On Saturday, April 13, the Colgate Men’s Lacrosse team traveled to Worcester, Massachusetts, to face the Holy Cross Crusaders. This highly anticipated matchup would determine Colgate’s post-season fate. Entering the competition, the Raiders had a 3-7 overall record, with a 1-4 record in conference. If the Raiders were to leave the competition with a win, they would remain in contention for a spot in the Patriot League playoffs.

The Raiders suffered two penalties in the first quarter, during which the Crusaders scored making the score 2-0. The Crusaders notched two more goals in the second quarter to make the score 4-0 with seven minutes remaining in the half. It was not until there were four minutes remaining that senior attacker Sam Cleveland scored an unassisted goal to put the Raiders on the board.

Although the Crusaders scored the first goal of the second half, contributing to their 5-1 lead, the Raiders quickly responded. Senior midfielder Matt Donovan scored a goal assisted by Cleveland. Minutes later, senior midfielder Duncan Hoskinson made the score 5-3 with a goal assisted by junior midfielder Griffin Brown.

While the Raiders matched Holy Cross’s intensity in the third quarter, the Crusaders pulled away in the fourth, outscoring them 5-2. It wasn’t until four minutes remained in the game that the Raiders scored their two final goals. The final score was 11-5. The loss advanced the Raiders’ record to 3-8 overall, and 1-5 in conference, eliminating their chance to secure a playoff bid. The Crusaders left the competition 6-5 overall, and 3-3 in conference.

“I’m so proud of our seniors for starting to develop the culture that’s going to give us the chance to win. We didn’t have it this year, and I’m sorry to them and their families that we couldn’t give ourselves a chance to make a run in the tournament.” Head Coach Matt Karweck said.

The Raiders have two final games this season. They will play at home against Lafayette on Saturday, April 20. During the game, they will honor their seniors in their final home game of the year. The team will then travel to Bucknell University to face the Bison on Friday, April 26.

“Now for the next two weeks, we have a choice. We can go back to the way it was, or we are the team that we talk about being every day, by challenging ourselves to go out of the way to accomplish a particular task, whatever it may be. But the challenge for them is to lead over the next weeks when there is no carrot, no incentive. When there’s no incentive and no carrot, the true character of who you are comes out, and that’s our challenge in the next two weeks,” Karweck said.

Be sure to support the Raiders for their Senior Day game against Lafayette on Saturday, April 20, at 1 p.m. at Andy Kerr Stadium.

Contact Isabel Van Wie at [email protected].