The Colgate men’s soccer team set­tled for what had to be an unfortunate tie this past weekend, finishing 3-3 with the Bucknell Bison. Sophomore forward Shane Conlin led the attack with a goal and an assist.

Throughout the year the Raiders have started each game strong, typically domi­nating possession throughout the first half. Most times, however, their effort has resulted in no goals. Senior forward Steve Miller made sure that would not be the case this time, as he rifled in a volley from twenty yards out to give the Raiders a 1-0 advantage.

“We haven’t given up any early goals in Patriot League games this year, so that first goal was a huge confidence boost for our team,” junior forward Matt Schuber said.

This lead, however, was short-lived, as Bucknell answered back in the 21st min­ute, heading a ball past a diving Chris Miller to even the score.

“Even though we haven’t been giving up early goals, we are more than used to playing in close games, so we used this as a wake-up call,” Schuber said. The 1-1 deadlock would carry over into halftime.

Colgate began the second half much like they had the first, scoring in the 56th minute to retake the lead. Sophomore defender Wade Martin found an open Mike Reidy, who fed a glorious cross to forward Shane Conlin in the box, who headed it in to complete the sophomore to sophomore to sophomore connection. And this time, unlike the first goal, the Raiders kept their foot on the gas, scor­ing the next point as well. After having had numerous chances from the 56th minute on, Schuber was the beneficiary in the 84th of a Conlin assist to make the score 3-1.

With six minutes left and a two-goal advantage the Fat Lady might as well have sung. But then the impossible happened. In the 86th minute, Bucknell scored twice! And to make it worse, both goals came on essentially the same play. Buck­nell’s Tommy McCabe, first on a corner kick and second on a free kick, sent a ball into the box where Mayowa Alli headed in for his first and second goals of the season. The game ended at 3-3, a result that felt as far from a tie as anything.

“After we scored that third goal a lot of us let our guard down a bit thinking the game was essentially over,” Schuber said. “We definitely learned from this that the game is 90 minutes for a reason and you have always got to keep your focus.”

The Raiders need to put this result behind them, however, when they travel to take on Navy this weekend. With four points in their next two games, against the Midshipmen and American, Colgate guarantees home-field advantage for the Patriot League tournament.

“Although we weren’t able to come away with a win in this game we are still in control of our own destiny,” Schuber said. “It all starts Saturday with Navy, and if we put in a good effort in the remainder of our season we know we’ll be opening the Patriot League tournament on Van Doren Field.