Men's soccer takes on Seton Hall, hopes to end five-game winless streak

The Columbia men’s soccer team (3-4-1) travels to New Jersey today to take on Seton Hall (3-3-2). Both teams enter the game on the back of a winless streak—the Light Blue has failed to win any of its past five games, and the Pirates are winless in three.

The Pirates, who have triumphed against Army, Boston University, and Saint Peter’s this season, enter the clash on the back of a 2-1 defeat to DePaul. Seton Hall only managed two shots in the first period and, as a result, was outshot, 21-11, for the entire game. Before the loss, the Pirates put on a gutsy display to fight to a goalless draw with No. 1 Maryland. However, their defense was less solid in the matchup that preceded the clash against the top-ranked team, and they were crushed 3-0 by Monmouth. The Seton Hall offense is led by sophomore forward Max Garcia, who has scored four goals this season, and junior midfielder Adriano Gabriele, who has scored twice.

The Lions’ last fixture saw them fall 1-0 to Monmouth at Columbia Soccer Stadium. The Light Blue conceded a goal in the first half of the match, but put in a much-improved second-half display which saw it lead the shot count 9-2. Nevertheless, the Lions could not find a way to get on the scoreboard. Columbia was without defenders senior Nick Faber and junior Brendan O’Hearn due to injury, but the game marked the return of sophomore left-back David Westlake and junior winger Nick Scott, who both came off the bench. Rookie Kofi Agyapong led the Lions attack with three shots, including a bending free-kick that Monmouth goalkeeper had to dive full-stretch to save.

Several members of the Columbia squad are yet to reach the heights they set individually last season, and memories of the game against the Pirates may act as a catalyst for finding their form before Ivy play begins this weekend. Sophomores David Najem and Henning Sauerbier had impressive displays against Seton Hall last year, as both found the back of the net in the 3-2 win for the Lions. Senior captain Mike Mazzullo was the other scorer for Columbia, which came from 2-1 down to take the win. Stephen Rose and Andrew Welker were on target for the Pirates last time around, but both have graduated since then.

Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. this evening in South Orange, N.J.