Donawa Lifts Dartmouth Past Columbia in New York, 1-0

Saturday, October 22

New York, N.Y.

7:30 PM

Dartmouth College

Columbia

Dartmouth Begins Homestand Against UMass Lowell

Donawa Lifts Dartmouth Past Columbia in New York, 1-0

10/22/2016 9:28:00 PM | Men's Soccer

By: Dartmouth

NEW YORK, N.Y. – Behind Justin Donawa's goal in the 71st minute, the Dartmouth men's soccer team defeated Columbia, 1-0, in New York on Saturday night.

The victory improves the Big Green to 5-3-5 overall, 3-0-1 in Ivy League play, while the Lions drop to 8-3-1, 2-1-1 in conference play.

After Harvard defeated Princeton earlier in the day, the Big Green needed an important victory against Columbia to remain atop the Ancient Eight standings as the end of the regular season draws near.

"Firstly credit to Columbia they are an excellent team, certainly an NCAA caliber team,” Dartmouth head coach Chad Riley said. "I thought it was a great game overall and I am very proud of the team. We always knew this was going to be a strong test and I am very pleased with our performance especially in the second half. It was a true team effort."

In the first half, the Big Green did a decent job possessing the ball and dictating the pace of play. Dartmouth had a solid look on net in the 27th minute after a corner kick, but the rebound shot went high. Later in the half, Big Green senior goalkeeper, James Hickok made a key diving stop on the Lion's Dylan Mott to keep it a scoreless game.

After halftime the team's returned to the field to battle for the first score of the night. In the 60th minute, Columbia had a chance to score on an Arthur Bosua header, but his shot went wide of the net.

Dartmouth's persistent effort on offense finally paid off 10 minutes later. Donawa scored his third goal of the season when he gathered a loose ball on the right and finished by the near post for the important first score.

For the final 20 minutes, the Big Green displayed lockdown defense, allowing just two shots that were either blocked or off target. The Lions held an 11-7 advantage in shots and a 2-1 edge in corners, but Dartmouth led where it mattered most on the scoreboard by the final whistle.

The Big Green return to action on Saturday, Oct. 29 when Dartmouth hosts Harvard at 4:30 p.m. The game can be seen live exclusively on the Ivy League Digital Network for subscribers.