Light Blue Falls to Reigning National Champs, Earns Draw Against LMU

The blow of a loss at the hands of the defending NCAA champion, the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos, was alleviated by a hard-fought tie against Loyola Marymount yesterday, as men’s soccer picked up its first tie of the season during their three-day stay in Southern California.

This weekend’s tournament included some of the toughest competition the Lions will face this year, as the Gauchos and defending Ivy champion Harvard were both participants. The class of the Light Blue’s opposition showed on Friday when the team faced the Gauchos. Columbia was able to hold 14th-ranked Santa Barbara to a 1-1 draw for most of the first half, but two goals within two minutes of each other right before halftime blew the game open and out of reach for the Light Blue. The barrage continued in the second half, as the Gauchos imposed their will on the match, firing 11 attempts at the Columbia goal in the latter 45 minutes, while allowing no chances on their own goal. Senior keeper Michael Testa performed admirably in net, making eight saves on the night, but his efforts were not able to hold back the Santa Barbara deluge completely, as the Gauchos slotted home two more goals in the second half.

Head coach Leo Chappel said he felt missteps were the team’s downfall. “We kept making mistakes in the back,” he said. “I didn’t think we were outplayed. You can’t make mistakes against a Santa Barbara team—they punish you.”

The Light Blue would have an opportunity to earn back some respect in its second game of the tournament, against Loyola Marymount. Despite having a 2-4-0 record coming into Sunday’s match, the LMU Lions had claimed the scalp of then 17th-ranked New Mexico earlier in the season, and were coming off an upset of sixth-ranked Harvard on Friday, when they handed the Crimson their first loss of the season. Loyola also possessed a stingy defense, with the two goals they allowed to the Crimson being the most this season.

The stage was thus set for a showdown of defense and goalkeeping, and Columbia was able to hold up its end of the deal. Poor finishing on the part of Loyola and dogged defending on the part of Columbia made sure that LMU could not convert on any of its 21 attempts on goal. Testa shined again in net, allowing no scores and making four saves in 110 minutes. Junior Shaun Rowatt and freshman Bayo Adafin had the team’s best chances in the opposition’s third. Rowatt’s volley in the second half skirted just wide of the Loyola net, while Adafin was unable to beat the LMU goalkeeper one-on-one in the first overtime.

While the goals still were few and far between this weekend for the Lions, Chappel is seeing light at the end of the tunnel. “I think we are getting there, but it all starts in the back,” Chappel said. “The bleeding is starting to stop in the defense. It [offense] is really the last thing that comes.”

Goal differential put the Lions in fourth place for the tournament, despite achieving the same results as Ivy brethren Harvard. Nevertheless, Chappel said he felt the performance of the team this weekend has been the best it has been all season. “Collectively, we found out who we were,” he said. “LMU is a big result. It [this weekend’s results] is why I scheduled Virginia, and it’s why I scheduled this tournament. It’s definitely something to build upon for Wednesday and the Ivy season.”

The Lions will next be in action on Wednesday against Central Connecticut State.