The rollercoaster season for the Women’s Lacrosse team continued against Lehigh in Bethlehem last Friday. Entering the game with a 4-8 overall record, but 1-1 in the Patriot League, a win was crucial to maintain serious hope of a postseason run.

Riding a two-game winning streak, their longest one of the season, the Raiders looked poised to make it three straight and thus remain only a game behind Holy Cross at the top of the Patriot League standings. Lehigh also entered the game with a 1-1 league record and 5-6 overall.

The first half was filled with goals from both squads. Colgate jumped out to an early 3-0 lead, but the Mountain Hawks responded, scoring three of the next four goals to make the score 4-3. The two evenly matched teams traded goals throughout the remainder of the first half, entering halftime with the score knotted at eight.

The second half, however, began ominously for the Raiders. Lehigh scored the first six goals of the half to break open the game. Down six in the second half on the road, perhaps with their season on the line, the Raiders were not willing to concede.

Colgate went on a run of its own down the stretch, scoring four unanswered goals over a 22 minute stretch, to make the score 15-14 with under three minutes remaining in regulation.

Their run, however, ended there, as the Raiders failed to net the crucial game-tying goal. The Mountain Hawks added an insurance goal with under a minute to play to escape with the 16-14 victory.

Senior Kate Metevia had been very optimistic entering the game, claiming that the Raiders were finally playing “Colgate Lacrosse.” The offensive explosion that began in the second half comeback against Bucknell certainly continued in the Lehigh game, but the defense was unable to keep the ball out of the net. The sixteen goals allowed tied the most allowed by Colgate this season.

Although the final score was a disappointment, a number of Raiders played very well against Lehigh. First-year Brie Moran had a career-high four goals, as did sophomore Ashley Didio. Junior Lindsay Pittard added a hat trick, while senior Tara Casey netted two goals. Junior Jessica Van der Meulen also found the back of the net.

After this tough defeat, the Raiders will look to rebound against Syracuse, the 10th-ranked team in the nation, and Lafayette, a team still looking for its first victory of the season. The Lafayette game is on Tyler’s Field on Saturday at noon.