After the field hockey team split their opening weekend matchups with a victory against Bryant University and a loss against Hofstra University, the Raiders went back to the field this past weekend with two more matchups. Hosting Cornell University and Ball State in back to back matchups, the Raiders dropped both contests as their record fell to 1-3 overall.

The Raiders faced off against Cornell University to start their weekend and while they went into the game hoping to keep it close, the Big Red offense proved to be too much for the Raiders. The first half saw Cornell tally three times while the second half saw a staggering six. The Big Red proved to be too much for Colgate despite nine saves from first-year Maria Krull.

On the offensive side, the Raiders could not muster up much against the strong Big Red defense. Junior defenseman Jessica Gardiner recorded the Raiders’ only two shots of the game, with one on target that was saved. 

In their most recent game against Ball State, senior midfielder Rebecca Libutti scored her first goal of the season early in the second half off an assist from Gardiner and senior captain Eliana Brown. Despite Libutti’s second half tally, Ball State’s two goals late in the first half and early in the second  were too much as the Raiders couldn’t even the tally and fell 2-1 to the Cardinals.After letting up nine goals in the previous game, Krull was much better in this one, allowing just two goals while making five saves. Brown led the team with three shots on the day while Libutti and sophomore forward Emily Brash were just behind with two shots. 

“I thought it was a huge comeback from yesterday,” Head Coach Cathy Foto said of the team’s effort. “It was a tough loss. Today we talked about a lot of things before the game; tried to isolate some things in the locker room, tried to look at as much video as humanly possible and I think the kids knew what they needed to do. The girls kept a positive attitude, while continuing to attempt a comeback.” 

Looking forward, the team has a week to refocus and prepare for their first away game against Lock Haven on September 13. As captain, Brown was able to talk about how the team hopes to turn their season around after a tough start. 

“I think our team has a lot of potential this season and we are still working on putting all of the pieces together,” Brown said. “We had a little bit of a set back this past weekend and we didn’t play like the team we know we can be, but we believe in each other and are committed to working hard and getting better everyday.”

After games this weekend against Lock Haven and Saint Francis University in Pennsylvania this weekend, the Raiders will return home for their homecoming matchup and Patriot League opener against the Holy Cross Crusaders.