Last Tuesday, the men’s lacrosse team was matched up against the seventh-ranked team in the nation, Cornell University. Fox Sports 1 televised this game nationally just down the road in Ithaca. 

The Raiders got off to a slow start against the Big Red as they were down 5-1 in the beginning of the second quarter. Fortunately, that did not last for long as freshman attackman Chase Wittich scored a sharp angled man up goal three minutes into the second quarter. With about five minutes remaining before halftime, the Raiders recorded their second extra man goal off a rip from freshmen attacker Anthony Abbadessa. One minute later, Abbadessa registered his second goal of the contest. Cornell led 6-4 at halftime even after three unanswered goals from Colgate.

Trailing 8-4 towards the end of the third quarter, the Raiders’ offense finally burst out of its shell. Ranging from 2:51 remaining in the third quarter to 3:34 in the fourth, Colgate scored five unanswered goals. Junior midfielder Cameron Williams and junior attacker Tyler Rigo added two goals a piece, while Wittich notched his seventh goal of the season and seconds of the game.

All-American Cornell attacker Dan Linter sent the game to overtime after recording a goal with 45 seconds remaining in regulation. Colgate’s hard fought defensive effort wasn’t enough in the end as attacker Matt Donovan scored the game-winning goal for Cornell. 

Despite the 10-9 overtime loss, there were many solid performances from the Colgate team. Sophomore goalie Brandon Burke posted a career high 16 saves, in addition to a five-point outing from Wittich. 

On Saturday, the U.S. Naval Academy came to town for a highly anticipated Patriot League showdown. Colgate scored the first goal of the contest as senior captain Ryan Walsh connected with Tyler Rigo. Walsh also added an unassisted goal five minutes into the second quarter to put the Raiders ahead 2-1. After allowing four unanswered goals, sophomore midfielder Peter Donato ended the scoring drought for Colgate midway through the third quarter. 

Colgate trailed 7-3 halfway through the final quarter of action and the game appeared to be out of reach. However, Anthony Abbadessa’s unassisted goal with four and a half minutes remaining sparked a comeback for the Raiders. Junior midfielder Cameron Williams recorded a late extra man goal, cutting the Navy lead to 7-5. Only nine seconds later, Walsh also added another man up goal.

The fourth quarter effort from Colgate was just not enough as the Midshipmen prevailed with a 7-6 victory. 

While the two teams were about equal in the shooting department, Colgate was more successful in the number of ground balls scooped up and their clearing percentage. 

“We missed some opportunities early in the game to maybe make some separation … Credit their goalie for making some big stops. I’m really appreciative of the effort that my guys are giving me. We just need to execute better down the stretch,” head coach Mike Murphy said on the team’s performance against Navy. 

The Raiders will travel to Baltimore this weekend for a Patriot League matchup against the nation’s 14th ranked team, the Loyola Greyhounds. This game will be broadcast on CBS Sports Network at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday.