The Raiders finished up their regular season this past week with two road matchups. After pulling out a slim victory over the Binghamton Bearcats during the week in a non-league game, the Raiders travelled to American and fell to the Eagles. The loss pushed the Raiders back to fifth in the league and forced them to travel to Holy Cross, where they lost by just one goal earlier this season.

Playing at Binghamton in a rare weekday game, the Raiders came out and picked up a victory led by sophomore attacker Kallan Murray. Murray, who has been strong all season, recorded five points on the afternoon and helped propel the Raiders to victory.

Starting off slow, the Bearcats struck twice before the Raiders could get on the board. Senior captain Alison Flood scored for the Raiders five minutes in. Flood’s strong play in the game saw her break the school record for draw controls, an honor truly indicative of how much Flood has meant to the program in her four years.

After Flood’s tally, junior midfielder Megan Ark continued her strong season, scoring her team-leading 43rd to tie up the game. Shortly after, Murray picked up her first point, feeding Flood whose second goal of the game gave the Raiders an early lead.

The Bearcats rallied for three straight goals past junior keeper Jennie Berglin to put Binghamton back on top. Murray’s first goal of the game off an assist from first-year attacker Tyler Sherper cut the lead, but a Bearcats tally with 10 seconds left in the half gave them a 6-4 advantage.

While the Bearcats dominated much of play in the first half, the Raiders made serious halftime adjustments and took over play in the second half. After the Bearcats got on the board first to extend their lead to 7-4, the Raiders finally went to work, striking four times within 10 minutes while holding the Bearcats to nothing. Sophomore midfielder Lauren Gorajek’s two goals were a key part of the Raiders run that gave them the lead they would hold onto for the rest of the day.

Binghamton managed to score one more time to tie up the game at eight, but the Raiders were the stronger team over the final 10 minutes. Murray found Sherper for her first goal of the game to give the Raiders the lead with 2:37 remaining. Shortly after, Murray found first-year defenseman Sarah Bowles for her second of the game and the goal that put the game out of reach.

After the Raiders’ big victory, they journeyed this past weekend to Washington, D.C. to take on a league opponent in the American Eagles. With a victory, the Raiders had a chance at home field advantage in the Patriot League Quarterfinals, but they fell just short in their efforts.

Ark was key again for the Raiders, setting the tone early with her three goals in the first half. Her strong effort was matched by Flood, Murray and sophomore attacker Taylor Fischer who all also tallied in the first half and helped contribute to the Raiders 6-5 halftime advantage.What did the Raiders in was a weak second half in which Berglin couldn’t seem to stop the Eagles’ attack. Despite Ark’s fourth goal of the game and goals from Sherper and Flood, the Raiders fell to the Eagles by a score of 10-9.

As the regular season came to a close, the Raiders saw two of their stars honored for their play this season. Both Ark and junior defenseman Jenna Frost received all-Patriot League first team honors. Ark’s 48 goals have her tied for the league-lead and Frost’s 29 caused turnovers rank fifth. In addition to these two, Berglin recevied All-Patriot League second team honors for her play in net.

In the quarterfinals, the Raiders competed with the Crusaders but fell in the end 10-8. Senior captain Monica White scored four goals to keep the Raiders in the game, but the Crusaders attack proved to be too much. The Raiders finish the season with a record of 7-9 and return many key players in hopes of another great season.

Contact Spencer Serling at [email protected].