The men’s soccer team faced off with the Dartmouth Green on Friday night at Dartmouth’s Burnham Field in Hanover, N.H. on Friday. The game proved to be a quite a nail-biter as both teams couldn’t break the stalemate until after halftime. During the first half, neither team could seem to get the proper chance to set up a shot, as both teams played very solid defense. During the second half, however, the Raiders were able to step up their scoring opportunities.

The first Raider scoring opportunity came when sophomore midfielder Chase Pagani was taken down on left field. The Raiders were then awarded a free kick.

Electing to take the free kick, junior midfielder and offensive powerhouse Ethan Kutler dished the ball off to sophomore midfielder Troy Moo Penn, who scored only a few yards away from the Dartmouth goal. With under three minutes to play Kutler nearly secured a 2-0 Raiders lead when he rifled a shot toward goal straight off a free kick in the center of the field, which was saved by Dartmouth goalie James Hickok. After Moo Penn’s goal, the game returned to a stalemate as neither team could set up a good shot. 

Colgate controlled much of the play over the next 20 minutes until Dartmouth began to press the Raiders backline. Colgate junior goalie Ricky Brown also had a great game with six saves. His most important save of the game was the block after a quick volley by Dartmouth’s Matt Greer during the last four minutes of the game. 

This impressive win moves Colgate’s record to an 2-1-1 for the season so far. The Raiders will host Air Force and Duquesne in the Colgate Inaria Classic beginning Friday at home on Beyer-Small ‘76 Field. The Raiders will hopefully be able to capitalize on this momentum coming off the big win against Dartmouth and get two wins out of these upcoming games. In seasons past, the Raiders have struggled with keeping momentum for prolonged periods of time throughout the season, so if the Raiders can keep it up for these next couple of games, they will be in a strong spot for the remainder of the season.