The Columbia women’s soccer team sought to build on its two consecutive wins when it faced Hofstra and St. John’s this weekend. While the Lions (2-3-1) extended their unbeaten streak to three games with a tie at Hofstra, they lost a hard-fought battle to St. John’s.
The Hofstra game came on Friday night. The Lions took a 1-0 lead in the 23rd minute when sophomore forward Ashlin Yahr found the back of the net on an assist by junior defender Lauren Cooke.
While the Lions scored the first goal of the game, they could not maintain their advantage over the Pride. Hofstra (3-3-1) was awarded a direct kick after sophomore defender Liz Wicks was tagged with a yellow card in the 40th minute. Senior defender Jess Crankshaw converted to knot the game at one, and the score remained the same through two overtimes.
Junior forward Chrissy Butler started for Columbia but saw only seven minutes of action due to a strained quadriceps. She did not play against St. John’s on Sunday night either.
The Lions ended their weekend by hosting the No. 18 Red Storm (7-1-0). The matchup consisted of back-and-forth play as each team looked to find the net. Both squads created numerous offensive opportunities, but it was St. John’s that drew first blood. Senior forward Kaitlin Haas had her shot deflected into the goal by a Columbia defender to give the Red Storm a 1-0 lead in the 33rd minute.
“I think I’m going to use this deduction at the IRS, since we were incredibly charitable tonight,” head coach Kevin McCarthy said after the matchup. “We just don’t have that cutting-edge mentality that we require to win games.”
The score remained the same for the rest of the first half, but the Lions answered with a goal of their own in the 53rd minute. Sophomore midfielder Nora Dooley sent a pass to sophomore forward Marissa Schultz, who fired a cross to Yahr for the goal. In the 71st minute, however, senior forward Tatiana Duggan scored to give St. John’s a 2-1 advantage.
“We knew that they were a very mature team with a lot of seniors, and that if we made mistakes, they’d capitalize on them,” McCarthy said of the Red Storm.
Yahr, the only Lion to score over the weekend, has now found the back of the net four times this season. She and senior forward Sophie Reiser are Columbia’s leading scorers.
Columbia continues nonconference play on Tuesday, when it hosts Central Connecticut State. Kick-off is set for 7 p.m. at Columbia Soccer Stadium.
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