The Colgate men’s lacrosse team con­tinued its March hot streak, winning three of the four games following its 14-12 vic­tory over Robert Morris on the first of the month. The Raiders beat local foe Hobart College 11-7 on March 5 and trounced Pa­triot League rival Holy Cross 13-3 at home a week later. The squad took a slight step backward when edged by Binghamton 7-6 on March 15, but rebounded with an 11-9 victory at Fairfield last Saturday. Colgate’s record now stands at 5-3.

It was a cold and rainy afternoon in Geneva, New York when the Raiders faced the Statesmen on March 5, but the offense had no problem executing in the inclement weather. Although Hobart tallied the first two goals of the match, Colgate countered with seven unanswered goals in the sec­ond quarter. The Statesmen notched a few points in a comeback attempt, but Colgate kept pace and sealed the win with two goals late in the third and another to start the fourth. Midfielders junior Jeff Ledwick and sophomore Connor Brown each contribut­ed two goals while fellow midfielders senior captain Rob Bosco and junior John Don­nally tallied one apiece. First-year Brendon McCann added one goal to the mix, and sophomore Peter Baum snuck four past the Hobart keeper, bringing his goal tally to 14 in the last three games alone. Junior goalkeeper Jared Madison made 11 saves and senior David Tucciarone, who grabbed seven groundballs and caused four Hobart turnovers, was instrumental on defense and in transition. The victory marked Colgate’s first over Hobart since the 1964 season.

The Raiders returned home to face Holy Cross on March 12 and capitalized on the momentum of their previous two wins for a 13-3 defeat of the Crusaders. The offense was dominant, scoring the first eight goals of the contest, and Baum continued his scoring streak with three goals and two assists. Senior Ben McCabe and sophomore Michael Thomas added two scores each while McCann, Donnally, Bosco, senior Andrew Mould and Brown each contributed one as well. Tucciarone rounded out the scoring with a tally of his own, in addition to scooping five ground­balls and causing four turnovers. Although the offense was clearly on point, Colgate’s defense was particularly efficient, hold­ing the Crusaders scoreless until midway through the third quarter. Madison, who was relieved by first-year goalkeeper Matt Robertson in the fourth, let in just two goals while making nine saves. The Raid­ers were also stellar in transition, going 23 of 24 on clears.

Despite such an assertive win in its first Patriot League contest, Colgate fell to Binghamton at home three days later. The game was tied until two minutes re­maining in the fourth, when the visitors scored their eighth goal, putting the final nail in the coffin on a hard-fought game. Although ‘Gate lost, the game was close and the Raiders were superior in most facets of the game, including clears (19 of 20) and turnovers. Colgate also outshot the Bearcats 39 to 23 and the Bingham­ton goalie made 17 saves. The offense was there, but simply did not put enough in to edge out the Bearcats.

The Raiders looked to rebound at Fair­field four days later, and did so with an 11-9 win over the Stags. The squad had a balanced attack offensively; Mould notched three goals from the attack spot and Baum chipped in four from the mid­field. Sophomore Matt Baker also scored two goals, one of which stood as the lone man-up goal for the Raiders, and Ledwick and junior Kevin Gordon each registered one. Gordon’s was his first in­tercollegiate tally. Madison stopped 13 Stag shots and the defense was able to clamp down on Fairfield late in the game, securing Colgate’s fifth victory.

The Raiders will look to build on their momentum when they take the field on Saturday at Navy.