The Raiders ended their regular season last year with a one-goal loss to American that went down to the wire. The Raiders proved they wanted to take vengeance on the Eagles this past Saturday with a commanding 15-7 victory thanks to a standout performance by freshman attacker, Haley O’Hanlon. 

After a 14-5 win over cross-town foe Binghamton on Tuesday, Colgate shifted their focus to their regular season finale versus American. The outcome of the game would not only extend the team’s three-game winning streak, but it would also determine their seed going into the Patriot League Tournament.

After Colgate’s five seniors and their families were honored during the pregame ceremony, the Raiders put the emotion of the day behind them and got to work against the visiting Eagles. O’Hanlon led the way, scoring three straight goals in under two minutes to spark a 6-0 Colgate run. 

The first half was completely dominated by the Raiders as they held a 15-5 advantage in shots and entered halftime with a convincing 8-1 lead. Unfortunately for American, Colgate’s offense was not done yet. They opened up the second half with three goals in the first five minutes with O’Hanlon contributing her fifth of the day. Junior attacker Kallan Murray and sophomore midfielder Isabel Kreitler also scored during the run. 

One of the team’s major strengths this season has been their dynamic offensive unit. With plenty of depth on offense and the ability to have multiple goal-scorers on any given day, the Raiders have been a tough match-up for opposing teams to defend. This was certainly the case on Saturday versus American as Colgate showcased six different goal scorers, three of whom scored two goals or more.

While American was eventually able to slow down the Raider’s offensive run to make it 10-2 with over 20 minutes left to play, Colgate responded by rattling off four straight goals. Although the Eagles went on a 5-0 run to close the margin, the Raiders ultimately walked away with a 15-7 victory.

Although the major Patriot League Awards would not be announced until a few days later, it looked as if O’Hanlon was putting a final statement on her outstanding rookie season. The freshman is the only Colgate player to score six goals this season and her dominant performance crowned her with the team’s regular season scoring title. It was recently announced that O’Hanlon garnered both the Patriot League Rookie of the Year award as well as a spot on the All-Patriot League first-team. 

“Haley all-around was awesome today,” head coach Heather Young said. “It is obviously no surprise to us. It is everything we see at practice and what she has shown in games leading up to today.”

O’Hanlon was not the only Colgate player to earn Patriot League recognition. Senior captain Jenna Frost earned first-team All-Patriot League for the third time in in her career. Frost was joined by senior teammates Megan Ark and Jennie Berglin, who both gained a spot on the first-team for the second time in their careers. Berglin was the only Patriot League goalkeeper to be awarded a first-team nod. 

Senior captain Rachel Siciliano represented Colgate on the All-Patriot League second-team and head coach, Heather Young, was awarded the Patriot League’s Coach of the Year. 

With wins over Binghamton and American, Colgate concluded their regular season with a 10-5 record and secured the No. 2 seed for the Patriot League Tournament. The team’s 6-2 Patriot League record is its best since going 5-1 in 2011. 

Colgate earned a first-round bye in the 2015 Patriot League Tournament and will play the winner of the #6 Holy Cross versus #3 Navy contest on Friday, April 24. The game will be played at Loyola and is set for a 7:30 p.m. start time. The entire tournament is available for live streaming through the Patriot League Network.