The Colgate men’s lacrosse team looked to build on momentum from their win over the Naval Academy the previous week as they travelled to Worcester, Massachusetts to take on Holy Cross on Saturday. The win over Navy kept them in contention to qualify for the Patriot League tournament, but a win over the Crusaders would have been just as crucial. Unfortunately, due to a slow start, the Raiders were unable to bring the win back to Hamilton. With postseason aspirations on the line, a high-intensity matchup was to be expected: that is exactly what the two teams delivered, as Holy Cross was able to hold off the Raiders 13-12 in Colgate’s second-to-last game before the start of the Patriot League tournament.

While the final score suggests it was a close matchup throughout, that was not the case. It was a game of runs, and Holy Cross jolted off the starting blocks to a 6-1 lead in the first quarter. The lone Raider goal from that stretch came from sophomore midfielder Duncan Hoskinson. The next run was in favor of Colgate, as they scored four unanswered goals to bring the score to 6-5 a minute into the third quarter.

The second half was played much more evenly, as neither team was able to piece together drastic runs like in the first half. Colgate’s offense continued to flow in the second half, one constant being the strong play of Hoskinson. The sophomore ended the day with four goals and two assists, matching his career high for both goals and points in a game. However, for every push Colgate made, the Crusaders had an answer. Colgate’s hopes peaked when they finally pulled ahead 11-10 with eight minutes left in the fourth quarter off a goal from sophomore attack Sam Cleveland. However, Holy Cross closed with two goals in the last five minutes to squeeze out a one-goal victory.

The impact of the loss for Colgate (now 2-5 in league play) was compounded by other Patriot League action last Saturday. With Navy’s victory over Army, Colgate was officially eliminated from a potential Patriot League tournament bid. Meanwhile, the one goal victory for the Crusaders (now 4-3 in league play) clinched their bid to the Patriot League tournament.

“It was an up and down season for us. Not the result we wanted not being in the Patriot League tournament. Holy Cross was that last opportunity to help us seal a spot in the tournament, and it slipped away from us. Some bounces didn’t go our way and we battled back and forth against a good opponent, but just couldn’t finish with a win. We still have two more games left in the season and want our seniors to leave on a positive note so we’ll still be working hard and preparing for those last two games,” first-year Nicky Petkevich said.

The Raiders look to bounce back from yet another close loss as they take on Lafayette at home on April 21 for their last Patriot League game of the season. The matchup starts at 7:00 p.m. at Crown Field.