The Women’s soccer team began its Patriot League campaign with a 1-0 home loss against American on October 7th. The match began evenly with each team getting off a few long shots. Scoring opportunities were rare, as each team tried to take control of midfield. American managed to get a goal when Friederike Engel received the ball just inside the box after a scramble and shot it past senior goalkeeper Brittany Pearsall. Both squads continued to fight hard and the Raiders were close to scoring on a few occasions. The best opportunity was courtesy of senior Franny Iacuzzi, who found herself one-on-one with American goalie Kelsey Wiggins in the 36th minute. However, her shot was thwarted by an Eagle defender who came to help at the last possible second.

The second half started with Colgate in control. The Raiders were determined to reverse the score and pushed forward in the opening minutes, but their efforts did not bring any results. Several shots by sophomores Jillian Arnault and Jessica Bitsack were Colgate’s best scoring opportunities. The match ended with a loss for the Raiders.

Five days later, Colgate would lose its second straight 1-0 match, this time at Army. The match could have gone either way, but the first half was mainly controlled by Army. Senior goalkeeper Carly Sousa made a few fantastic saves. Her most impressive stop on the night was a save against a 15-yard shot from Jenna Roberts.

In the second half, Army continued to push forward and made a few decent attempts on goal before the Black Knights finally got what they were looking for when Pia White managed to find Roberts, who had no trouble converting on a ten-yard shot in the 53rd minute. Colgate did not give up after this goal, pressing Army and attempting several shots that were ultimately rejected. Junior Josie Johnson came close in the 88th minute, but her shot went just wide.

The third Patriot League match of the season finally brought a much-needed confidence booster for the Raiders. Colgate beat Holy Cross 2-1 in overtime, raising their morale as well as its chances of making the Patriot League tournament. It was also Head Coach Kathy Brawn’s 200th career win. Colgate took control early in the game, trying to find the net early in the match. Despite outshooting Holy Cross by a wide margin in the first thirty minutes of the half, Colgate was unable to find the net until the 31st minute, when sophomore defender Christine Walker scored her second goal of the season after receiving a fine cross from Iacuzzi. Colgate continued to pepper the net with multiple shots, accruing 12 in the first half, but it could not score any more goals before the intermission.

Colgate kept its 1-0 lead until the 69th minute, when Holy Cross’ Casey Boland evened the score after Sousa blocked a Lauren Wright shot. Although both teams failed to score for the duration of regulation, it was inevitable that Colgate would find the net, as the Raiders managed to get off an astounding 17 shots in regulation. After a scoreless first overtime, the two teams went to a second and final overtime period looking to get three points. With just over four minutes left in the second overtime, Arnault collected a cleared ball 20-yards from the goal line and made a shot that was deflected by a defender and went in the unprotected left corner, giving the Raiders the 2-1 victory. Colgate had a remarkable 23 shots on the day and eight shots on goal.

On Saturday, Colgate will host second-place Bucknell at 7 p.m. It should be a tough test for the Raiders and will have clear implications on their Patriot League standing.