Colgate went into its game against No. 6 Syracuse knowing it was in for a battle. Unfortunately, the Orange’s attack proved too great, and the Raiders fell to the Central New York powerhouse, 17-5.

The No. 19 Raiders came out extremely pumped for the contest and ready to shock the lacrosse world. The way they began the game it seemed like an upset was within their grasp. Syracuse came out and picked up a tally almost immediately, but Colgate bounced right back with two goals by sophomore Courtney Miller to take a 2-1 lead. The first of Miller’s goals featured a familiar connection, as senior Meghan Lawler, like she had done so effectively in the Raiders’ previous contest against Stony Brook, set up Miller from behind the goal. Junior Colleen Bubnack set up the second goal, and the Raiders found themselves leading the Orange.

Syracuse is not ranked sixth in the country by accident, and they quickly showed why by tallying twice to take back the lead at 3-2. With the score at 3-2, and 18:55 left in the first half, the turning point of the game came. Colgate had a wonderful opportunity to tie things up, but Miller false started on a free position shot, and just 16 seconds later Syracuse went up 4-2. Bubnack answered a couple of minutes later on a free position shot, but Syracuse ran off five consecutive unanswered goals to go up 9-3 at halftime. To add insult to injury, with two minutes left in the half Colgate looked to invigorate some life into the contest by adding a goal. Junior Kate Bergstrom charged the net and appeared to put the ball in, but the goal was waved off as Bergstrom was issued a yellow card for her hard challenge.

“I don’t think that was really a fair card,” sophomore goalkeeper Christina Roa said, “I felt the refs made a lot of horrible calls throughout the game both ways.”

Coming out for the second half the Raiders did not have the same fire they had to start the contest. Syracuse scored six consecutive goals before the Raiders could blink, and by the time Meghan Lawler scored it was 15-4. Syracuse then tallied twice more before Bubnack could deposit her second of the game with 1:49 remaining to complete the scoring at 17-5.

“I don’t think the score of the game really portrayed how well we did. We played a strong first half but made silly mistakes in the second,” Roa said. “This loss added fuel to our team’s fire. It really pointed out our strengths and weaknesses which we are working hard in practice to improve upon.”

Christina Roa was once again solid in net for the Raiders, garnering the fourth game of her career with ten or more saves.

“It’s a great feeling and it is definitely something I strive to continue to do. It has also made me want to work harder and improve upon that,” Roa said.

Colgate returns to action this Sunday with another tough game against No. 14 Penn State.

“Penn State is a really good team. They have a lot of depth and they are really athletic, but I know we can give them a good game,” Roa said. “We have had a really good week of practice and have been trying out some new plays to get ready for the game. I think if our team plays to our potential we can give them a run for their money.”

Regardless, this hard early schedule will prepare the Raiders well for the Patriot League season.