Men’s Lax Defeats Lafayette; Prepares for Showdown with Bucknell

The men’s lacrosse team recorded its school-record eighth consecutive win when the Raiders knocked off the Lafayette Leopards 12-10 last Saturday at Rappolt Field. The win kept the Raiders undefeated in the Patriot League at 5-0 heading into Saturday’s showdown with No. 18/20 Bucknell, the only other remaining undefeated team in the Patriot League. The winner will have the right to host the Patriot League Tournament from April 24 to 26.

Senior attackmen Kevin Colleluori and Brandon Corp led the charge for the Raiders against Lafayette, as Colleluori had four points on three goals and an assist and Corp tallied three points on a goal and two assists. Colleluori went over the 40-point mark in the game for the second consecutive season, and his 32 goals this season are the sixth most in the nation. He was also named the Patriot League Player of the Week for his efforts.

For Corp, it was another multi-point outing and his sixth straight game with at least three points. He extended his overall point-scoring streak to 45 games en route to being named a finalist for the Tewaaraton Trophy, given annually to the best male and female player in college lacrosse. He now has 30 goals and 23 assists this season. Junior defenseman Michael Crown tallied two goals in the game as well, his first and second career goals.

“Both goals were pretty much the same,” Crown said, “I was up near midfield and received a 50-yard outlet pass from [junior goalie] Tim [Harrington], took it up the field, and shot it because the Lafayette defenders never slid to me. They usually expect a pole to give up the ball on a fast break, but I kept it and was fortunate enough to bury both shots.”

Crown tallied the first goal of the game less than 30 seconds into the first period to give the Raiders an early lead. The Raiders and Leopards would trade goals for the rest of the first and second periods, but Lafayette got a goal from senior attackman Brett Djaha in the closing minute of the second period to take a 7-6 halftime lead.

Junior attackman Zach Craumer and Corp provided all of the offense for the Raiders in the third quarter. Craumer tied the game right out of the gate with a goal less than a minute into the third, followed by a goal from Corp several minutes later to give the Raiders a 8-7 lead. After Lafayette tied up the game, Craumer took a feed from Corp and buried it in the net on man-up. The goal gave Colgate a lead that they would not surrender for the rest of the contest.

The Raiders kept the momentum on their side, pushing the lead to three after goals from Crown and Colleluori. The three-goal advantage was the largest lead either team enjoyed on the day as the game was very even throughout. Lafayette mounted a rally late as they scored two goals within a minute to shrink the Colgate lead to just one with two minutes left to play. Another goal from Colleluori with 23 seconds remaining, however, preserved the lead for the Raiders and ensured the 12-10 victory.

“We played pretty sluggish from the beginning, and we didn’t play to our fullest as we started slow and ended slow, but thankfully it was enough for us to get a win,” Crown said.

This Saturday the Raiders take on the Bucknell Bison at 1 p.m. at Andy Kerr Stadium in their biggest game of the year.

“We’ve played terrible the last two games, and Bucknell has had us circled on their schedule all season because we have beaten them the last three years, including two times the last two seasons,” Crown said.

It appears Colgate will be without junior first-line midfielder Ian Murphy for the third game in a row as he is still nursing a high ankle sprain.