The Colgate men’s lacrosse team began its season with a tough loss to Marist University this past weekend, opening their season by hosting the Red Foxes at Andy Kerr stadium on Saturday afternoon. The game, which was the season opener for both teams, ended with an 8-12 result.

The visiting team got off to a quick start on Saturday by building a lead in the first quarter. The game’s first goal was scored by Marist with twelve minutes remaining in the first quarter, when junior midfielder Mitchell Standera found the back of the net following an assist from junior attack Gannon Morrison. The visiting team built upon its lead when Morrison scored his first goal with eight minutes to go, which he closely followed with another goal just a minute and a half later.

In the second quarter, the Raiders began to fight back against Marist’s strong offensive efforts. Roughly three minutes into the quarter, immediately following a shot by junior attack Joe Delaney, sophomore attack Sam Cleveland was able to pick up a ground ball and score the home team’s first goal. Junior attack Anthony Abbadessa scored again for Colgate less than a minute later, moving the score to 3-2. With five minutes to go in the second quarter, Morrison scored again for the Red Foxes thanks to an assist from senior attack J.D. Recor. 

This goal was followed thirty seconds later with a goal by Recor assisted by senior midfielder John Vigh. Marist scored yet again when Recor assisted first-year Michael Smith in scoring the first goal of his collegiate career. With thirty seconds left in the quarter, Abbadessa scored again for Colgate and was assisted by Delaney. Just seconds later, a faceoff allowed sophomore midfielder Will Blumenberg to pick up a ground ball and score his first goal of the season. The last goal of the quarter came from the visiting team when Morrison netted his fourth goal of the game, moving the score to 7-4.

Both teams continued to battle into the third quarter. After one minute, senior midfielder Jack Stebbins scored the fifth goal for the Raiders after being assisted by Cleveland. Marist responded minutes later when Recor was able to score three goals within a span of two minutes. With eight minutes remaining, Abbadessa raised the Raiders’ goal count to six after being assisted by first-year attack Nicky Petkevich. The goal was his third of the game, and brought him his fourth career hat trick. Cleveland scored again for the Raiders with four minutes remaining. At the close of the quarter, the score stood at 10-7.

Marist strengthened its lead even further a minute and a half into the final quarter, when Smith scored his second goal of the season. Colgate struck back just a minute later when junior attack Chase Wittich scored his first goal of the season. With two minutes left in the game, Recor scored one final goal for the Red Foxes, increasing the visiting team’s lead even further and leaving the final score 8-12.

Despite the difficult start to the season, head coach Mike Murphy is optimistic about the upcoming season and the team’s young talent.

“We got some stops, scored some goals, got some other stops and then just couldn’t get it within two in certain situations. There were some poise plays we could have made out there, but we played a lot of younger guys. It’s good to get those guys some game experience, and we’ve just got to get back after it Monday,” Murphy said.

The team will be back in action next Saturday, when they hit the road to take on the Binghamton Bearcats.