For the second time this season, the Columbia field hockey team’s matchup against Penn was postponed due to weather. Assuming the skies remain clear this weekend, the Lions will face Yale on Sunday before taking on the Quakers in the make-up game on Tuesday.
The Bulldogs (10-5, 4-1 Ivy) are currently second in the league, with their only Ivy loss coming against first-place, No. 4 Princeton. Yale’s most recent game was 3-2 come-from-behind, overtime victory over Penn.
The Bulldogs trailed early, as the Quakers scored two goals in the first 13 minutes of play. However, senior forward Ashley McCauley and sophomore forward Mia Rosati teamed up to lead Yale to its fourth consecutive win.
In the 23rd minute of play, McCauley scored off an assist from sophomore midfielder/forward Dinah Landshut, cutting the Quakers’ lead in half. Over 20 minutes would go by before the Bulldogs would score again, as Rosati deflected a shot by McCauley at 44:08 to even the score.
As neither team was able to score in the remaining minutes of regulation, the game went into overtime. Yale needed just under three and a half minutes to earn the victory, as Rosati converted another assist from McCauley for her second (and the winning) goal of the game.
McCauley leads the Eli offense with 28 points and 12 goals. Rosati is one of seven Bulldogs to have 10 points or higher on the season.
The Light Blue’s (7-7, 1-3 Ivy) last game was a 1-0 win over Vermont last Sunday. Columbia’s only point came from an unassisted goal by junior midfielder Julia Garrison. Junior goalkeeper Erin Conway recorded her first shutout win of the season.
Over the past four seasons, the Lions are 2-2 against the Bulldogs, with the two wins coming in 2005 and 2007. In the 2007 game, Garrison and current senior forward Christine Buszczak each scored, helping Columbia to a 3-1 victory.
Last season, Yale triumphed 3-2 in overtime thanks to a goal by McCauley in the 79th minute of action. Garrison and current sophomore midfielder/forward Maggie O’Connor each notched a goal in the losing effort.
Sunday’s game against Yale is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. and Tuesday’s game is set to start at 5 p.m. Both will be played at the Columbia Field Hockey Venue, weather permitting.