Field Hockey Defeats Dartmouth, Has Five-Game Streak Snapped by Vermont

Columbia field hockey (8-6, 3-2 Ivy) won its Ivy matchup Saturday against Dartmouth (4-13, 1-4 Ivy) by a score of 2-0, but the Lions’ five-game winning streak was snapped in a 1-0 loss to Vermont (12-5) on Sunday.

Against Dartmouth Lauren Hanna got the scoring started early with a goal just 2:02 into the game with an unassisted shot. Then, after a 46:14 scoring drought, Christine Buszczak tipped in Julia Garrison’s shot on the assist from Erin Bogue.

Goalkeeper Gena Miller had to be on her game, earning the ninth shutout of her career, because the Lions were outshot by Dartmouth 13-6. Dartmouth also had the significant edge in penalty corners, 8-3. To put a positive spin on those numbers, one can say the Light Blue was very efficient in its scoring opportunities.

Going into the game against Vermont, Miller had an impressive streak of four shutouts in her last five games, holding Holy Cross, Brown, Penn, and Dartmouth scoreless. But Kim Striegler of Vermont was able to crack the Miller code with 21:01 remaining in the first half.

This time, the Lions could not overcome a great disparity in shots: Vermont outshot Columbia 14-4, although the teams tied in penalty corner attempts with eight apiece.
After going 1-1 over the weekend, the Lions are now tied for third in the Ancient Eight.

But they are no longer in contention for the Ivy title, as Princeton (5-1 Ivy) defeated Harvard (3-2 Ivy) 1-0 in overtime. In the best-case scenario for the Lions, both squads could finish at 5-2 in the Ivy, but Princeton holds the tiebreaker over Columbia as the result of an early season victory.

Next week, the Lions will host Yale on Friday, at 7 p.m. They then travel to Piscataway, NJ to take on Rutgers Sunday at 1 p.m.