Women's Soccer Rebuilds After Championship

The biggest test facing the 2007 edition of the women's soccer team was always going to be living up to the standards set in 2006—that improbable, unstoppable season that saw the Lions romp to the Ivy League title undefeated. And after losing the squad's core of six seniors to graduation, that task would only become more difficult.

But the Lions found moments of brilliance during an undefeated run of eight games that took them from a strong preseason into their Ivy campaign, culminating in a 1-0 defeat of Brown in their first league game. Their inexperience soon began to show, however, as sloppy defending cost them in games against Penn, Princeton, and Dartmouth. Standing at 1-2-1, it was clear they could no longer defend their title.

Still, with balanced offensive production from the impressive but still raw freshman Chrissy Butler, who scored five goals, senior Allison Leonard (five goals), senior Lindsey Knowles (five goals), and sophomore playmaker Sophie Reiser (four goals), Columbia was able to claw back in its final three league games.

During that spell, Reiser in particular showed that she should be able to lead the Lions in coming seasons. Given a great degree of freedom to roam by head coach Kevin McCarthy, she stepped into the role of a true No. 10, slotted in behind the front pair of strikers. At the same time, senior goalkeeper Allison Vespa and central defender Cathleen Cimino anchored the young back line and held on to results.

Columbia took two of its last three games, dropping a close game against Yale but winning 2-1 against both Harvard and Cornell to finish the year at .500. It may be a slip from the heights of 2006 and the program's first-ever appearance in the NCAA tournament, but the foundations for the team's next title run are in place.