The Raiders got little rest this fall break, facing off against Holy Cross on October 7th and Bucknell October 14th. With the season more than halfway over, the Raiders were looking to rally for a few good wins. However, despite their efforts, both games resulted in disappointing Raider losses.

Against Holy Cross, the Raiders were on their home turf. It took the teams nine minutes to put points of the board as Holy Cross’ Carolyn Connelly took a rebound off of a save by Colgate senior goalkeeper Jacque DeMarco. The initial shot was made by the Crusaders’ Susie Whelan, yielding an assist.

After fifteen minutes of deadlocked play, Holy Cross struck again. The goal came when Katie Rowlenson gently tapped a pass from Susie Whelan. This put the score at Holy Cross 2, Colgate 0.

Returning from the half time break, the Raider defense appeared nearly perfect. Holding off the Crusader offense for the remainder of the game, the Raider offense was placed in good field position multiple times, each ending with a save by Holy Cross goalkeeper, Erin Singleton. At the end of play, the score remained 2-0.

A week later the Raiders went to Lewisburg, Pennsylvania to face off against Bucknell. The games first goal came from Bucknell’s Trina Boyer 2:25 into the first. Nine minutes later, Boyer found the net yet again to make it a 2-0 lead for the Bison.

Colgate answered back two and a half minutes later with a quick goal by sophomore Laura Flisnik. This was followed nine minutes later by a break-away by junior Natali Plesniarski, and the Raiders’ second goal of the game.

“After being down 2-0 early in the game our team really needed something reassuring to prove that the game was still ours for the taking and not give up” Flisnik said. “The goal couldn’t have come at a better time.”

Bucknell remained instep however, sandwiching the half with two goals. Three seconds before the break, Megan Krebs scored. Five minutes after the half, Amanda Faust found the goal off of a penalty corner. This secured the 4-2 victory for the Bison and another Raider loss.

“Playing well consistently is something we as a team have struggled with the entire season” Flisnk said. “I am optimistic in ending the season on a positive note and winning the next four games to extend our season play.”

Colgate will continue with in-league play at Lafayette this weekend. They will re-take Tyler’s Field on Family Weekend Saturday versus Lehigh at 11:00 AM.