In their return to Van Doren field last Saturday, the Raiders faced newly inducted Patriot League member Loyola. The game was a hard-fought contest on both sides, ending in a 1-1 tie after two overtime periods. With the tie, Colgate (2-7-1) remains unbeaten in league play, boding well for its postseason hopes. The first 20 minutes of the game were scoreless with neither team able to put any solid shots on net. In the twentieth minute of play, sophomore attacker Tyler Forbes broke the tie with a nice go-ahead goal. Forbes made a series of brilliant moves past his defenders and fired an accurate shot past the Loyola keeper.

Following the Forbes goal, the Raiders looked to increase its lead when junior forward Tanner Schilling broke past the Loyola line down the middle of the field. He then passed the ball to first-year Ethan Kutler who one-timed the ball on net, but sent it flying over the crossbar. In the final three minutes of the first half, Loyola looked to tie the game with a free kick. From a set-piece, the Hounds played the ball towards the Raiders goal. The ball landed near the goalie box where sophomore Larry Ndjock redirected it towards Raider first-year goalie Ricky Brown. Brown made an initial, stellar save but failed to block the coral the rebound, allowing Ndjock to score. With the game tied, both teams went into their respective locker rooms looking to come out of the game with a victory.

In the early onset of the second half, first-year Zach Pagani was fouled and earned a free kick. Kutler took the kick and sent it directly toward the Loyola goal. The ball was headed for the top left corner of the net, but Kane was able to make terrific save to prevent the go ahead goal. The rookie duo was at it again when Pagani won the ball at midfield and quickly passed it over to Kutler. Kutler was able to dribble the ball down the sideline, avoiding several Greyhound defenders and fired a laser on goal. The ball sailed just over the crossbar and into the stands.

For the remainder of regulation time, the Raiders stayed on the offensive. With 27 minutes remaining in the half, senior captain Brett Metzger launched a corner-kick like throw in that found the outstretched head of first-year Zach Tamen, who then redirected the ball towards goal. The redirected shot was narrowly saved by diving Kane. Loyola returned fire when Stephen Dooley launched a shot from just outside the box, in the direction of Colgate’s net. Star first-year keeper, Ricky Brown, was able to make a stellar save to keep the game tied at one apiece. In the final minutes of regulation, both teams had chances to score but failed to convert, sending the game into overtime.

The first overtime period saw the Greyhounds tally two fast shots on goal. Dooley started the first chance by dribbling down the sideline and firing a shot on goal. The shot was hard and low, but Brown managed to block it, keeping the game tied at one. On the very next play, Dooley took a corner kick which found the head of Ryan Tuck, who then flicked it towards the Raider net. The Raider’s narrowly avoided giving up a goal when the redirected ball ricocheted off the right post and back into play.

Colgate had its final chance just before the end of the first overtime when Kutler was fouled 30 yards from the goal. His free kick was a nice cross sent in the direction of first-year midfielder Colin O’Neill, who played the ball with one touch and fired it on net. Kane came up with another save and made the initial stop before the ball was cleared by the Loyola defense. Following a scoreless second overtime, Colgate earned its first draw of the season. The Raiders outshot Loyola 20-14 with Brown making four saves and Kane making seven. The Raiders will travel to West Point this week for a game against the Army Black Knights on Wednesday at 7 p.m.

Contact JP Letourneau at [email protected].