Women’s Lacrosse Guaranteed Spot in Patriot League Tournament

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This past Saturday at Tyler’s Field, the Colgate women’s lacrosse team played through wind and rain in order to secure a spot in the Patriot League Tournament. The Raiders triumphed over Lafayette in a 13-9 win.

It was a memorable day for junior midfielder Courtney Miller who tallied her hundredth ca­reer goal after putting three in the back of the net. Senior midfielder Colleen Bubnack led the team to victory with four goals of her own and senior attacker Kate Bergstrom tallied a total of four points on three goals and one assist.

Colgate lit up the scoreboard immediately with three consecutive goals in the first five minutes of play. Bergstrom, Miller and Bub­nack each netted goals, with Bergstrom tally­ing the assist on Bubnack’s. Lafayette managed to get onto the scoreboard with 24 minutes remaining in the half with a point from Katie Leto, but the Raiders were able to keep their momentum alive with three-straight to build a 6-1 lead over the Leopards. Bergstrom net­ted two goals just before Katie Sullivan assisted Bubnack for another tally.

Lafayette’s Cammie Linville was able to stop the bleeding with two points, followed by anoth­er goal from teammate Jessica Rothstein. Colgate fired back as sophomore midfielder Kelly Mason scored her first goal of the season and second goal of her career. Miller finished out the half with her second goal of the day, just one shy of the hundredth career goal mark. The Raiders took to the locker room with a four-goal lead over the Leopards and an entire frame left to play.

In the first eight minutes of the second half, the teams traded goals. Linville posted her second point of the day, just one minute into play. Bubnack fired back with her third goal of the day. Lafayette answered the call on a tally from Victoria Maxon, cutting the lead down to 9-6. The next seven minutes of play were rather silent as both teams battled one another for possession of the ball. Miller, hungry for her hundredth career goal, broke the silence with a point off of a spot-on feed from sophomore midfielder Quincey Spagnoletti. The score was 10-6 with 14 minutes remaining in play.

The two teams traded goals in the final stretch of play. Junior midfielder Greer Goebels and sophomore midfielder Amanda O’Sullivan each tallied points for the team and Bubnack added her final goal to the point total. The Raiders closed out the final half with a 13-9 win over Lafayette.

Junior goalie Christina Roa was a key player for the team, having a total of 12 stops in the game, eight of which came during the sec­ond half of play. She also prevented Lafayette from scoring on nine out of their 15 free-po­sition shots and found success on 19 out of her 24 clears.

Both Lafayette and Colgate had difficulty holding onto the ball as the two teams had a combined 45 turnovers. Colgate had a 28-24 advantage in ground balls. Courtney Mill­er had a whopping seven ground balls for the day, with Bubnack following in the score sheets with four of her own. Junior Kailey Krause and first-year Alison Flood both had noteworthy performances with three ground balls a piece. On the de­fensive end, Colgate caused a total of 14 turnovers with Beasley Hayes, Flood and Bubnack each totaling three.

Lafayette was the dominant team on the draw, winning 15 out of 24 draw controls. Miller led the team with three draw controls.

“I made sure I was pushing it until the last second of that game,” Miller said. “I guess I was just at the right place on the circle and once the ball came near me I made sure to capitalize and fight for it.”

Colgate has now officially knocked La­fayette out of tournament play. With just one regular season game left in the sea­son, the Raiders hope to finish strong and cinch the top seed in the tournament. The Raiders must beat Bucknell and Lehigh must beat Navy in order for the women to have a shot at hosting the Patriot League tournament. Colgate explained early in the season that the team’s main goal for the season was to host the tournament; thus, Saturday’s game will be as crucial a game as ever.

“We are ready to finish our season strong,” sophomore midfielder M.J. Smith explained. “We intend to pick up the level of play in practice in order to play to our potential in our final two reg­ular season games. If we challenge each other more in practice then we will in­evitably get better this final week. There is still a possibility of hosting the Patriot League Tournament, but as a team we intend to keep our focus on Lehigh to ensure that we can win.”

Navy, Colgate, Lehigh and Ameri­can have clinched Patriot League Tour­nament berths and Navy, Colgate and Lehigh are all 4-1 in the league. Sat­urday’s game will be especially impor­tant if the Raider’s hope to edge out the other opponents.

In 2012, Colgate will lose three of its four captains as well as leading scorer and overall powerhouse Bubnack. Bubnack has had 45 goals and 15 assists this season and will leave big shoes to fill. Also, senior Kate Bergstrom has been a key player in her four years having 18 goals this season. Captain Missy Guisti has held down the fort for the Raiders on the defensive end, starting in every game and earning ten caused turnovers this year. Still, prospects are high for the Raiders as goalie Chris­tina Roa and midfielder Courtney Miller will return to play in 2012. Also, two ris­ing sophomores Alison Flood and Monica White have been essential assets to the team this year scoring 18 and 15 goals re­spectively. This is just the beginning for these two players.

The Raiders will now look to clinch the top seed in the tournament. Colgate hosts Bucknell at 1 p.m. on Saturday at Tyler’s field.advantage in ground balls. Courtney Mill­er had a whopping seven ground balls for the day, with Bubnack following in the score sheets with four of her own. Junior Kailey Krause and first-year Alison Flood both had noteworthy performances with three ground balls a piece. On the de­fensive end, Colgate caused a total of 14 turnovers with Beasley Hayes, Flood and Bubnack each totaling three.

Lafayette was the dominant team on the draw, winning 15 out of 24 draw controls. Miller led the team with three draw controls.

“I made sure I was pushing it until the last second of that game,” Miller said. “I guess I was just at the right place on the circle and once the ball came near me I made sure to capitalize and fight for it.”

Colgate has now officially knocked La­fayette out of tournament play. With just one regular season game left in the sea­son, the Raiders hope to finish strong and cinch the top seed in the tournament. The Raiders must beat Bucknell and Lehigh must beat Navy in order for the women to have a shot at hosting the Patriot League tournament. Colgate explained early in the season that the team’s main goal for the season was to host the tournament; thus, Saturday’s game will be as crucial a game as ever.

“We are ready to finish our season strong,” sophomore midfielder M.J. Smith explained. “We intend to pick up the level of play in practice in order to play to our potential in our final two reg­ular season games. If we challenge each other more in practice then we will in­evitably get better this final week. There is still a possibility of hosting the Patriot League Tournament, but as a team we intend to keep our focus on Lehigh to ensure that we can win.”

Navy, Colgate, Lehigh and Ameri­can have clinched Patriot League Tour­nament berths and Navy, Colgate and Lehigh are all 4-1 in the league. Sat­urday’s game will be especially impor­tant if the Raider’s hope to edge out the other opponents.

In 2012, Colgate will lose three of its four captains as well as leading scorer and overall powerhouse Bubnack. Bubnack has had 45 goals and 15 assists this season and will leave big shoes to fill. Also, senior Kate Bergstrom has been a key player in her four years having 18 goals this season. Captain Missy Guisti has held down the fort for the Raiders on the defensive end, starting in every game and earning ten caused turnovers this year. Still, prospects are high for the Raiders as goalie Chris­tina Roa and midfielder Courtney Miller will return to play in 2012. Also, two ris­ing sophomores Alison Flood and Monica White have been essential assets to the team this year scoring 18 and 15 goals re­spectively. This is just the beginning for these two players.

The Raiders will now look to clinch the top seed in the tournament. Colgate hosts Bucknell at 1 p.m. on Saturday at Tyler’s field.