The Colgate women’s lacrosse team took on Army West Point and Loyola University this past week, two tough teams in the league, but were unable to capture victories despite playing two hard-fought games.

On Wednesday, April 18, the Raiders traveled to West Point, New York, to take on Army West Point at Michie Stadium. The Raiders’ offense came out strong for the team on Wednesday night as senior captain and midfielder Haley O’Hanlon buried the game’s first goal just 4:13 into the first half to give Colgate an early 1-0 lead. The Army Black Knights retaliated with six straight goals to claim a 6-1 lead with 14:48 left in the half. The Raiders attempted to mount a comeback late in the first half as they scored three goals to cut the Knights’ lead to 6-4 as the half came to a close. The Knights’ came out strong in the second half tallying a quick three goals to open the half. However, the Raiders promptly responded with a trio of goals, including two from sophomore attack player Payton Gabriel, to cut Army’s lead to 9-7 with 13:59 remaining in the game. Army scored six of the final seven goals, defeating the Raiders 15-8. Notably, O’Hanlon tied her career-high for points in a season with 51 on Wednesday evening despite falling to the Army West Point Black Knights. Additionally, Gabriel and first-year midfielder Natalie Gwynn led the Raiders with a pair of goals each and first-year attack player Danielle Van Calcar paced the team with three points. O’Hanlon tallied a pair of points on a goal and an assist, while senior attack player Kristen Brigagliano and senior midfielder Natalie Washuta also buried goals for the Raiders.

On Saturday, April 21, the Raiders hosted the Loyola Greyhounds at Beyer-Small ’76 Field for their second tough match of the week. O’Hanlon struck first with the game’s opening goal 3:24 into the first half before Loyola scored six consecutive goals in a span of 13:18 to take a sturdy lead of 6-1. The Raiders responded by scoring three goals in a single minute, including two within 23 seconds to pull within two goals of the Greyhounds, bringing the score to 7-5. Loyola closed the first half by scoring four of the final five goals. The Greyhounds took control in the second half, outscoring Colgate 9-2. However, the Raiders did have many notable plays throughout the game. Junior attack player Tara Atkinson tied her career-high with four goals on Saturday afternoon, netting three of them in the first half to complete a hat trick before adding her fourth in the early stages of the second half. Additionally, sophomore goalkeeper Samantha Croston faced a barrage of shots in the net and tied her career-high with 15 saves despite the tough loss. Van Calcar was outstanding for the Raiders, snagging eight draw controls and scoring once, while O’Hanlon reached 40 goals this season with a pair of tallies in Saturday’s game. Even though Colgate ultimately lost to the Greyhounds 20-8, they had many remarkable plays with multiple individuals standing out.

“A lot will be on us and what we bring to the table. We’ll need to make sure we stick to our game plan but also sticking to what Colgate needs to do in running our offense and following our matchups just like this week. We have to make sure we give our entire heart and hustle, and leave everything on the line,” head coach Heather Young said.

 After this week, the Raiders’ overall record shifted to 9-6. They now move forward to close out the regular season next Saturday, April 28, as they host the Lafayette Leopards at Beyer-Small ’76 Field at 1 p.m.

Contact Dana Monz at dmonz@colgate.edu