After suffering consecutive one-goal losses to open the season, the women’s lacrosse team hoped to turn things around in the final six games of a seven-game road trip. Unfortunately, the Raiders lost another four in a row, including yet another one-goal defeat, to start a season full of expectations winless in six games.

Finally, on March 15th, Colgate was able to erase that big donut in the all-important win column with a convincing 18-10 victory against Vermont in Oregon (Yes, the Raiders traveled to the West Coast only to play against a New England school). The victory marked win number one at Colgate for new Head Coach Heather Bliss.

It was a game of winless teams, as Vermont, at 0-5, was also searching for its elusive first victory of the young season. It was a total team effort for the Raiders, as the eighteen goals were scored by nine different players.

Leading the way was junior Lindsay Pittard, who recorded a hat trick and two assists. Sophomore Ashley Didio added four goals of her own, while junior Jessica Van der Meulen had a hat trick. The other multiple goal scorers were senior Tara Casey and sophomore Molly Ortolano; each had a pair of tallies.

Earning her first collegiate win in goal was sophomore Sara Drexler, who stopped eleven of the twenty-one shots she faced.

Two days later, the Raiders had a more appropriate opponent in Oregon: The University of Oregon. The Ducks, however, proved to be mighty, as they recorded their first win over Colgate in school history.

Pittard, a former Oregon player who transferred to Colgate after one year on the West Coast, appeared very comfortable back in Eugene. She led the Raiders in scoring once again with two goals and three assists (that’s ten points in two games). Didio added another four points, this time with three goals and an assist, while Van der Meulen had another hat trick,

All of that scoring was not enough, however, as the Ducks downed Colgate 16-11.

“I really feel that our record does notillustrate the amount of talent we have on this team,” Van der Meulen said. “We have some moments of great plays, and now it is just a matter of putting them together for theentire sixty minutes.”

On Tuesday, the Raiders were finally able to put it together for the full game. After concluding its grueling seven game road trip, they finally returned to the friendly confines of Taylor field for a game against Marist. The Raiders showed no signs of their recent struggles as they looked impressive in the 11-8 victory.

The Patriot League season commences this Saturday as Colgate travels to Washington for a game against American at 1:00 p.m. With a non-conference record of 2-7, the squad hopes to turn it around in league play.

“As we come into the Patriot League, I believe that our efforts will certainly begin to show,” Van der Meulen continued. “Despite our current record, our team is ready to take the Patriot League by storm.”