Lions take on Tigers in search of first three-game win streak

The Columbia women’s soccer team seeks its third Ivy League win of the year when it faces Princeton on Saturday. A victory would give the Lions their first three-game win streak of the season.

Columbia (6-5-2, 2-1-0 Ivy) began its current streak on Oct. 10 with a 4-2 trouncing of Penn. On Tuesday, the Lions followed that performance with a 3-1 win over nonconference Marist. Columbia shares the top spot in the league standings with Yale, Harvard, and Dartmouth.

The Lions live and die by their offense—they are 5-0 when they score multiple goals in a game, and 1-5-2 when they record one or fewer tallies. Before overtaking Penn and Marist, Columbia had scored only two goals in a four-game span. The Lions will look to prevent another scoring slump by continuing their fast-paced, aggressive attack this weekend.

Sophomore forward Ashlin Yahr leads Columbia with eight goals, while senior forward Sophie Reiser has scored six times for the Lions. The Princeton defense will likely focus on containing Yahr and Reiser, but junior forward Chrissy Butler will complicate the Tigers’ task. Butler started Columbia’s past two games and scored a goal in each of them.

“To see her get rewarded with a couple goals the last two matches, that’s obviously a big boost for us,” head coach Kevin McCarthy said. “Right now, she’s certainly competing at a level where she’s going to continue to play very often.”

Not only do the Lions play at a high tempo, but they also play a very physical brand of soccer. Excepting its season opener, Columbia has reached double digits in fouls in all of its matchups. The Lions have committed more fouls than their opponents in 11 of their 13 games this year.

McCarthy is not concerned about Columbia’s propensity to foul, instead viewing the Lions’ aggressiveness as an asset.

“We’re not dirty, we’re not sneaky, but we play hard and with very strong intention,” he said. “We’re a bit more progressive than most women’s teams, and a lot of referees can’t handle that.”

Last season, Columbia and Princeton entered their matchup as two of the top three Ivy teams. An own goal by Columbia gave Princeton a 1-0 lead in the sixth minute, but the Lions found the back of Princeton’s net in the 13th minute. Both teams struggled to capitalize on scoring opportunities after the early tallies, and the game went to two overtimes. Princeton knocked Columbia out of first place with a goal in the 108th minute.

Princeton (5-6-2, 1-2-0 Ivy) began conference play this year with losses to Yale and Dartmouth, but the Tigers beat Brown by a 1-0 score on Oct. 10. Junior midfielder Lauren Whatley scored Princeton’s lone goal against the Bears in overtime. She and freshman forward Jen Hoy lead the Tigers with two goals apiece.

Kick-off is set for 1 p.m. at Roberts Stadium.