Colgate men’s soccer got off to a good start this past weekend, playing to a scoreless draw with Temple before beating Stony Brook, 2-1, in double overtime, at the Lafayette Classic.

The Temple game was simply a frustrating battle for the Raiders. Excited to kick off the new season, Colgate came out firing in the first half, outshooting the Owls 8-2 and generating four more corner kicks than their opponent. Unfortunately, these opportunities failed to translate into goals for the squad.

Temple seemed to find its legs during the second half, picking up their play and threatening the Raiders on occasion.

Colgate, however, still dictated much of the play, but the goal would not come. Both teams played a fairly uneventful overtime, with only one shot registered between the two teams, and the game ended 0-0.

“It was frustrating to only come away with a draw against Temple, but that’s soccer,” junior Mike Reese said. “Sometimes the ball just won’t go in the back of the net. While the result was frustrating, we were pleased with the way we played. We dictated the tempo, created chances and looked strong and organized defensively. We just told ourselves to continue playing the right way, the way we wanted to play, and with a little more composure around the goal the results would start to come.”

The Raiders entered their match against Stony Brook, the first match-up between the teams in history, eager to get on the scoreboard. Unfortunately, the wall over the Colgate goal seemed to have remained in place, as both the Raiders and Seawolves’ failed to score in the opening period.

Stony Brook came out threatening in the second half and eventually got on the board in the 67th minute, as redshirt first-year Marc Godelman took a through-ball from near midfield and beat goaltender Grant Reed. Colgate seemed to awaken a bit after the goal and desperately pushed for the equalizer.

Just as it seemed the game would end in disappointment for the Raiders once again, the Raiders tied it up.

“After Stony Brook scored, we really started to push forward. Their defense had been bending all game and with 2 minutes left [Preseason Defensive Player of the Year] Jeff Leach got the ball on the left, took a touch inside and whipped a cross into the top of the box. Pat Letourneau let the ball run by him to Steve [Miller], who had great composure and buried it. It was clutch,” Reese said.

The rest of the second half played out without a goal, and the two teams headed into overtime with Colgate enjoying all

the momentum.

“Once we got the equalizer and all the momentum that came with it, we knew it was only a matter of time until we got

another,” Reese said.

Stony Brook, however, had other ideas, and they kept Colgate scoreless throughout the first overtime period. But in the 101st minute, Mike Reese decided it would be a nice time to record his first collegiate goal.

“I am probably the last guy on the team you would pick to score a game-winning goal. As soon as I scored I just looked at my teammates and started laughing,”

Reese said.

The goal came off a corner kick, where the ball pinballed off of possibly every player wearing a Colgate uniform.

Eventually, after moving around at a dizzying speed, the ball landed at Reese’s feet, and he was able to tap it in for the score. To Reese, scoring the goal was the easy part: “I just had to poke it across the line and brace myself for the dogpile.”

Next up for the Raiders are games at Siena and Albany.

“[They] will be a challenge, but we are just going to focus on ourselves, try to impose our style of play on the game and continue to fight, battle and work hard to win games while coming together as a team,” Reese said.

The Siena game is slated for a 3 p.m. start on Friday, while the contest against Albany will begin at 1 p.m. on Sunday. Last year Colgate defeated Siena 2-1 in Hamilton and topped Albany 3-1 in the Capital District.