the Lions who, despite scoring six of the contest’s final eight goals, fell 15-13.

The Mountain Hawks struck first with two goals. Rachael Ryan and Gabrielle Geronimos responded with a goal apiece to tie the game at two. Both teams traded scores, with goals by Geronimos and Lee, to keep things tied at four. But Lehigh picked up seven goals, including three by Kelly Draper, to take a commanding 11-6 lead at the break.

Draper continued her offensive onslaught with two more goals at the start of the second half, but goals by Geronimos, Lauren Olsen, and Brittney Shannon brought the Lions within four of the Mountain Hawks, 13-9. But once again the Lions could not capitalize on their second-half momentum, and two straight goals by Lauren Dykstra gave Lehigh a six-goal cushion. The Light Blue rattled off four straight goals to close the match, including three goals from Rachael Ryan, but it wasn’t enough.

Ryan led the team with five goals and five groundballs while causing two turnovers. Draper led all scorers with six goals.
Columbia will face its steepest challenge of the season in its second Ivy contest, hosting defending league champion Penn. The game begins at 3:30 pm on Friday.