Coming into the weekend, the men’s soccer team was tied with Columbia for sixth in the Ivy League standings, and Saturday night’s result reflected that balance.
The Bulldogs (3–10–2, 1–3–1 Ivy) and the Lions (5–7–2, 1–3–1 Ivy), battled to a scoreless double-overtime tie in the game.
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Bobby Thalman ’13 returned for the Bulldogs after being suspended for a game due to a red card. The sophomore gave the home team its second straight shutout and his third of the season as he was able to come up with seven saves in his comeback.
“This was a game that was defined by sporadic surges of offense that our defense did well keeping in check,” Thalman ’13.
The Lions had the best scoring opportunity of the game in the 69th minute. The Bulldogs came close to giving up a goal after a defensive mistake in their own box led to Columbia’s Bayo Adafin alone with the ball on the right. But the senior forward’s shot just missed the net as it hit off the post, giving Thalman and the Bulldogs a break.
“The game was certainly a 110-minute grind in which our team held strong to deny Columbia a goal,” Thalman said.
The Elis had a few chances of their own, the most promising of which came just six minutes later at 75:37. Hopes were raised when midfielder Scott Armbrust ’13 beat the Lion defense down the field and found himself alone with goalkeeper Alexander Aurrichio. But Yale couldn’t get what they were looking for as Aurrichio stepped forward and knocked away Armbrust’s shot.
“In the past few games our offense has definitely made some strides and shown some of the characteristics we knew we had in the beginning of the season,” defender Chris Dennen ’12 said.
Despite a 5-2 Lion shot advantage during the two ten-minute overtime periods, the Bulldogs had an opportunity once again to win it in the very last seconds of the game. The Elis saw an opportunity at the foot of captain and midfielder Andy Shorten ’11. The senior dribbled down the left side and sent a cross into the box, but just as the final seconds were winding down, a Columbia defenseman headed the cross out of the area.
“It was a pretty wide-open game, there were a lot of chances for both teams,” Shorten said. “Although it was 0-0, that’s kind of a deceptive result because it could have been a really high scoring game with all the chances we had.”
Thalman recorded seven saves to Aurrichio’s four as the Lions edged the Bulldogs in total shots on goal 17–14.
The Bulldogs hit the road one last time on Saturday when they travel to Providence to face Brown at 7 p.m.
Correction: November 3, 2010
An earlier version of this article mistakenly stated that the men’s soccer team’s game against Columbia was its last home game of the season. The Bulldogs’ last game at Reese Stadium will be against Princeton on Nov. 13.