The Colgate women’s lacrosse team hosted the Holy Cross Crusaders this weekend for their last home game of the season, honoring the careers of seniors, Isabel Kreitler and Sarah Bowles, as they clutched one final win to close out the season.

On Saturday, April 29, the Raiders battled the Crusaders to an 11-8 victory. With her second goal of the season, first-year attack Kate Kelly provided an important goal for the Raiders, netting one right off the bench. Despite Holy Cross scoring two of the first three goals of the game for a temporary lead of 2-1, the Raiders quickly retaliated by scoring three goals in a span of about four minutes to take a 4-2 lead. They held onto the lead for the remainder of the game. Maintaining momentum, junior attack Kristen Brigagliano recorded a hat trick in the first half of the game to help jump-start the Raiders’ offense.

After Holy Cross’ Mary Patalita scored with 12:04 minutes left in the first half, Brigagliano scored once again to complete her hat trick – scoring all three of her goals in a span of 5:20 minutes during the first half of the competition. This three-goal output tied her career-high for the third time this season. First-year attack Lindsey West also netted a hat trick during the game for the second time in her career. Kelly’s goal came with 9:14 minutes left in the first half, giving the Raiders a three-goal lead, before Patalita recorded a hat trick of her own to bring the Crusaders back within two goals before halftime.

After the halftime break, the Raiders took the field full of confidence. West opened up the half with a goal for the Raiders, but the Crusaders quickly responded with two goals, making the competition a one goal game with just 15:21 minutes left in the second half. Just two minutes later, West notched her hat-trick off of a free-position goal, which was immediately followed by junior midfielder Hayley O’Hanlon’s first goal of the game just 25 seconds later. Notably, the Colgate seniors Kreitler and Bowles each had remarkable plays that helped facilitate the Raiders victory. Kreitler recorded a pair of goals and five draw controls while Bowles tailed four caused turnovers and three groundballs in a solid defensive effort. With Kreitler’s two goals and a final goal from O’Hanlon, the Raiders were able to clinch an 11-8 victory to close their season against the Crusaders.

“The Holy Cross game was our Senior Day, and winning the game was a great way to celebrate our two amazing seniors, Isabel Kreitler and Sarah Bowles” junior defender Kelly Haberl said.

“Although our season did not go the way we had hoped, we finished really strong. From the big upset last weekend to our win over HC on Saturday, we finally put together a full 60 mins and proved to ourselves and the Patriot League that we can play to a high level and that our record is not a good indicator of our talent,” sophomore midfielder Charlotte Redican said.

Despite not qualifying for the Patriot League Tournament, the women’s lacrosse team fought hard throughout their season, winning their last two games, which ultimately culminated in an overall record of 6-9. The team moves on to next year with strong potential and a positive outlook.