Saturday’s home game against American University brought the Raider field hockey team a disappointing loss with a final score of 4-1. In this Patriot League matchup, Colgate consistently trailed American on the scoreboard. The Raiders were able cut down their lead early in the second half, but this fighting energy was unable to follow them throughout the game

Within the first four minutes of the game, American clinched its lead with two rapid goals. Sophomore forward Katie Rothenhoefer tallied her team’s first point 1:32 into the game with an impressive unassisted goal. She was able to chip the ball over a defender’s stick, regain control of it in midair and then knock it straight past Raiders sophomore goalie Amanda DiDomizio. The Eagles’ next goal was scored two minutes later by junior mid-fielder Shelly Montgomery. She was sent a pass from junior forward Alex McMackin and was able to direct it to the near goal post to boost her team to a 2-0 lead.

Following these two early goals, the Raiders attempted to regain their position by controlling the play and earning a few shots on goal. In the first half, they were awarded four penalty corners to American’s three. Despite this advantage, the Eagles outshot the Raiders 8-7 within the first 35 minutes.

At the opening of the second half, the Raiders clearly made an effort to step up their game. Junior forward Halle Biggar seized the opportunity to tally Colgate’s only goal of the game, cutting American’s lead in half. She broke into the circle off a breakaway and fired a shot from the right side, which hit the back of the net with a substantial amount of power and speed. The goal came just over three minutes into the second half, after which the Raiders had a period of increased pressure on the Eagles’ defense. A second chance came on a penalty corner when the ball deflected into the middle of the circle and sopho-more forward Eliana Brown had an im-pressive attempt on goal but Eagles’ junior goalie Ashley Dalisera made the save.

American was able to match the pres-sure mounted by the Raiders and within the second half scored their third goal of the game. With 17:11 left on the clock, junior forward Jaclyn Anspach scored for her team with an assist from McMackin. It came on a penalty corner where they fol-lowed a tic-tac-toe game plan inside the circle ending with Anspach hitting the ball into the open net.

Montgomery got her name on the board a second time to close out the scoring with less than three minutes left of the game. The Raiders walked off the field with a 4-1 loss, despite putting up a commendable fight. According to the stats, they hung on closely as American had a slim shot advan-tage of 19-17. DiDomizio put up a strong fight in goal with nine saves for her team. Dalisera tallied 11 saves in goal to earn her team the win.

The Raiders will be back at Tyler’s Field next weekend with another Patriot League matchup against Holy Cross. They will be honoring their seniors prior to the game.

Contact Jessica Gorski at [email protected].