Lions Beat Yale, Take Brown to the Final Minute!

Dear Columbia Men’s Lacrosse alumni and friends,

Thank you again for your support of our team! Your Lions took the field last Saturday and came within minutes of defending the Founders’ Cup!  The semifinals opened with a deluge of Light Blue shots on the Yale net with most of those finding their way past the Bulldog goaltender.  Midfielder Jonny Bradbury '26 got the Lions going with two goals in the first three minutes and the Lions held more than three-quarters of the possession in a first half that ended with the Lions ahead 8-0. After Yale scored to open the second half the rout resumed with attackmen Colin Servoss ‘25 and Dakota Swap ‘26 helping to pile seven more goals on Yale.  When it was over the Lions avenged a midseason loss to Yale with a 15-2 victory that put them in the finals.

The second semifinal then unfolded with a tight contest between Brown and Dartmouth in which neither team led by more than two goals.  The Big Green forced overtime with a goal as time expired in the second half that tied the game at 5.  Brown goaltender Nate Meyer then made a save early in overtime that set up the winning possession for the Bears, who ended up winning the game 6-5 on a goal in the second minute of overtime. Dartmouth would rebound to edge Yale 4-3 for third place. Meyer would become a big factor later.

The Lions then took the field against the Bears, ranked 8th in the National College Lacrosse League Division 2 poll entering last weekend, in a thrilling back-and-forth contest.  After Brown scored the opening goal the Lions would possess the ball for most of the middle stretch of the first half, setting up Bradbury and midfielder Ronan Robinson ‘28 for a series of goals that built a 4-2 lead with four minutes to play in the first half.  Goaltender Meyer then got into a groove, stopping nine consecutive Lions shots over the rest of the first half and the first 20 minutes of the second half.  Meyer’s saves and sustained possession by the Brown attack led to a 5-0 Bears run that put Brown up 7-4 with 5 minutes remaining.  

The Lions continued to fight and broke through with two goals in less than a minute to get back within one with just under three minutes left.  After a bid to tie the game sailed just wide of Meyer’s left post Brown gained possession and sealed the win with a goal with a minute left, sending the 2025 Founders’ Cup to Providence.

Your Lions conclude the season with a 5-4 record and second-place finishes in both the Heritage Trophy and the Founders’ Cup!  These games mark the Lions’ last in a four-year run as a non-league affiliated club before they step up into collegiate club lacrosse’s best league, the Men’s Collegiate Lacrosse Association (MCLA) in 2026!  Photos and video from all 2025 games have been and will continue to be posted on our Instagram account: www.instagram.com/makeit8lax . We thank photographer Brandon Hill for the photos shown here and many more that are on Instagram!

To support the team through a donation to Make It 8 anytime click here: Make It 8 2025 Season Campaign.  We will be back with a recap of tonight’s Third Annual Men’s Lacrosse Banquet and Awards Dinner in a few days! We thank you for your support and hope you will join us as we continue to work toward Making It 8 in Ivy men’s lacrosse!

Sincerely,

The Make It 8 Board

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