Last Thursday, the women’s soccer team upset the Syracuse University Orange 1-0. This was a momentous event for the Lady Raiders, as Syracuse is an extremely strong team and a member of  the Power Five Conference. The Orange, a foe the Raiders face every year, has overpowered Colgate often in the past; with this win the women’s soccer team achieves its first on-the-road win against Syracuse since 2006. 

On Friday, the men’s soccer team hosted its Down Syndrome Awareness Game, where they not only raised over $1,500, but also upset the Oregon State University Beavers. The filled bleachers helped motivate the team to capture its first-ever victory against a Pac-12 team. The Pac-12 Conference is known far and wide as the conference with the strongest talent and the most highly decorated collection of championship-caliber teams. 

“The large crowd played a huge role in the Oregon game, giving us a boost in the tough stages of the game,” junior forward AB Sanogo said. 

When discussing the women’s Thursday victory, sophomore forward Abby Sotomayor categorized the bus trip back to Hamilton a “rowdy” one, and the post-game tailgate the highlight of the victory, “celebrating with all the Colgate people who came to watch: family, friends and administration.” The high energy and intensity most definitely contributed to the tenacity of both teams. 

To recap the highlights of men’s and women’s soccer, after this weekend the teams sit 3-3-0 and 3-4-0, respectively. For the women’s team, senior captain Emily Crichlow laid the groundwork for the only goal of the game by teeing up sophomore Mara Cosentino from across the box who handled the ball past an Orange defender with a single juke and sent to ball far post to the back of the net. On the opposite end of the field, sophomore goalkeeper Kelly Chiavaro denied six saves for her first shutout of the season. Chiavaro was shelled with shots but not a single one was able to get by the sophomore keeper.

“All of our games so far have been against ringers, so now heading into league games I think we [have] sharpened up and [are] ready to do some serious damage,” sophomore midfielder Gianna Bustamante said.

The women’s victory on Thursday was followed by another win against UAlbany on Sunday, giving the team further confidence as they prepare to begin their Patriot League campaign. Next Saturday, the team will host the Loyola Greyhounds at Beyer-Small ’76 Field. The game will begin at 1 p.m.

The men had an equally impressive performance squaring off against Oregon State. Senior goalkeeper Peter Tappenden made six saves, including an impressive diving save in the thirty-eighth minute, helping him net his third straight shutout for the Raiders. Other notable performances included impressive shots from senior Jared Stroud and junior Oliver Harris in the first half, which helped to beat down the visiting team’s defense. In the eighty-eighth minute, junior Uyi Omorogbe put the Raiders on the board by scoring on a corner kick from Stroud. Omorogbe’s goal would be the first and last of the game, and his performance earned him the title of Patriot League Offensive Player of the Week.

“Oregon State is a terrific team with some great athletes. We were a little tentative to start the game, but we stuck with our plan and stuck to what we do best. We grew into the game progressively and as it wore on we began to possess the ball a little better and play a little faster,” head coach Erik Ronning said.

“The best part of the game was definitely the winning goal. We knew that we had won the game when we scored with little time left. The game was a little slow but there weren’t many ‘bad’ parts. We won and kept a clean sheet, so it was good,” Sanogo said.

Following Friday’s competition, the men hit the road to play Saint Francis University in Pennsylvania, suffering a 3-0 loss. Next up for the team is another away game at UMass Amherst on Saturday, September 16, before they take on Patriot League foe UMass Amherst on September 22.

Contact Charlotte Redican at [email protected].