NEW YORK - The Columbia women's soccer team (0-2) is set to play its first two home contests of the 2012 season this weekend, hosting Sacred Heart (2-3) Friday and St. John's (2-3) Sunday. Both matches will begin at 7 p.m. at the Columbia Soccer Stadium.

The Lions opened the season over Labor Day weekend with matches against George Washington and Georgetown in Washington, D.C. In the season opener, Columbia played well throughout the match, but George Washington used a goal in the 63rd minute to capture the victory.

Two days later, Georgetown tallied three goals, while keeping the Lions off the scoreboard to move to 6-0 on the year, which earned them the 23rd ranking in the Sept. 4 NSCAA Coaches poll.

Sophomore Grace Redmon has started both games in net for Columbia, accumulating seven saves this season.  Classmate Alexa Yow paces the Lions on the offensive end with three shots, while freshman Elly McGuffog has recorded two. Liz Crowe, who has one shot on goal through the first two games, is the lone position player on the Columbia roster that has played all 180 minutes.

Sacred Heart, a member of the Northeast Conference, enters Friday's game with a 2-3 overall record. The Pioneers are coming off a 3-0 defeat at Yale Tuesday, Sept. 4. The loss snapped a two-match win streak for Sacred Heart, having previously defeated Lafayette and Manhattan at home, each by a score of 2-1.

Jennifer Mulvey leads the Pioneers with three goals on seven shots, while fellow senior Ashley Moore has two tallies on 14 shots. In goal, Sydney Judkins and Talia Schwartz have each played 225 minutes with Schwartz edging Judkins in saves, 13-12.

St. John's currently holds a 2-3 record, but faces Fordham Friday evening before Sunday's meeting with Columbia. After opening the season with a 2-0 downing of George Mason, the Red Storm have lost three of four matches. St. John's topped Air Force, 2-1, in double overtime Aug. 24, but have been shutout by Penn State, Stony Brook and Brown.

Emily Cubbage and Morgan Ritter pace the Red Storm with three points apiece. Three student-athletes have seen time in goal for St. John's, with Ellen Conway playing the most minutes, registering 16 saves and seven goals allowed.

Fans can chat with gocolumbialions.com during Friday's game against Sacred Heart below.