It was a beautiful day out on Andy Kerr field last Saturday for the men’s lacrosse team’s Senior Day against the No. 18/20 ranked Bucknell Bison, but the result wasn’t as nice for the Raiders. Bucknell took the game, the regular season crown, and the right to host the Patriot League tournament with a convincing 19-11 victory. The loss snapped the Raiders eight-game win streak and ended their unblemished record in the Patriot League for the season. The loss was also the only loss for the Raiders at home this season.

It was the final time nine seniors would play in front of their hometown fans at Hamilton, New York , and most notably the team’s top three scorers in senior attackmen Brandon Corp and Kevin Colleluori and senior middie Nick Monastero. Those three also led the way for the Raiders, tallying eight of the team’s 11 goals and tacking on six assists. Colleluori had five points on four goals and an assist, Corp had five points as well on three goals and an assist, and Monastero had four points on a goal and three helpers.

“Bucknell played a great game both sides of the ball, but we had a tough game. We’re not going to point fingers at the defense because the offense could have done more,” Corp said. “They played their best and that’s why they won. They got fortunate goals and turnovers and were able to cash in.” For Corp his points scoring streak was extended to 46 games.

The game was loaded with offensive firepower from the start as Corp recorded his first goal un-assisted after beating his man from behind the cage and firing it into the goal. Junior attackman Zack Craumer was able to increase the Raider lead to two goals, but that would be the largest lead the Raiders would enjoy on the day. Bucknell would answer with two goals of their own midway through the quarter to tie the game up at 2, and the teams would trade goals for the rest of the quarter with the score being level at 4 when the quarter came to a close.

Kevin Colleluori recorded back-to-back goals early in the second to give the Raiders a 6-5 lead, but it would be the last time the Raiders led all day. Both goals were assisted by Nick Monastero, and on the second of the two Monastero threaded the needle to Colleluori on the crease, who put it in the wide-open net. After the goal the Bison went on a 12-2 run that spanned from the rest of the second to the early parts of the fourth quarter. During that span junior goalie Tim Harrington was pulled after he had an errant clear intercepted which resulted in Bucknell scoring on a wide-open goal. Freshman goalie Jared Madison replaced Harrington for the rest of the third, but he struggled in the pipes, only making one save on five shots. Harrington came back in to start the fourth quarter, and he played the rest of the game. It was a tough day for him as well. He had his worst game of the season, posting five saves on twenty shots. Bucknell was led by freshman attackman Charlie Streep, who had five goals, and senior attackman Joe Mele who had two goals and two assists.

Bucknell gets Army for its first-round matchup in the Patriot League tournament, who was able to make the tournament despite a 2-4 league record. The Black Knights only had one scenario to make it to the tournament, a Lafayette victory over Lehigh by only one goal, and that’s exactly what they got. Lafayette won 9-8 over Lehigh on Saturday. If Lehigh had won, they were in, and if Lafayette had won by two or more, they were in by the tiebreaker of goal differential. The Raiders get a tough match-up against No. 11/13 Navy in their semifinal game to be played at Bucknell on Friday. If they win, the final is at 3 p.m. on Sunday.

“We still have the trophy to showcase, we are the team to beat, and there is no reason why we can’t win, as we have beaten Navy, and then take it to Bucknell and retain the title,” Corp said.