This past weekend the Raiders traveled to the Green Mountain State in search of their first win of the 2013 season. The Raiders first game was a Friday showdown against the University of Vermont. It was a defensively intensive game with Vermont scoring just one goal, but the Raiders failed to put one in the net and fell short of a victory.

The game opened to a crowd of 636 fans, with the Raiders claiming a majority of the first half chances. The team’s first chance came when sophomore midfielder Cameron McCaslin made a series of nice moves past the Vermont defenders and fired a shot which ricocheted off the cross bar.

In his first collegiate start, first-year goalie Ricky Brown, made some great saves for Colgate and was able to keep the game tied going into halftime. The Raiders had another great opportunity to score in the 67th minute, when junior forward Tanner Schilling found an opening, driving the ball off the far right post.

After Schilling’s missed shot, the Catamounts made a surge towards the net. In the 67th minute, Vermont’s first chance of the second half came when first-year Bernard Yeboah found another first-year in Brian Wright on the six-yard line for what would become the game winning score.

Despite a flurry of shots from the Raiders in final 23 minutes, the team failed to score and fell to Vermont in their first game of the tournament 1-0.

Following the loss, the Raiders came out on Sunday to play their second and final game of the tournament against the New Hampshire Wildcats.

New Hampshire started the game hot, getting off their first shot on goal in the seventh minute when junior midfielder Aaron Smith deked a few defenders and fired a shot on net. For a majority of the first half, Colgate limited the Wildcats to outside

the 18-yard line.

Unfortunately for the Raiders, in the 37th minute of the game, sophomore Lukas Goerigk scored the first goal of the game on a corner kick from fellow sophomore Jesus Tudela.

However, the Raiders were not done and were not willing to give up. In the second half, the Raiders out-shot the Wildcats 11-1 attempting to tie the game up. In the 55th minute, senior captain Barrett Metzger fired a ball on net but was stopped by the Wildcats goalie keeping the shutout alive.

In the final 10 minutes of play, Colgate made last-second efforts when Schilling struck a ball on net that bounced off the post and went back into play. The Raiders failed to find another opportunity to score and fell 1-0.

Although the Raiders failed to score this weekend, the team still outshot its opponents 20-8 this past weekend. If the Raiders continue to outshoot their opponents at this clip, the goals will eventually come.

As of now, the Raiders have to accept their 0-4 record as a fluke and remain confident that their shots will eventually find the back of the net.

Contact JP Letourneau at [email protected].