On Sunday, the men’s soccer team (7-7-1, 2-4-0 Ivy) faced off against the Columbia Lions (1-11-1, 1-4-1 Ivy) in New York City. Ninety minutes and three hard-earned goals later, the Bears walked off the field with a victory under their belts.
“The dynamic was great between our whole squad,” Head Coach Chase Wileman wrote in an email to The Herald. “We showed a great fight.”
The first half of the game was action-packed from the kickoff, with Columbia’s Adrien Wheaton-Schopp scoring a goal in the first two minutes. Brown was given a shot at redemption within the next four minutes after an offside from Columbia gave them a free kick but did not score.
Shortly after the 18-minute mark, the Bears evened the score with a goal from midfielder and defender Mads Stistrup Petersen ’26. Following a throw-in from forward Greyson Mitchell ’26, Petersen headed the ball past the goalkeeper and directly into the net.
Less than three minutes later, the Bears took the lead with another goal from Mitchell, the first in his collegiate career.
The first half of the game finished without any additional goals from either team, though Brown goalkeeper Henrik Weiper ’26 saved several direct shots. Halftime was called with Bruno up 2-1.
“After conceding a goal early, we showed great resilience to stay calm, respond and play our game,” Wileman wrote.
The second half took a slower pace, with both teams receiving yellow cards but neither side scoring in the first 20 minutes of the half. Forward Lorenzo Amaral ’27 took a direct shot on goal around the 65-minute mark, but missed by several feet.
“I knew that we needed a third goal to really seal the game off,” Amaral wrote in a message to The Herald.
Just a few minutes later, Amaral found a chance to score after his penalty kick was rebounded back to him. Seizing the opportunity, Amaral launched the ball into the net, bringing the Bears to a 3-1 lead.
“I was really happy to be able to get our team the penalty for the third goal,” Amaral wrote. When the penalty was saved, “I wasn’t happy with it but the ball came back out to me and I was able to put it away,” he added.
Wileman wrote that he feels “very proud of the team” and their ability to maintain a strong mentality throughout all 90 minutes of the game.
With Bruno’s last game of the regular season this Saturday, Wileman said “the key now is to stay humble, not get complacent and prepare well.” The faceoff will be crucial in determining whether Brown will progress to postseason play.
“We’re just gonna keep putting in the work in the training ground and take each day moment by moment,” Amaral wrote. “It’s important that we put our full focus on this weekend against Yale, and whatever comes next we will train hard to prepare ourselves fully for what’s to come.”
This Saturday at 7 p.m., the Bears will face Yale at home with a livestream on ESPN+.
