The Women’s Lacrosse team advanced to 3-2 in the Patriot League after an impressive second-half run in a win over the Lehigh Mountain Hawks on Saturday, April 6. While Lehigh put up a tough battle in the first half, ending in a 3-3 tie, Colgate was able to dominate during the second half, ending the game 16-4. The Raiders ended Lehigh’s hopes of making postseason play, also ruining their three- year streak of being ranked as the third seed in the league.

Lehigh’s methodical offense was able to start the contest with a 2-0 lead over the Colgate. The Raiders’ first goal of the game did not come until just 7:23 remained in the first half when sophomore midfielder Annelise Kotz netted a goal off an assist from senior attacker Tara Atkinson. Sophomore attacker Kyra Weiner and first-year mid- fielder Jacklyn Hooey both added points for the Raiders, bringing the score to 3-2. Lehigh’s leading point scorer, sophomore midfielder Sandra Dickery, scored unassisted to end the first half tied.

Despite the close match in the beginning of the game, the Raiders were able to gain momentum early in the second half. Junior attacker Lindsay West scored the first three goals of the second half. Eight minutes in, Lehigh was able to capitalize on an opportunity to put away their only goal for the rest of the game. Kotz and junior midfielder Noelle Patterson were both able to score off of assists from Weiner. Atkinson also tallied three more assists in the second half, feeding Hooey and sophomore attacker Danielle Van Calcar three times. First-year midfielder Cece Telesco tallied her first career goal while senior Kara Marzo scored the final goal of the game, her first of the season and the second of her career.

Atkinson finished the day with six assists and now leads the team with 35 points on the season. Van Calcar also had an impressive performance with three goals and two assists, her fifth multi goal contest of the season. West finished with four goals and checked off her third hat trick of the season.

The Colgate defense also had a strong game and held a team to under five goals for the first time this season. The Raiders only let up one goal in the second half, keeping the Mountain Hawks scoreless for 23 minutes. Junior goalkeeper Samantha Croston saved seven of Lehigh’s shots for the day.

“We knew this game was going to be a big one and we worked so hard this week preparing for Lehigh. We were able to come up with some great stops on defense and then we capitalized on the offense.” Atkinson said of the teams play.