Colgate played two games last week against the Cornell  Big Red and the Holy Cross Crusaders. The Raiders failed to win either game, tying Cornell 0-0 and losing to Holy Cross 3-2. Both results have been evidence of an off year for the Raiders, as they fell to 2-10-2 on the season.

On Tuesday, Colgate faced Cornell in Ithaca in a series that dates all the way back to 1921. The Raiders were on the attack from the moment the game started, as first-year midfielder Ethan Kutler had the game’s first chance when junior forward Tanner Schilling passed it to him on the left wing. Kutler made a couple of athletic moves around the Big Red defenders and fired the ball towards goal. The ball sailed high above the crossbar but signified a good start for the Raiders offense.

In the 22nd minute, Schilling again saw himself in the midst of an offensive play. He found an opening in the middle of the field and launched a hard shot from 20 yards out which was blocked by Cornell defenders.

Just three minutes later, Cornell found an offensive opportunity when they had a free kick directed towards the Colgate goal. Raider defenders were able to clear the ball from immediate danger, but the ball deflected towards Patrick Slogic who sent the ball on net, but into the hands of junior goalie Liam Stapleton.

In the final 10 minutes of the first half, the Raiders had another opportunity on goal. Senior captain Barrett Metzger kicked a ball into the box off a set piece where first-year midfielder Zach Tamen redirected it towards junior defensemen Evan Heroux who fired a shot on goal. The shot was saved by the Big Red goalie, keeping the game tied at zero going into halftime.

In the early minutes of the second half, Metzger made another great offensive play when he fired a corner kick to Schilling, who took the pass in air and redirected it towards the goal, but out of bounds.

Cornell had its first chance of the second half in the 75th minute when the Big Red sent a cross towards the middle who headed the ball over the net.

Colgate countered with another opportunity to score when they sent a throw-in far into the Cornell box. After a quick series of passes, the ball reached senior midfielder Nick Arpey, who sent a chip to Heroux, who redirected the ball and sent it careening towards the goal. This forced Cornell’s goalie Evan King to make a diving save.

Early in the first overtime, sophomore midfielder Cameron McCaslin found himself with the ball in the box, but fired a hard shot on goal that sailed over the crossbar.

In the second overtime, both teams picked up the pace on offense. Kutler fired a free kick from 25 yards. The ball was headed straight for the back of the net, but King, again, was able to make a big save. In the final minutes of the game, Stapleton made two consecutive great saves to keep the game tied at zero as the game ended.

In their second contest of the week, the Raiders took on Holy Cross in a hard-fought offensive battle. At the end of what was a relatively quiet half, Holy Cross found itself with an opportunity and took advantage. Monty Sanders intercepted the ball near the Colgate goal and then fired a quick shot which went past the arms of Stapleton.

Although Colgate had several chances on goal in the first half, they came up empty before heading into the locker room at halftime down 1-0.

After a series of great plays in the opening minutes of the first half, the Raiders finally scored in the 67th minute of play. A well-struck corner kick found the foot of first-year forward Zach Pagani who shot on goal. The ball was blocked and then redirected to Heroux, who fired it past Holy Cross for the score.

A few minutes later, the Raiders had a great chance on goal when Kutler shook his defender and shot a ball, which just skimmed the top of the crossbar.

At minute 84, the Raiders seized an opportunity to score the go-ahead goal. Sophomore forward Tyler Forbes made a brilliant move to get past some defenders and then fired a great shot to the upper right hand corner of the goal for a score.

Not letting up, the Holy Cross Crusaders quickly tied the game back up at two as the

closing seconds ticked off the clock. A dangerous ball was played into the box and Colgate failed to clear it before Joey DeVivo sent the ball to the back of the Raider net.

Tied at two, the teams went into extra time eager to find the game-winning goal. Colgate had a chance when Kutler fired a ball on net. The shot looked like it had a chance before it was gobbled up by goalie Kevin Wright.

With only a few seconds left in extra time, Holy Cross responded by hitting the crossbar twice before they netted the game winner in the 98th minute. Josh Cintas made a great play to move the ball off the endline and then

repositioned himself for a successful shot on goal.

This was a heartbreaking loss for the Raiders, who look to rebound this Saturday October 26 at Bucknell.

Contact JP Letourneau at [email protected].