This past week, the Colgate men’s soccer team played both Syracuse and Army, two extremely tough teams. Unfortunately, Colgate wasn’t able come out on top in either of the games. Though the Raiders lost both games 0-2, the score wasn’t telling of how close the games actually were. Last year Colgate also lost to the nationally ranked Syracuse and Army in the regular season but was able to beat the Black Knights in the Patriot League Finals. On Wednesday against Syracuse, the Colgate fans came out in full force, creating an amazing atmosphere for the men.

Though Syracuse is ranked 11th in the nation, the Colgate men came out with a positive mindset and were eager to showcase their skills. The game was scoreless until the ninth minute of the first half, when Syracuse struck and took a 1-0 lead. 

Despite the late goal, Senior goalkeeper Peter Tappenden had a stellar performance against the visiting team, saving six goals.Tappenden’s key saves came in the 30th and 36th minutes of the game, but it wasn’t enough. Syracuse’s determination helped them to find the back of the net in the 37th minute. Senior midfielder Jared Stroud had another strong performance with an attempted shot on goal in the 69th minute but it sailed over the goal post.

“We played well and were able to keep possession of the ball, we are just struggling to score.  We need to try to get on the board earlier in order to gain the momentum of the game,” junior defender Aram Ouligan said.

“We need to clean up mistakes in the back and step up our offensive output,” Tappenden said following Wednesday’s loss as the team geared up to take on the Lehigh Mountain Hawks. 

Last year Colgate was able to defeat Army in the Patriot League finals but unfortunately were unable to wrangle a similar outcome on Friday, falling 2-0. Tappenden had another solid game for the Raiders, making four key saves. Unfortunately in the 11th minute the Black Knights found the back of the net to increase the score to 1-0.  Minutes later, the Raiders had three corner kicks where they had the opportunity to level the score but were ultimately unable to convert. Other highlights included Ouligan’s team-high of two shots, though the Black Knights maintained an 11-5 shot advantage over the Raiders.

In the second half, Army scored another goal increasing the score to 2-0.  Though the Raiders continued to put pressure on the Black Knights once again they were unable to get on the board. The loss moved Colgate’s overall record to 3-7, while their league record moved to 0-2. Army’s record improved to 7-3, and their Patriot League record moved to 1-1.

“We are just going to learn from the mistakes and fine tune some things in order to come back stronger and beat Lehigh.  We aren’t worried about these two losses and we all believe we will make a repeat of last year and win the Patriot League Championships,” junior forward Abdel Sanogo said. 

The Raiders returned on Wednesday night for a Patriot League game at home against Lehigh, and are now preparing to hit the road for a quick turnaround for another Patriot League contest against American University in Washington, D.C. on Saturday afternoon.

Contact Lauren Hyland at lhyland@colgate.edu.