FAIRFIELD, Conn. -- Sophomore David Najem was dangerous on attack all evening long, and his goal in the 29th minute was enough to propel the Columbia men's soccer team to a 1-0 victory over Fairfield on Friday evening in the squad's season opener. Senior Zach Glubiak backlined a stellar Lions defense that limited the Stags to just six shots en route to a clean sheet.

Najem had a prime opportunity to give Columbia an early lead in the match's opening minutes, as he found himself with the ball in the box on the left side. The Clifton, N.J. native went far post with his bending shot, but Fairfield goalkeeper Michael O'Keefe made a diving stop to keep the match scoreless.

Columbia had a stranglehold on the match for much of the first half, and the pressure finally led to a goal with a little more than 15 minutes remaining in the period. Junior Francois Anderson started the goal-scoring play with a shot toward net from about 20 yards that was blocked.

The ball caromed right to Najem, who looked to the left but slyly slipped a shot to the right past a confused O'Keefe to give the Lions the lead.

Following the goal, Fairfield came back aggressively and put pressure on over the final five minutes of the period. But Columbia's defense held firm, and thwarted a pair of corner kicks in the final minute to go into halftime with the advantage.

The Stags continued their charge to begin the second half and earned a corner kick less than a minute into the stanza. The Lions were able to fend it off again, as they did on each of Fairfield's eight corners in the match.

In the 52nd minute, Najem nearly doubled the lead as his rocket shot from 25 yards screamed just high of the crossbar. On the match, the honorable mention All-Ivy League selection from a season ago led the team with four shots, three of which were on net.

Fairfield continued to try and beat the Lions with long balls over the top, and each time were denied by the backline of Ronnie Shaban, Nick Faber, Jesse Vella and Quentin Grigsby. When the ball did sneak past the foursome, as it did around the 60-minute mark, Glubiak was there to stop it.

The Lions had multiple opportunities to go ahead by more than a score, but O'Keefe made a trio of saves in the second half to keep his team within striking distance. Najem was put in on a beautiful cross from junior Will Stamatis down the left side, and had a shot that was stonewalled from about seven yards out in the 80th minute. Sophomore Henning Sauerbier also had a pair of chances on frame that were snuffed out by O'Keefe late in the second half.

In the end though, Columbia held firm defensively and denied any real chances in its final third down the stretch en route to its first season-opening victory since 2006. On the match, the Lions held a 13-6 advantage in shots, and put eight on frame to Fairfield's three.

The Lions will be back in action on Sunday, Sept. 4, as they host Sacred Heart at Columbia Soccer Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 3 p.m.

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