Women’s Soccer Pushes for .500 Ivy Mark

At a school whose sports teams have had limited success over the years, the Columbia’s women’s soccer program had hoped to be a source of pride for disgruntled Lions fans. However, the team has hit a rough patch and has yet to recover. The Light Blue (6-4-4, 1-2-1 Ivy) hopes to improve its fortune against Yale (7-6-0, 2-2-0 Ivy) tonight.

Last Saturday, Columbia played Dartmouth to a draw. While that result is certainly better than a third conference loss, it was not good enough to keep Ivy title hopes alive.

“It just adds on to the frustration,” sophomore midfielder Sophie Reiser said. “It’s been so frustrating that we haven’t won because we have so much talent on the field.”

Part of the reason the Light Blue has not been victorious in its last four attempts is its lack of scoring. Columbia’s stellar offense has been shut down for the past four games, which consist of two losses and two draws. In those matchups, the Lions scored only four goals, a pittance compared to their first 10 outings, in which they had 17 tallies.

The Light Blue’s young tandem of sophomore Sophie Reiser and freshman Chrissy Butler has been slumping, as the two remain at a combined nine goals on the season. While that statistic is impressive to read out of context, Reiser has scored only once during the Lions’ current tailspin, while Butler has not contributed a goal. These players need to come up big when it matters most in order to give the Lions a chance to win tonight.

“We’ve been getting some chances to finish,” Reiser said. “That last step is just focusing and finishing.”

Junior Allison Leonard has also been struggling, with only one goal in the past four games. Senior Lindsey Knowles, who had the lone tally against Dartmouth, seems to have the most momentum to make an impact tonight.

If the team is alert for the entire game, head coach Kevin McCarthy believes that the victory will be achieved.

“We have to maintain high concentration levels for 90 minutes so that we are limiting their chances and being steadfast when they do have some pressure,” he said. “That concentration will also serve us well when we are in front of their goal.”

The Bulldogs will look to disrupt Columbia’s scheme and get on the board behind the efforts of junior forward Maggie Westfal, who has a team-high six goals this year. Westfal has already tripled her offensive output from last season, a campaign that resulted in her selection to the All-Ivy second team.

While Columbia’s offense will need to regain its form for the Lions to end the season on a high note, McCarthy is not looking for blowout wins, a testament to the strength of the Ancient Eight.

“We’re never upset with a one-nil victory in the Ivy League,” he said.

A score like that in the Light Blue’s favor tonight would give Columbia reason to cheer.