This past weekend, the Colgate women’s soc­cer team traveled to Lewisburg, PA to take part in its critical final game of the regular season. Following Navy’s loss to American on Friday, the Raiders entered the game guaranteed to make it into the Patriot League Tournament. Despite the lessened pressure, the team was looking for a win that would clinch the third seed in the playoffs. Unfortunately, the Raiders fell to Patriot League co-champion Bucknell in a hard-fought 1-0 bat­tle. Colgate’s 3-3-1 record within the league was good enough for the fourth seed in the playoffs this upcoming weekend.

The scoring opened early in the match, when Bucknell midfielder Christa Matlack ripped a 35-yard laser off the right post and into the Raider net. Consistent all year long, Colgate sophomore keeper Alexis Longwell did not have a chance on the beautiful shot. Longwell made one other save in the game, defending against nine total attacks on the net taken by the Bison.

The always tough ‘Gate defense was able to force Bucknell to take difficult shots, leading to seven of the Bison’s attempts veering off-target. After the first goal, Colgate put the pressure on Bucknell, firing off six of their own shots in the first 45 minutes of play.

In the second half, the Raiders continued to pressure Bucknell, ripping six more attempts on the Bison net. Despite the constant pressure and good looks for Colgate, they were unable to re­cord a goal due in part to Bucknell keeper Sandita McDermott. McDermott turned away all seven of Colgate’s shots that fell on target.

Although they lost the game by just one tally when the final whistle blew, the Raiders arguably out-played the Bucknell Bison. Colgate out-shot Bucknell 12-9, took one more corner, and com­mitted half as many fouls. Despite the loss, the Raiders are undoubtedly glad to be in the league playoffs following a mediocre 6-11-1 season.

‘Gate will take the field again on Friday in West Point, New York. Colgate will match up against top-seeded Army, who is also the host of the conference playoffs. The semifinal is set for a 4 p.m. start.

The Raiders last faced off against Army on October 24, battling to a scoreless tie after two overtimes, and have not lost to the Knights since the fall of 2008. Colgate will look to continue its strong play of late and attempt to advance to the Patriot League Championship game for the second consecutive year.