Fall sports are in full swing in Hamilton. The Raiders have already hosted some big tournaments at Seven Oaks and the Cross Country Trails as well as big games down at Beyer-Small ‘76 Field. Colgate Athletics has a lot in store this fall and many teams have already kicked things off. Here’s a look at where our teams stand and where they’re heading.
Men’s Soccer
The Raiders are back on the pitch and with some early success. So far this season, the Raiders have faced Siena, Marist and Binghamton, leaving them with a 2-1 record, only falling to Marist. The Raiders did not have enough to fend off an early attack from the Marist Red Foxes as they struck early with two goals within the first twenty minutes of the game, according to Colgate Athletics. This loss came after the team christened Beyer-Small on the season opener with a shutout win over Siena back on Aug. 24. This big win for the Raiders was aided by some fresh faces as three first-years Connor Cates, Jack Beerling and Wade Johnson all made their collegiate debuts. Cates is already making an impact for the Raiders as he was awarded Patriot League Rookie of the Week back on Aug. 28 for his performance in Colgate’s first two games of the season.
Looking at the season as a whole, the Raiders have a lot in front of them. Their season is split evenly between league and non league play with Patriot League play beginning on Sept. 24 at the Navy. Men’s Soccer is facing some big non-league opponents including three programs that were nationally ranked in preseason polls with No. 9 Vermont on Sept. 5 and No. 20 Cornell on Oct. 10. Not to mention defending national champion Syracuse on Oct. 3.
Football
This weekend, Colgate’s football team returned to the gridiron up in Syracuse for their season opener. The Raiders fell in a shutout to the Orange, losing 65-0, yet have a lot to look forward to this season. They have two back-to-back non-league opponents as they head into next week facing Villanova on Sept. 9 and hosting Pennsylvania for the Raiders’ home opener at Andy Kerr on Sept. 16. The following week the Raiders travel to Worcester to begin Patriot League play against the four-time defending Patriot League Champions Holy Cross. The Raiders then play Ivy League opponents in back to back weeks, heading to Ithaca on Sept. 30 to face Cornell and hosting Dartmouth on Oct. 14 over Homecoming weekend. The Raiders then enter five weeks of consecutive Patriot League play leading into the postseason.
The Raiders head into the season with some momentum as they were picked third in the Patriot League Preseason Poll. Coming off a fifth-place finish in the league last season, it goes to show the Raiders have something to prove. In the offseason Colgate added two coaches to their squad as well as a class of 26 first-years and 29 newcomers to the team overall.
The Raiders are led by two-time captain and junior quarterback Michael Brescia in his second season as starting QB. Brescia was invited over the summer to attend the Manning Passing Academy, one of 44 college quarterbacks selected to help mentor high school quarterbacks. Brescia was the lone Patriot League quarterback at the passing academy and only the second Colgate QB to ever be invited. The Colgate captains are rounded out by linebacker Mike Slivka and defensive back Owen Goss, both seniors.
Golf
Colgate Men’s Golf is back swinging this weekend as they kicked off their season hosting the Alex Langowitz Memorial Tournament. The Raiders begin their season under new leadership for the first time in thirteen years with new Head Coach JP Kircher. Kircher most recently served as head coach at Piedmont University, leading them to a NCAA championship and coming in second this year.
The Raiders are coming off their most impressive season of late with a second place finish at the Patriot League Championship, tying the best performance in program history. The Raiders have four returners from the scoring group at last year’s Patriot League Championship as well as three other returners and two first-years.
The Raiders kicked it off this weekend on their home course. Junior Kevin Hollomon was the lead scorer for the Raiders, finishing thirteenth individually and leading the team to an eighth-place finish in a pack of twelve. Former Colgate Head Coach Kieth Tyburski was back in Hamilton after his departure following the 2023 spring season now leading the Yale University Bulldogs who were the top team on the course this weekend.
The Raiders have four more tournaments to come this fall with the Cornell Invitational, Temple Invitational, Autumn Invitational (hosted by Columbia) and the Bucknell Invitational. The Raiders wrap up their season on Oct. 10 at Bucknell.
Volleyball
The biggest stars of Fall sports are without a doubt the Women’s Volleyball team. The two time defending Patriot League champions came into the season with high expectations as they were picked first in the Patriot League Preseason Poll for the third consecutive year.
The Raiders began play back on Aug. 19 hosting Buffalo for an exhibition and have since competed in the Mizzou Classic and Penn State Invitational Tournaments. Across the two tournaments Colgate now has a record of 2-4 after playing some of the toughest competition they will face all season. They took losses against two nationally ranked teams, No. 22 Western Kentucky and No. 14 Penn State. The Raiders are hosting The Ellis Rowland Memorial Tournament from Sept. 7-9 and face their last non league opponent on Sept. 12 hosting Syracuse. Patriot League begins on Sept. 16 with another non-league contest against Binghamton later this month.
The Raiders enter this season after graduating a strong senior class including former Patriot League Player of the Year, Julia Kurowski, who recently signed a contract to play professionally in France. Yet the expectations do not intimidate the Raiders. Head Coach Ryan Baker spoke at length about the team’s recent successes and looking towards the future, as published on the Colgate Athletics website. Volleyball will certainly be one to watch this Fall to see if they can go for the three-peat.
Field Hockey
Colgate Field Hockey has a strong roster of twenty returners joined by seven incoming first-years. Colgate landed last in the Patriot League Preseason Poll as there is only room to grow for the Raiders. Field Hockey opened play on Aug. 19 with an exhibition match at Cornell. Despite some early losses to Central Michigan, Sacred Heart and Lock Haven, the Raiders had an impressive overtime win against Rider on Aug. 27.
The Raiders have also earned some accolades already this season as Senior Rachel Alderfer was awarded Patriot League Defensive Player of the Week on Aug. 28. Alderfer is not the only senior to receive honors so far this season. Senior midfielder Ella Murphy was named to the Patriot League Preseason All-League Team as well. The Raiders face a tough schedule this season with eleven non-league games and six Patriot League games, before the postseason begins on Nov. 2.
Women’s Soccer
Colgate Women’s Soccer season is underway and the Raiders had a strong opener on Aug. 17, shutting out Canisius in Buffalo, 4-0. This big win was followed by a tie against Kent State just three days later and the Raiders have since dropped four in a row. The Raiders are looking to end their losing streak out in Colorado, playing Denver on Sept. 7 and CU Boulder on the tenth. The Raiders then begin Patriot League play which will take them through to the postseason along with another non-league game against Cornell on Sept. 26.
While competitive play did not begin until Aug. 17, the Raiders were on campus and back to work beforehand. The men’s and women’s teams together hosted Kick with the Raiders on Aug. 9. The teams played drills with local kids free of charge and the community was welcome to stay for the women’s exhibition match against Binghamton.
Considering the season ahead, Head Coach Lyndse Hokanson spoke to Colgate Athletics on facing a challenging schedule with confidence for the team to rise to the challenge. The Raiders return senior forward Ally Giovino who earned herself a spot on the Patriot League Third Team All-League following last year’s season. The Raiders are also joined by a strong class of six first-years.
Women’s Rowing
At the beginning of the summer, Colgate Women’s Rowing head coach Jessica Deitrick stepped down and the Raiders are now led by Jim Lister who joined the Raiders from just up the road in Clinton. Lister was formerly the head coach of the women’s rowing team at Hamilton College for four years and prior to that he was the assistant coach at Syracuse for six years.
The Raiders have five of nine members of their first varsity eight returning to the team this year. The Raiders are looking at a slimmer fall schedule than previous years. Competition does not begin until late October, giving the Raiders and Lister time to settle in on Lake Moraine. The Raiders will be heading to Boston for the famous Head of Charles Regatta to compete against some of the top crews in the country. The following weekend Colgate will close out fall competition at the Head of the Fish Regatta in Saratoga Springs.
Colgate Men’s Rowing has yet to release their Fall competition schedule, yet they did gain an automatic reentry bid to Head of the Charles following their impressive performance last fall.
Cross Country
Both cross country teams kicked off their season this past week by hosting the Harry Lang Invitational on Sept. 2. The men’s team finished fifth overall on a 6k course while the women walked away in seventh place with standout performances from first-year Audrey Luell and senior Carollin Mellin on their home trails.
The program begins the 2023 season under new leadership as Head Coach Chelsea France is gearing up for her first cross country season with the Raiders since joining in Dec. 2022. She is joined by new assistant coaches Willie Moore and Lou Fiorillo.
The schedule for both the men’s and women’s cross country teams are identical as they will both attend the Yellowjacket Invitation at the University of Rochester on Sept. 16, as well as the Paul Short Invitational hosted by Lehigh on Sept. 30. The Raiders finish up their schedule with the ECAC/IC4A Championship, Patriot League Championship and NCAA Championship.
