The Raiders battled to victory during Monday’s home game against Cornell. Despite a slow start, the team fell into a rhythm in the second period. 

As time dwindled, the team’s momentum grew. In the 83rd minute, senior forward Sarah Coy, assisted by first-year midfielder Mara Consentino, established Colgate’s 1-0 lead over Cornell.

Despite some late attempts by the Big Red to catch up, the Raider defense, led by sophomore goalkeeper Laura Leonard, held onto the lead. 

Leonard made 10 saves throughout the game. She summarized the team’s mentality after the goal. 

“We focused on competing for the full 90 minutes,” Leonard said. “Once you score, you can’t let up. [Many] say the most dangerous minutes in a soccer game are the two minutes after you score. We just knew that we needed the win.”   

The Raiders maintained their composure to claim a 1-0 victory over Cornell.

After a week of training, the team hoped to carry its winning spirit into Saturday’s match against Navy. Saturday served as Senior Day, honoring six seniors on the team. An opening ceremony celebrated these players as they were escorted onto the field by their loved ones and received pictures to commemorate their time on the team. Those recognized include Sarah Coy, Sophi Lederer, Brenna Mason, Caroline Parsons, Emily Pullen and Ginny Whitman. 

Lederer highlighted the emotions of the seniors due to the festivities.

“Senior [Day] brings out a lot of emotion, a lot of reflecting on our past years here and also looking forward to making the most of the rest of the season. I think we all tried to use the Senior Day festivities as a source of positive energy and motivation,” Lederer said. 

An exciting opening to the game proved the teams were closely matched. A shot by Colgate in the 6th minute preceded multiple corner kicks for Navy in the 10th minute. Navy was the first to capitalize on an opportunity, scoring in 25th minute. 

Although Navy carried the lead into the second half, the Raiders scored in the 53rd minute. The equalizer was scored by Coy off of an assist by Constentino. Just four minutes later, first-year defender Claire Micheletti’s goal put the Raiders ahead 2-1. Sophomore midfielder Eliza Doll put the ball into the back of the net widening the margin to 3-1 in the 73rd minute.

Two late goals by Navy forced the game into overtime.

Although Colgate put forth a valiant effort, a goal by Navy’s first-year midfielder Cadie Higginson in the second overtime immediately ended the game. 

Nevertheless, the Raiders are determined to not let the 4-3 loss keep them down. The team is looking towards future success. 

According to Lederer, the team is looking forward to the rest of the season. 

“Our goal is to win our last three regular season games, play our way into the Patriot League tournament, and then make a run into the finals and win it all,” Lederer said.  

The team is looking for redemption on Wednesday with a home match-up against Army West Point at 7 p.m.