Columbia Lacrosse Wins Final Contest of the Year Against Bucknell

After falling into an early 2-0 hole against Bucknell (6-8, 1-5 Patriot League), the Columbia lacrosse team (5-10, 0-7 Ivy) made sure it did not stay there as it pulled out a thrilling 8-7 win over the Bison on Wednesday night. The nonconference matchup was the Lions’ final game of the year.

“It was definitely a great way to go out,” freshman midfielder Lizzie Lee said.

The Light Blue overcame its two-goal deficit by ending the first period with a 4-1 run. Senior midfielder Marisa Marcellino, the Columbia lacrosse program’s all-time points leader, played a part in all of those tallies. She contributed three of the goals and assisted junior attacker Holly Glynn on the fourth to add four more points to her collegiate total. While this rally was crucial for the Lions, however, it only gave them a 4-3 lead at halftime. Sophomore attacker Brittany Shannon opened the second period with a goal that seemed to provide Columbia with some insurance, but Bucknell would not go away.

The Bison answered with two consecutive goals to tie the game at 5-5. After Glynn recorded her second tally of the night, Bucknell rattled off two more goals to achieve a 7-6 advantage over the Lions. However, the Bison’s scoring was finished. The Light Blue came back to tie the game on a tally by freshman midfielder Gabrielle Geronimos, which set the stage for Columbia’s leading scorer, Glynn, to work her magic. For the 44th time this season, Glynn found the back of the net. Unlike many of her previous goals, however, this one clinched the game for the Lions. With three goals each, she and Marcellino finished the night with hat tricks.

“She [Glynn] has a lot of determination,” Lee said. “We often look to her.”

On Wednesday night, that looking paid off.