Crimson Faces Columbia in Ivy Opener

The Columbia women's soccer program has only been around for six years.

Its coach, Shawn Ladda, is in her fourth year with the Lions.

In the past two meetings between the teams, Harvard whipped the Lions 6-0 and 5-0.

Columbia, in two games this year, has been defeated 2-0 by Cornell and 3-1 by St. John's.

Harvard boasts a talented team that could challenge for the Ivy title.

Catch the drift?

Despite the odds, the Lions are eagerly anticipating today's matchup with the Crimson.

"You won't be seeing a blowout like the last two games. It's gonna be tough," Ladda warned. "Our team is playing well. They're looking forward to the challenge."

While the Lions can only hope for an upset, the Crimson squad has a definite goal for this game.

"We want to play 90 minutes of intense soccer," Co-Captain Amy Weinstein said. "That has been our problem, especially against UNH."

"If we can play hard for 90 minutes, we should win the game," Weinstein said.

Co-Captain Robin Johnston, who scored a record four goals against Columbia the last time the two teams played, hinted at the Crimson game plan.

"We're going to return to our basic, uptempo game," Johnston said. "Against UNH, we got too fancy, and lost control. That won't happen this time."

"This is Ivy League play now," the senior forward said. "These games are very important. As far as we're concerned, our first two games were warmups."

Ladda has assembled a wellbalanced, team-oriented squad for the Crimson to contend with.

In goal, the Lions feature sophomore Rachel Barney. Barney, who saw limited playing time last year, has won the starting job this year and is performing solidly in the net.

Against Cornell, Barney recorded an amazing 25 saves. In the 3-1 loss to St. John's, she notched seven.

"[Columbia's] new goalie may cause a problem for us this year," Weinstein said. "In the past, we scored on easy shots. That may not be the case this year."

The Lions' defense is led by senior Joan Campion and junior Julie Davidson.

"We have a lot of depth in our backfield. Joan and Julie will be starting, but there was a lot of competition for those spots," Ladda said.

The Columbia defense will have to deal with the overwhelming power of the Crimson offense, which includes Laurie Uustal, Jen Minkus and Johnston, a proven Lion-killer.

These three lead a Crimson attack that has already produced more goals (six) than the Lions are on pace to score all season.

Senior Mindy Gesmonde anchors the Columbia midfield, along with offensive middie Missy McGoogan. McGoogan scored Columbia's only goal of the season, unassisted against St. John's.

"We play a possession game," Ladda said. "Our offense is not an explosive one."

Explosive or not, the Lions' offense should be stonewalled by the Crimson defense. Senior back Erin Matias has dominated opposing forwards, while undefeated sophomore goalie Brooke Donahoe has recorded several superb saves.

The Crimson is looking forward to this matchup even more than the Lions are.

"I think we're ready to play," said Johnston. "We're confident."