After the Wednesday night win at home over Siena, the Colgate field hockey team went 1-1 on the road this weekend, losing 6-1 to Lock Haven before beating St. Francis of Pennsylvania 2-1 in overtime. The team improved its record to 3-6 on the season.

On Saturday, Colgate’s only goal of the day was scored by first-year Olivia Nabhan, her second collegiate goal. Although senior captain Kirsten Lalli played the majority of the game in goal, first-year Caitlin Zolet also had the opportunity to play keeper as she took over for the final ten minutes of the game.

Lock Haven began their scoring drive only 2:24 into the game, but Nabhan soon evened the score at 1-1. Lock Haven’s offense, however, was not slowed, scoring two more goals in the first half. In the second half, another quick goal – this one just 33 seconds in – continued to build on Lock Haven’s lead. The game ended with

Lock Haven taking the victory, 6-1.

“Unfortunately for us, junior Peyton Hawkins sustained a season-ending injury during the Siena game,” Head Coach Foto said. “She was hit in the face by a ball that came off a defenders stick. She was immediately taken to the hospital where she was evaluated and then sent to Basset Hospital Trauma Center in Cooperstown for further evaluation. Peyton was released that night but has headed home for surgery that will take place this week. Peyton is a huge loss for the team. She has started every game of her Colgate career and was having an outstanding season. During the game with Lock Haven this weekend we tried to make some adjustments without her in the lineup and we struggled.”

The next day, the Raiders played a great game, earning a victory over St. Francis. Colgate secured an early lead on a goal scored by senior Laura Denenga, with first-year Halle Biggar capturing the assist. This was Denenga’s sixth of the season.

In the second half, St. Francis tied the game at one with a goal less than three minutes in. During overtime, the victory came down to Biggar and Denenga again, though this time it was Biggar who scored the goal and Denenga who took the assist.

“Everyone was tired – we have had five games in the past 9 days – but we knew that if we were going to win we still had to be aggressive and decisive with our actions,” Lalli said. “In field hockey, overtime is sudden death, so we knew that if we could put high pressure on St Francis that we’d be in a better position to end the game sooner rather than later.”

“The St. Francis game was another adjustment, not only to not having Peyton but also to playing on field turf which is much slower than astro turf,” Coach Foto said.

In looking at the week overall, Lalli was pleased with her team’s improvements, noting their toughness and focus throughout the games.

“We had to make sure we set the tone that we wanted at the beginning of each half,” Lalli said. “Once we put pressure on and are able to maintain that intensity during the first ten minutes it becomes a lot easier to carry the momentum to generate more offense than if we find ourselves down a goal early on.”

The Raiders will take the field again on Saturday at home. They will face the Bryant University Bulldogs, who are currently 0-7.