This past Saturday, the men’s lacrosse team travelled down to Lewisburg, Pennsylvania to take on arch-rival Bucknell University. In their second Patriot League matchup of the season, the Raiders defeated the Bison by a score of 10-8. The win on Saturday has given Colgate a three-game winning streak against Bucknell dating back to the beginning of the 2014 season. 

The Raiders came out very hot right from the start against Bucknell. Senior captain Ryan Walsh scored the first goal of the game three minutes in. Within two minutes after Walsh’s goal, midfielder Matt Clarkson and first-year Anthony Abbadessa scored 17 seconds apart from each other. Junior Kevin Adams found the back of the net just two minutes later, giving Colgate a 4-0 lead with eight minutes remaining in the first quarter. 

Despite the fast start and early 4-0 lead, Bucknell rallied by scoring five unanswered goals. Down 5-4 with four minutes remaining in the first half, junior Cameron Williams recorded his first tally of the game to tie the score at 5-5. Midfielder Jack Stebbins added another goal for Colgate off a pass from Walsh. The Raiders led 6-5 at halftime.

Junior goalie Jake Danehy was just beginning to heat up as the second half began, putting less pressure on the Colgate offense. Fortunately, Colgate matched Bucknell with two goals apiece in the third quarter. Sophomore Strecker Backe and junior Tyler Rigo each recorded an assist off of goals from Walsh and first-year Anthony Abbadessa, respectively. Colgate began the fourth quarter with an 8-7 lead. Two minutes into the final quarter, junior Kevin Adams added his second goal of the contest. With a 9-8  lead and ten minutes remaining, junior Cameron Williams scored the eventual game winner off of a feed from Clarkson. Colgate hung on to win the game by a score of 10-8. 

The victory against Bucknell was a tremendous and well-balanced team effort from Colgate. Sophomore Peter Marchetto dominated at the faceoff X, winning 15 of 22 draws. Additionally, Danehy provided a great game in net after replacing injured sophomore goalie Brandon Burke. Danehy recorded seven crucial saves for Colgate, six of which came during the second half. 

When asked about the teams performance, head coach Mike Murphy had a lot to say, especially regarding Danehy’s play. 

“I know it’s coach-speak, but it’s the next man up. Jake does a great job in practice. There’s a reason why he’s our backup goalie, and he had a phenomenal day. The one thing I’m most impressed with is we went 13-of-13 clearing against one of the top riding teams in the country,” Murphy said.  

“When you go on the road and get a win, especially here – they are very good at home. They are a very good team, and for us to play the way did so consistently. Watching us for 60 minutes, I know we had some ups and downs, but I’m really proud of the way we played.”

The last time Colgate started a season 4-0 dates back to 1993. The Raiders have a quick turnaround this week, and they hope to keep the momentum going as they travel up the road to Geneva for a match-up against Hobart College.