Last week, the women’s lacrosse team took on the St. Bonaventure Bonnies in a home contest, ending the day with a big 18-6 win for the Raiders. Colgate ultimately secured the win after scoring 11 goals in the second half alone.

Colgate started off strong with four goals from four different players in the opening half. Junior midfielder Megan Ark, sophomore midfielder Lauren Gorajek and senior captain Alison Flood started the game with three unassisted goals. Not long afterward, sophomore attacker Kristen Norden scored a goal off an assist from Ark, bringing the score to 4-0.

The Bonnies managed to put a goal on the scoreboard soon thereafter, but Gorajek answered with her second goal of the day on a free-position shot. With 5:21 remaining in the first half, first-year Sarah Bowles continued her strong season, scoring to give the Raiders a 6-1 lead. St. Bonaventure tallied two more before the end of the half, but sophomore attacker Kallan Murray came back with another goal to bring the score to 7-3 going into the second half.

With a streak of six straight goals and a total of 11 goals in the second half, the Raiders were able to secure the win. Ark scored early in the half with the help of Murray, starting off the hot streak of Raider goals. Senior captain Monica White and Murray also contributed to the six early goals. The Bonnies came back with two more goals to make the score 14-5 with 10 minutes remaining.

In the final minutes of the game, Colgate saw some of their younger players take the field and tally some goals. First-years Cara Esposito and Tyler Sherper scored their first collegiate goals. In addition, junior Abby Valentino and sophomore Emily Peebles added goals of their own in the final minutes, bringing the final score to 18-6.

After picking up a big midweek non-conference victory over the Bonnies, the Raiders traveled to Maryland to take on the Navy Midshipmen for a Patriot League matchup. Unable to recreate the offensive success from their previous game, the Raiders only mustered two goals and saw the Midshipmen score 13 as they picked up the loss.

The Midshipmen, coming off their first loss on the season, started the game hot firing shots at junior Jennie Berglin early and often. Berglin did her best, making five saves on the day, but the Midshipmen offensive attack proved to be too much. The nine goals that Navy got in the first half gave them a sizeable lead and a much-needed cushion for the second half.

The Raiders finally got on the board in the second half eight minutes in. First-year midfielder Mallorie O’Brien fed Gorajek who scored her ninth of the season. Four straight Midshipmen goals ensued, but Fischer broke the streak scoring her eighth of the season off another assist from O’Brien, who had a strong second half making plays all over the field.

The Raiders could not get any more offense, as the Midshipmen defense played tight and gave the Raiders minimal room to get anything going. The Raiders picked up the loss by a score of 13-2, and fell to 2-2 in League play. This coming weekend, the Raiders look to move back into the win column as they face the Loyola Hounds on Saturday April 5 with a start time of 1 p.m. on Tyler’s Field.