Field Hockey Finishes Second in Ivy League

Columbia field hockey took second place in the Ivy League this year with a 5-2 Ivy record (11-6 overall) for the program's best finish since the 2000 season, when the Lions finished 13-6. The 5-2 Ivy record marks Columbia's best ever league mark.
"Second place is obviously a huge improvement from last season," said junior forward Jackie Klatsky, referring to the Lions' 1-6 Ivy, 7-10 overall campaign in 2006. "We are excited about that, but in the same sense it's not good enough—we are determined to win the Ivy League next year."

The Light Blue would have actually taken a share of the title this year if Princeton (6-1 Ivy, 13-4 overall) had lost to Penn (4-3 Ivy, 8-9 overall) in the last weekend of play. Despite not coming away with the title, the 2007 season was considered a huge success since it was the first time in seven years that the team finished with a winning record.

At the beginning of the year, the team started the season with three one-goal road losses to Quinnipiac, Cornell, and Colgate. But the Lions showed resilience after returning to the friendly confines of Columbia, running off three straight wins against Fairfield, Lehigh, and Monmouth to climb back to .500. Road woes continued as the team suffered losses to Princeton and Lafayette, but the Lions again evened their record after returning home to defeat Holy Cross and Brown. Columbia's 4-0 victory over Brown served as a watershed moment in the season, marking the Lions' first Ivy victory and sparking an 8-1 run to finish out the year.

The Oct. 14 Penn game marked arguably the most riveting game of the season for the Light Blue. The game was scoreless at the end of regulation, and junior goalkeeper Gena Miller had to fend off two Penn shots in overtime before forward Ariel Leon managed to chip-shot the game winner 8:40 into the extra session to give the Lions the sudden-death 1-0 victory.

"Beating Penn was the most exciting feeling," Klatsky said. "I was crying as soon as we scored that goal in overtime."

Miller had an outstanding year, finishing with a save percentage of 83.5 and a stingy 0.95 goals allowed per game, third in the nation. She also led the Ivies with five shutouts. Freshman midfielder Julia Garrison had a fantastic start to her Columbia career, leading the team in goals (7) and points (16). The Brown game marked an especially impressive effort for Garrison, as she scored two goals, exuding the confidence of a seasoned upperclassman.

Miller and midfielder Megan Davidson were selected as all-Mideast Region first-teamers by the National Field Hockey Coaches Association. It is the first time ever that the Lions have had two first-team representatives in the same year. Miller was also named to the third-team all-American squad.

The entire team earned the Academic Team Award from the National Field Hockey Coaches Association with a combined team GPA over 3.0. Nine individual team members made the NFHCA Academic Squad: juniors Davidson, Klatsky, Miller and Jacqui Munro, sophomores Catherine Campbell, Kaitie Busler, and Julie Hatchett, and freshmen Caitlin Mullins and Hannah Smith.

Davidson, Garrison, and Miller have been chosen to be a part of the New Jersey High Performance Group, where they will train with the most renowned field hockey coaches in the United States, including Columbia head coach Katie Beach. Davidson, Garrison, and Miller will train through June when they will compete for one of the available sixteen spots in the New Jersey region's entry into the High Performance National Championship Tournament at Virginia Beach, Va.

Coach Beach named Davidson and Munro as the captains for next season.