After a scoreless start to the season, the Raiders put four in the net this weekend en route to their first victory. The Raiders, now 1-5, went 1-1 on the weekend with a victory against Cal State Fullerton.

Colgate started the weekend with a game against Loyola Marymount, losing 2-1. Marymount’s goals came in the final minutes of the game. “It was a gut-wrenching loss but we played a terrific game and are getting better every time we take the field,” John W. Beyer Head Men’s Soccer Coach Erik Ronning said.

Although neither team scored in the first half, Colgate had plenty of scoring chances. In the fifth minute of the game, first-year Ethan Kutler played a ball on net from 35 yards out. His accurate shot forced LMU goalie Billy Thompson to make diving effort which sent the ball careening out of bounds, setting up a Colgate corner kick.

Loyola’s best chance of the first half came in the 38th minute when Juan DeRada redirected a ball to teammate Adrien Perez who quickly fired on net, sending the ball high over the crossbar.

Colgate got off to a fast start in the second half when first-year Zach Pagani, on a dish from senior captain Brett Metzger, launched a ball on goal which found the back of the net. Much to the chagrin of the Raiders, the goal was reversed due to an offside call.

Following the reversed goal, Colgate keeper, first-year Ricky Brown, was forced to make two excellent saves in just 10 minutes.

The Raiders took the lead in the 59th minute of the game on a set piece goal by Kutler. First-year Geinda Smith sent a free kick towards his teammate, who then sent a laser to the left hand side of the net for the score. The goal was the first of Kutler’s collegiate career and gave Colgate a 1-0 lead with 31 minutes left in the game.

Forced into desperation mode towards the end of the game, LMU began to press the Raiders back four defenders. In the 87th minute, following a scramble in front of the net, Trent Clifton fired a ball into the box where it was then redirected by Le Prikhodovskiy to John McFarlin who then played it into the back of the net, tying the game at one.

Two minutes later, LMU took the lead on a breakaway goal from Dylan Seedman. Loyola’s McFarlin lofted a ball over the Colgate defense to a sprinting Seedman who found himself with a one on one opportunity against Colgate’s Ricky Brown. Brown tried to meet the attacker half way to cut off the angle, but Seedman shot past the Raider goalie’s arms for the game winning goal.

Demoralized, the Raiders were unable to respond, losing the opening game of the CU Inaria Classic. Loyola led the Raiders in shots 18-16. Goalies Ricky Brown and Thompson had five and three saves respectively.

Following their heart-wrenching loss to Loyola, the Raiders played Cal State Fullerton on Sunday afternoon on Van Doren Field. Pagani scored two of Colgate’s three goals, leading the team to a 3-1 victory over CSF.

Colgate’s hopes to a solid start were dashed when the team gave up a penalty kick goal to CSF’s Ian Ramos in the 17th minute of the game.

Following a series of missed opportunities, Colgate tied the game at one when junior Chris Campbell passed the ball to Pagani who then redirected the ball off his head and past Fullerton’s Bryan Escalante for his first goal of the game.

CSF, looking to respond, started the second half with a solid chance on goal. Fortunately for the Raiders, junior Evan Heroux thwarted the Titan’s opportunity. Fullerton’s Ramos launched a cross into the box towards three Titans. Heroux sprinted in to make the play, stopping the attack.

Later, in the game’s 73rd minute, Pagani scored his second goal of the game via a lofted chip from senior Scott Brown, giving the Raiders a 2-1 lead. Pagani hustled past the Titan’s back four, boxed out goalie Bryan Escalante and flicked the loose ball towards the back of the net for his second goal of the game.

Rookie Geinda Smith ensured a Raider victory when he sniped a ball towards the bottom left corner of the net. The play was started by junior Tanner Schilling who blew past two CSF defenders and played the ball to Smith who then took one touch before scoring his first goal of the game.

“Overall, I feel really good for the guys,” Ronning said. “We’ve been this close so many times and I don’t believe our record indicates how strong of a team we actually are. We were very dangerous today as well as being solid defensively. We have a good team, and greater things are going to be coming throughout the course of

the season.”

    Contact JP Letourneau at [email protected].