For the first time in the history of the program, the men’s lacrosse team won the regular season Patriot League title and will host the tournament, which begins this afternoon and continues throughout the weekend. In order to get home-field advantage, the Raiders had to defeat a tough Bucknell team in Lewisburg, PA.

Following last weekend’s victory, Colgate’s record stands at 5-1 in the Patriot League and a team-record of 11 wins and two losses overall. The team is tied atop the league with Navy, a team the Raiders already defeated this year. In addition, the Raiders are ranked in the top 20 in three different Division I lacrosse polls: 17th in the Inside Lacrosse Media Poll, 18th in the USILA Coaches’ Poll and 19th in the LaxPower Forum Poll. Head coach Jim Nagle was also named the U.S. Lacrosse Men’s Coach of the Week and senior Robert Trasolini was awarded the Patriot League Offensive Player of the Week.

In the game at Bucknell on Sunday, the Bison had an early 2-1 lead after the first quarter, extending the lead to 3-1 with a goal six minutes into the second period, before the Raiders took control of the game. As in nearly every other game, the Raiders went on a scoring run that shut the door on their opponents. In this case, sophomore Matt Lalli scored a goal with less than a minute to go in the half to cut the lead back to one goal, putting the score at 3-2 at halftime.

After the intermission, the Raiders fanned the spark that Lalli lit and torched the Bucknell defense. Colgate outscored the Bison 5-1 over the course of the third quarter and one minute into the fourth frame. Overall, the Raiders netted six goals in the second half to Bucknell’s three, making the final score 8-6 and clinching the Patriot League title.

In the scoring barrage, Trasolini scored twice to complete his three-goal hat-trick. Junior Brendan Hurley, first-years Will Planer and Brandon Corp, and the team’s leading goal-scorer, senior Brian Robinson, all reached the back of the net en route to the victory. For Bucknell, first-year Joe Mele also scored a hat-trick and added an assist, but could not help his team win.

Even though the Raiders claimed the top seed in the Patriot League Tournament, they will have to face an Army team in the first round that handed Colgate their only loss in Patriot League play. The Raiders will play at Tyler’s Field this afternoon at 4:00 p.m., followed by the game between Navy and Lehigh at 7:00 p.m. The championship game between the winners of the two semifinal games will be held on Sunday at noon.

The Raiders finished the season as the highest scoring team in the Patriot League with over 10 goals per game and were in the top three in almost every offensive category, while maintaining their defense around the league average. In addition, Colgate dominated their opponents at the face-off X, winning over 60 percent of their face-offs, thanks to junior Chris Eck who broke his own school record for most face-offs won in a season with 165. Eck also led the league in ground balls.

Lalli led the team with 37 points, followed by Hurley with 32, good for third and eighth in the league, respectively. Robinson’s team-leading 22 goals placed him at fourth in the league, but Lalli, Trasolini and Corp all netted at least 19 goals and were also in the top ten for goals. Corp’s 19 tallies as a first-year put him in good position for Patriot League Rookie of the Year, but Bucknell’s outstanding first-year Mele led the league with 26 goals.