While many students went home for spring break, the Colgate men’s lacrosse team stayed at school and were hard at work on the field. They played three games, picking up victories in all three. After two tough losses to Cornell University and Hobart College the previous week, the Raiders played their first two home games. The team also participated in the Metropolitan Lacrosse Classic at Citi Field.

The first of two home games for the Raiders was on March 9 against Holy Cross, which was also their first Patriot League game. Coming home was just what the Raiders needed, as they ended their losing streak at two games and had their largest margin of victory of the

season. Seniors Matt Baker and Peter Baum finished the game with hat tricks while sophomore Ryan Walsh had four goals on the day. Baum also pitched in with three assists while senior Robbie Grabher added two assists to his goal. In goal, junior Conor Murphy made six saves behind the stellar Raider defense, which held the Crusader attack without a goal for close to 30 minutes.

Building off their success in the previous game, the Raiders returned to Andy Kerr Stadium to take on the Binghamton Bearcats. The momentum helped carry the Raiders to a 12-5 victory, led by Baum’s six goals. On top of breaking the University scoring record previously set by Derek Laub’s 200 points from 1990-1993, Baum’s six goals pushed his career points up to 205 and marked the fifth time in his collegiate career he recorded a double hat trick. Walsh recorded four goals for the second straight game while junior Brendon McCann led the team with three assists. Murphy was in goal once again, making seven saves.

Leaving home, the Raiders headed for Queens, N.Y. where they took on the University of Michigan as part of the Metropolitan Lacrosse Classic doubleheader which was televised by ESPNU. In front of a crowd of 15,656, the Raiders took down the Wolverines by a score of 10-7. Junior defenseman Kevin Boyle drew first blood, scoring for the Raiders off a pass from senior defenseman James Queeney. From that point on, the Raiders attack took over with Baum and Walsh each scoring a hat trick and junior Jimmy Ryan scoring two goals as well. The Wolverines could not respond to the Raiders’ heavy attack and Murphy was rock solid in the net, making 12 key saves to keep the Raiders in the game.

With the 2013 season well underway, the Raiders’ high-octane offense, led by last year’s Tewaaraton award winner Baum, is clearly a force to be reckoned with. Baum leads the Raiders with 23 goals and 11 assists and ranks in the top 10 nationally in goals per game as well as points per game. Just behind Baum is Walsh who has recorded 20 goals and five assists and Ryan right behind him with 11 goals and five assists.

The Raiders now begin the league portion of their schedule, as they travel down to Baltimore on Saturday, March 23 for a tough battle against the Navy Midshipmen as a part of the Konica Minolta Face-Off Classic at Baltimore’s M&T Bank Stadium. This will be the Raiders’ second-straight classic at a big-time venue, where they look to once again capitalize on the big stage.