This past week, Colgate’s field hockey team played tough games against the Boston University Terriers on September 29 and the Rider University Broncs on October 1. Both games were played at home at Tyler’s Field. Despite the Raiders’ best efforts they ultimately fell to the Terriers 5-1 on Friday and to the Broncs 2-0 on Sunday.  

The nationally-ranked Boston University Terriers began the game strong against the Raiders, establishing a 1-0 lead in the first 10 minutes of the first half. Colgate battled with the Terriers for the remainder of the half but BU extended their lead to 2-0 with just 1:21 left before halftime. 

“We came out a little bit flat and let BU set the tempo of the game. We need to come out with more confidence right from the start. At halftime, we made some changes and came out a much more aggressive and confident team that led to our goal,” head coach April Cornell said of the team’s slow start. 

The Terriers quickly widened their lead to 4-0 in the second half by scoring two goals in the first 13 minutes of the period. Colgate responded to be BU’s strong offensive efforts  with a goal of their own scored by senior midfielder and captain Caroline Schaefer. Boston University added one more goal in the remaining minutes of the half, winning the game 5-1.

“Caroline Schaefer has been working so hard all season. She’s been such an amazing leader and it’s great to see her score and contribute on the attack. She works so hard on organizing, communicating and leading our team that scoring gives her another area that she has really stepped up for us,” Cornell said.

Colgate faced a tough defense once again in their game against Rider University the following Sunday. Rider took a 1-0 lead in just over 13 minutes into the first half. The Raiders nearly tied the game in the second half with a penalty corner by first-year midfielder Katie Anderson but the Broncs’ goalie was able to make a narrow save. 

The Raiders continued to battle the Broncs’ defense for the rest of the game but were unable to break through. The Broncs scored one more goal in the second half, winning the game 2-0.

Despite Colgate’s losses this past week, there were Raider highlights in the games as well. In the game against Boston University sophomore midfielder Maggie Lake recorded her first career assist and point on Schaefer’s goal. Additionally, Schaefer’s goal was Colgate’s first against Boston University since the 2014 season. 

Senior goalie Maria Krull recorded six saves in the game against BU and nine in the game against Rider to give her a total of 95 saves this season. As a result, Krull is tied for first in the Patriot League with Holy Cross’ Marcia LaPlante with 95 saves and a .772 save percentage.

Following the disappointing losses, Colgate’s record moved to 2-9 overall, while they dropped to 0-3 in Patriot League play.

The Raiders will travel for the last time this season when they face the Bucknell Bison this coming Saturday before closing out the regular season with a five-game homestand. The game will take place on October 7 at 11 a.m. in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. The Raiders will be looking to add one more to the win column in this upcoming game.

Contact Kendall Robinson at [email protected].