Men's Soccer to Take On Nonconference Opponent Adelphi

The Columbia men’s soccer team takes a break from its conference schedule as it travels to Garden City, N.Y. to take on the Adelphi Panthers. This will be Columbia’s final nonconference match of the season, and the team has a chance to finish with a 4-5-1 record in matches outside the Ivy League with a win tonight.

Last year, the Lions were able to claim victory over the Panthers in a 2-0 shutout win at Baker Field. The win came during the middle of a tough Ivy season and was made all the more impressive by Adelphi’s eventual NCAA tournament berth.

This year’s Panthers squad will not prove to be quite as formidable. Adelphi has struggled this year, losing five straight to open the season and currently sitting with a 2-10-3 record overall. The Panthers have been outscored by a ratio of two-to-one this season, with the bulk of the Adelphi offense coming from Brazilian junior midfielder Patrick Figueiredo. Goalkeeping for the Panthers are juniors Vincent Treglia and Shane Flanagan, who have been solid in net despite Adelphi’s woes. The duo have let in just two goals per game.

Light Blue senior midfielder Tom Heinbockel continues to provide the spark for Columbia offensively, recording an assist last Saturday against Yale and last Wednesday against Lehigh. Another offensive stalwart is senior Tom Davison, who recorded his first goal of the season recently against Lehigh and looks to be snapping out of his offensive slump.

The pressure will be on the Columbia defense to shake off the mistakes of the Yale game and to provide a disciplined defense in the backfield that supplies the Lions offensive attack. Generating counterattacks from the back will be crucial for success—even in the first half against Yale on Saturday, when the Lions dominated the possession time, the Bulldogs outshot the home team 7-5.

Action begins at 7 p.m. at Adelphi.