The Colgate women’s soc-cer team kicked off their 2012 Patriot League schedule with a big road victory over their strong inter-conference rival the Bucknell Bison.

The Raiders immediately began the match on a strong note with three powerful scoring opportu-nities in just the first five minutes of the game. Senior forward Jillian Kinter and sophomore forward Jenna Raepple initiated the early offensive outpour with three shots on goal in the first half that almost connected with the net.

Colgate’s persistence was rewarded when the Raiders were able to capture the early one-goal advantage when sophomore midfielder Emily Manoogian scored her third goal of the season just eight minutes into the course of the game.

Unwilling to go into halftime with just a one goal lead, Colgate turned on their engines and managed to tally another goal several minutes before the end of the half. A brilliant scramble play in front of the net by first-year Catherine Williams brought the advantage farther to Colgate’s side.

The goal was scored when Wil-liam’s cross play dribble was suddenly deflected off of a Bison defender into the open goal. This gave the Raiders a commanding 2-nil goal advantage heading into the second half of play.

The Raiders seemed to be in com-plete domination of the ball possession and the tempo of the game throughout the remainder of the first half.

Bucknell managed to respond early in the second half with a skill-fully placed volley shot from Evelyn Nicinski that landed past senior goalkeeper Ashley Walsh for the goal. Nicinski was able to create this opportunity with some effi-cient cross dribbling from the right wing of the field.

Five minutes later, Colgate returned to its aggressive and relentless ways when Williams and Kinter consecutively scored goals within a span of just three minutes.

Kinter maneuvered the ball from the right hand side of the field, which inevitably allowed her to connect with a wide-open Wil-liams for the relatively easy score, her sixth of the season.

The surging duo recorded their second goal when Williams scored a rebound goal off of a strong initial attempt from Kinter in the box. This was Williams’ seventh season goal. This gave Colgate a commanding 4-1 lead over Buck-nell heading into the final few minutes of the game.

“With Bucknell off to a great start this season, we knew it was going to take a concerted effort to win today. The combination play of our middies and strikers, along with a solid performance by the back four was impressive. Ashley Walsh continues to anchor this team in fine fashion,” Head Coach Kathy Brown said.

The Raiders (6-4-2) man-aged to hang onto their lead, giving them a solid 4-1 win over a tough Patriot League rival.

Walsh provided key sup-port for Colgate with six great saves.

Women’s soccer will seek to continue their winning ways next weekend at Van Doren Field for soccer fami-ly weekend against two more tough Patriot League teams.

Colgate will begin the weekend with a game against Army on Friday at 7:00 p.m. and finish off on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. against Holy Cross.

Contact Alan Pleat at

[email protected].