Athletics coverage of the Ancient Eight is going modern.

Despite a capricious defensive performance, football held on to secure a 34-24 victory against Marist in its final nonconference game of the season, bolstered by a career day from sophomore quarterback Josh Bean.

Little went right for football in its 45-10 defeat to Princeton on Friday night at Wien Stadium. On a night when plenty of students traveled 100 blocks to see the game, the stadium was rocking after a 91-yard return on the opening kickoff by sophomore returner Will Allen. The Lions, however, only found the end zone once all game long, and could not stop Princeton.

Injuries are a part of football, but knowing that injuries will occur lends precious little comfort when they actually do. Just one short week into the season, an injury will force the Lions to adjust as they seek to find not only a replacement but a new leader at quarterback.

Fresh off football’s best season this century, head coach Al Bagnoli and the Lions will head to New Britain to take on Central Connecticut State on Saturday in Columbia’s first regular season game.

An injury-plagued junior year had cast some doubt on senior second baseman Taylor Troutt. She missed a quarter of last season with nagging injuries and hit just .223 with almost as many strikeouts as hits. But after a dominant senior season in which she hit more like Mike Trout, no questions remain about one of the truly great hitters in Columbia history.

After years of toiling away near the bottom of the Ivy League standings, Columbia softball seems to finally have turned a corner. A sea of change in coaching, recruiting, and execution has resulted in the program’s best year since its inception in 2006.

Softball officially clinched its best-ever record in conference play with its first win on Saturday, and its first-ever winning season in conference play with its second this weekend.