Last Saturday, the Colgate women’s lacrosse team suffered a heartbreaking defeat to the Navy Midshipmen by a score of 12-8 after surrendering seven unanswered second-half goals in a contest that took place at Tyler’s Field. The Raiders fell to 6-6 on the season, 2-1 in Patriot League play.

Junior midfielder Colleen Bubnack recorded five points off two goals and three assists, while senior midfielder Meghan Lawler also had a strong outing with four points off two goals and two assists. Sophomore goaltender Christina Roa stopped 12 out of 24 shots.

“We needed to take care of the ball in the second half,” Head Coach Heather Young said. “We got some great defensive stops and big saves, but turned the ball right back over to Navy and we kept giving them opportunity

after opportunity.”

Colgate fell behind early, a product of two quick goals by Navy in the first five minutes of play. The Raiders answered back soon after, however, scoring the game’s next three goals in a span of almost three minutes.

Colgate’s first goal came at the 5:48 mark when Bubnack scored unassisted. Two minutes later, Lawler scored her first of the day off an assist by Bubnack. The Raiders took their first lead at 8:20 when junior attack Kate Bergstrom scored, assisted by Lawler. The Midshipmen answered back to knot the game at three 36 seconds later and retook the lead at 9:33 into the first half.

For the second time in the frame Colgate scored three in a row. The Raiders scored their fourth of the game when Bubnack assisted Lawler at the 14:01 mark. Almost three minutes later, Bergstrom scored unassisted on a man-up opportunity to take a 5-4 lead. The next nine minutes of the half saw Navy attack the Colgate end with all it had, but Roa and the defense stood tall to protect the lead.

The last four minutes of the session were surprisingly active in terms of scoring. At the 26:04 mark, Bubnack scored her second of the game on a free position shot. Exactly one minute later, the Midshipmen once again pulled within one. A little over a minute later, at the 28:26 mark, first-year midfielder Quincey Spagnoletti scored her ninth goal of the year, assisted by Bubnack, giving the Raiders a 7-5 lead.

With 36 seconds left in the half, Colgate took a three-goal lead when sophomore attack Katie Sullivan scored her 11th goal of the year, off an assist by Lawler. That was the Raiders’ last goal of the game, as they would be shut out in the second frame.

Navy mounted a furious attack in the second session in order to come back and win the game. The Midshipmen started by scoring two quick goals in the first 70 seconds to pull within one at 8-7.

Colgate’s lead only lasted until the 5:52 mark, as Navy scored the tying goal and three minutes later took the lead for good. Three more goals in a five-minute span, between the 16:18 and 21:43 mark, gave the Midshipmen a comfortable cushion to protect their four-goal lead. The Raiders mounted a strong comeback effort in the waning minutes of the game, but fell just short.

The way the Patriot League standings are shaping up it is very likely that, barring a total collapse from both squads, the two teams will face each other again in the conference tournament.

“If we do see them again, the draw controls, groundballs and 50/50 balls will be key,” Young said. “We need possession to control the game, much like we did in the first half against them on Saturday. Our attack will have to remain disciplined for 60 minutes to ensure that we are putting points on the board.”

Colgate will next take the field this Friday as it travels to Easton, PA to take on the Lafayette Leopards in a crucial Patriot League matchup. The contest is slated to begin at 7 p.m.