Women's Soccer Takes on Penn at Home

This Saturday, the Columbia women’s soccer team (6-2-2, 1-0 Ivy) will go for its second league victory of the season when it faces Penn (7-2-1, 1-0 Ivy). Since starting off their season with two losses in California, the Lions have gone undefeated in their last eight games and last Friday, they gave the home crowd reason to cheer as they blanked Brown, 1-0 to start their defense of last season’s Ivy title.
On offense, the graduation of Shannon Munoz has been offset by the strong play of freshman Chrissy Butler, sophomore Sophie Reiser and junior Allison Leonard. The three have combined for 12 of the team’s 17 goals this season as well as eight assists. Butler has made an immediate impact in her first season with Columbia, leading the team with five goals, including the sole tally in the game against the Bears last Friday. Her efforts against Brown and Iona helped her earn her first Ivy League Rookie of the Week award.
The Lions have been even better in defense, recording four shutouts in their past five games. On the year, Columbia has only conceded five goals in 10 contests, a testament to the strength of the team’s back four as well as senior goalkeeper Allison Vespa. Despite the strong play so far from the Lions, who are currently ranked fifth in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America’s northeast poll, they know that winning the league for a second straight year will take continued focus.
“We believe that our performances have incrementally improved each week,” head coach Kevin McCarthy said.
Although the Light Blue boasts an impressive record, Penn is not lacking in talent either. Sophomore Jessica Fuccello, a forward for the Quakers, has already scored six goals this season. In addition, Penn currently sits top the Ivy League table alongside Columbia after shutting out Cornell 1-0. It is only the second conference matchup of the season for both Columbia and Penn, but Saturday’s game has major Ivy League implications. One team will remain undefeated in the conference, while the other will be dropped in the standings with an even league record. A win against Penn is not only necessary for the Light Blue to maintain its current unbeaten streak, but to also keep the Lions in position to win another Ivy title.

Jonathan August contributed to this article.