Field hockey needs win and help for share of title

For the Columbia field hockey team, Friday is about finishing the year strong.

The Lions (8-8, 4-2 Ivy) will face Harvard (8-8, 3-3 Ivy) tonight at 6:30 p.m. at home to finish off a season that had carried the promise of Columbia’s first conference title up until last weekend.

After a four-game winning streak boosted the Light Blue to the top of the table for three weeks, last Friday’s 3-1 loss to Yale dropped Columbia to third place, where it now stands tied with Dartmouth.

Although tying for first place is still possible if the league leaders, Yale and Princeton, both lose this weekend, the Lions are only focusing on their performance Friday night.

“Everyone is on the same page of what we want to accomplish this season,” said junior forward Gabby Kozlowski, who was named a Columbia Student-Athlete of the Month for October. “We still have the chance to walk away from this season with a good spot in the standings and a respectable overall record.”

Apart from wanting to bounce back from their loss to the Bulldogs, the Lions also want to give their five graduating seniors a positive send-off.

Forward Carson Christus, midfielder Leti Freaney, midfielder/forward Maggie O’Connor, forward Adriana de Vries, and back Desi Scherf will all don their Light Blue uniforms for the last time when they take on the Crimson.

“This group of seniors is so passionate about the team,” Kozlowski said. “They have all been a huge part of the program, especially our three captains—Desi, Leti, and Carson—leading by example on the field and in the locker room.”

Head coach Marybeth Freeman believes that the five seniors—for whom a short pregame ceremony will be held on Friday—have made varied, but pivotal contributions to the season’s success.

Currently in fifth place, the Crimson has relied on its younger players to carry the team, including freshman forward Noel Painter, who leads the team with eight goals and five assists.

Another freshman, forward Catriona McDonald, scored her first two career goals against No. 10 New Hampshire last weekend in a game that the Crimson pushed to overtime before losing 4-3.
Harvard also lost 1-0 to Dartmouth, but junior goalie Cynthia Tassopoulos made the Big Green work hard for its lone goal.

Tassopoulos tallied a total of 23 saves on the weekend, nine coming against Dartmouth. Helping her was sophomore back Carly McNeill, whose three saves pushed her into second place in the Ivy League for defensive saves, trailing only Columbia’s junior back Katie DeSandis.

DeSandis, who has six saves this year, sat out during the 1-0 loss to Villanova on Sunday because of a collision she suffered against Yale. But DeSandis will be back on the field against the Crimson, looking to contain the Harvard attack.

“The threat is in the middle of the field where they have speed,” Freeman said. “They have a strong support cast around them as well.”

Though shutting down the Harvard offense is important, the Lions need to focus on creating their own scoring opportunities, a feature that was lacking last weekend.