Colgate women's hockey team played the Niagara Purple Eagles in a two-game series last weekend. Colgate fell to Niagara 2-1 in the first competition last Friday afternoon but bounced back to win 4-1...
On Saturday afternoon the men's and women's swimming and diving teams saw mixed results in their Patriot League season opener against Bucknell. The men suffered a 160-52 defeat to the Bison, while the women took home a 156-87 victory.
The men are now 0-5, while the women moved to a record of 2-2.
It was a difficult day for the Colgate men, who earned just one first-place finish in the meet.
The relay team of senior captain Tucker Gniewek, juniors Costas Hadjipateras and Teddy Perley and sophomore Dan Sweeney swam the 200-yard free relay in a winning time of 1:25.36.
The Raiders did manage to place in three individual events. Both Hadjipateras and Gniewek finished second in their races. Hadjipateras swam a 1:55.05 in the 200-yard fly and Gniewek finished the 100-yard freestylein 47.22. Sweeney swam an impressive time of 21.38 in the 50-yard freestyle, which was good for third place.
The women had another successful weekend as they dominated in ten events. The 400-yard medley relay team came out on top with a time of 3:52.33. The team was comprised of senior captains Caren Guyett and Erin McGraw, who each posted two individual titles as well, and sophomores Lia Kunnapas and Emma Santoro, who each placed first in their individual events as well.
Guyett won the 400-yard individual medley and the 500-yard free, while McGraw won the 200-yard freestyle and 200-yard fly. Kunnapas earned a victory in the 200-yard backstroke and Santoro finished first in the 200-yard breaststroke.
Junior Erica Derlath also added a first-place finish for the Raiders with a 10:22.11 in the 1000-yard freestyle.
On the diving end, sophomore Kim Pilka experienced continued success as she mastered both the 1-meter and 3-meter dives. She scored 244.56 points in the 1-meter, a full 37.42 points above the second-place finish, and she scored 33.07 points over her closest opponent in the 3-meter dive as well with her 272.71-point victory.
The men's team has a weekend off to train and recuperate before they face off against the historically competitive Kenyon team at the Kenyon Invite in Gambier, OH on the weekend of December 2.
The women are back in action this Saturday as they travel to Pittsburg to compete against Duquesne. The meet is scheduled for a 1 p.m. start.
The Colgate men's hockey team has struggled early in conference play, as it dropped both games in its opening home weekend of ECAC Hockey play. On Friday night, the Raiders dropped a 4-3 heartbreaker...
Saturday, November 27 will be the most important day in the history of the state of Oklahoma. Alright, so maybe April 17, 1951, when Mickey Mantle (born in Spavinaw, Oklahoma) debuted as a Yankee was pretty important. Or, when Oklahoma gained statehood on November 16, 1907, but whatever. On this fateful Saturday, the Oklahoma University Sooners will play the Oklahoma State Cowboys in the 2010 edition of one of the most brutal in-state rivalries college football has ever seen. This year, the game will carry connotations much more significant than the usual our-part-of-the-state-is-better-than-yours rivalry, seriously impacting the futures of both teams. This game also carries the highest ticket price of any NCAA football game at $125 a seat. The outcome will impact everything from BCS rankings to where star recruiting prospects end up. This game, ladies and gentlemen, will change the world … of college football, at least.
The history of The Bedlam Rivalry is a long and glorious one which stretches back to 1904. It is a rivalry played out in each sport, but in football, my beloved Sooners normally win. The rivalry is said to have begun when, during a viciously windy football game between the two, a punt was blown back behind the OSU (then Oklahoma A&M) punter and into a frozen creek. Naturally, members of both teams dove into the frigid water to recover the errant ball and one brave (and frostbitten) Sooner brought the ball to the end zone, scoring a touchdown in the 75-0 Sooner victory. Thus, the Bedlam began. Last season, OU walloped OSU with a 27-0 win. At the time, OSU was 9-2 and in the middle of their winningest season in the BCS while OU was 6-5, having already lost more regular season games than in any other season under head coach Bob Stoops. When the teams met in the great stadium in Norman, OK in front of 85,606 fans, the Cowboys were ranked twelfth and the Sooners were unranked. Maybe it's the curse of that icy day, but OSU fell apart, looking downright foolish.
The reason this game is so epically important is not just because OSU is currently ranked higher than OU (12th and 14th, respectively), or because of bragging rights, tradition and future prospects are all up for grabs, but because this might just be the first year since 2002 that the Cowboys take down OU. First of all, the game will be played in Stillwater, OK. The Sooners have won the last 36 games they have played at Owen Field in Norman, OK. When the Sooners are home, it doesn't matter who the opponent is, OU will be winning, and winning by a lot. Currently ranked sixth for the longest home winning streak since WWII, OU is 23 games away from the record. And, frankly, with an average margin of victory of 28 points when playing ranked teams and an overall home record of 71-2 under Coach Stoops, I'm thinking it's doable. Unfortunately, the magic of Owen Field will be just out of reach on the 27th, and the Sooners will need more than Norman voodoo to take this game.
Most recently, after a disgraceful loss to 19th ranked Texas A&M 33-19, the Sooners came back with a vengeance in their next game against Texas Tech as junior Ryan Broyles broke the school record for touchdown receptions, scoring three on the day. Despite the offensive pyrotechnics involved in the 45-7 win, these past few games have revealed a major weakness in OU's defensive middle. Decidedly inconsistent throughout the season, the OU defense has not been able to shut down their opponent's run game. This weakness was particularly apparent against the University of Cincinnati Bearcats who racked up 461 yards against OU. Though OSU's offense is stacked to give them an advantage in the air (they're second in the nation in overall passing yards), without the ability to shut down the run game, OU will very quickly find themselves in a sticky situation and too distracted by the run game to defend properly against OSU quarterback Brandon Weeden's great arm.
The pride of the Sooners, the stellar offense which has defined the team's recent history, is going to have its prestige tested by its OSU counterpart. Weeden is one of the best QBs in the NCAA right now and, with a supporting cast of Jeremy Smith and Justin Blackmon, he's going to really pressure that OU defense (currently having depth issues because of injuries and the team's youth). OSU's defense isn't exactly a kitten either, dominating Baylor on the November 6 and holding a potent Texas offense to 16 points on November 13 despite a shaky start to the season.
So is it a lack of mental toughness that makes the away-game Sooners so much worse than home-game Sooners? I seriously hope so – better some mental issue (one which will hopefully go away under Bedlam-level pressure) than an actual problem within the team. Either way, I guess we'll find out on November 27.
This past weekend, the Colgate women's soccer team took the field for the final time this season. The Raiders traveled to West Point, NY, where they took on the Army Black Knights in the first semifinal...
The Colgate women's hockey team suffered a 6-2 defeat to the Dartmouth Big Green last Friday night in their third ECAC Hockey game of the season. The Raiders played again the following afternoon against...
Last Saturday the Colgate men's soccer team achieved the first of its goals for this season, winning the Patriot League regular season title with a thrilling 1-0 victory over the visiting American University Eagles.
"Obviously there was a lot riding on the American game," senior captain Jeff Leach said. "Having the ability to host the tournament gives us a distinct advantage because we've fared very well on Van Doren. And when we have the ability to control our own destiny we always feel very confident in our style of play."
Neither team pushed the tempo at the beginning of the contest, as they got a feel for each other in this mammoth game. As the half moved on, however, Colgate began to pick up the pressure. The Raiders attacked the American goal and registered two shots, but were unable to score. After weathering a short attack from American, Colgate took the play to the other side of the field again, and this time was able to capitalize. Leach used his superior speed to race down the right side of the field, and as he neared the end line he sent a cross into the middle. The ball fell right to senior forward Steve Miller, who fired a shot to give 'Gate a 1-0 advantage.
"We have a lot of success when we are able to quickly move the ball around the field, and in that instance our quick style of play exposed American's back line," Leach said. "Through a series of good passes we were able to get the necessary goal."
That lead carried into halftime, and the Raiders continued to put on the pressure coming out into the second half.
"Typically when a team scores a goal you tend to sit back because the other side will pick up the pressure," Leach said. "We've had that problem in the past, but this weekend we did a great job sticking to our original system. This allowed us to absorb pressure and maintain the control of the game."
As the clock ticked down and Colgate drew closer to the title, American picked up its pace. The Eagles pressured the Raiders all over the field and got a number of dangerous chances on goal. The play of the game, however, was made when junior goalkeeper Chris Miller made a diving, hockey-like save on an American shot, keeping Colgate ahead and ultimately giving his team the victory.
"With so much parity in the Patriot League, every game comes down to that one big play that one team can make to decide a game," Leach said. "Our defense has been incredibly strong throughout Patriot League play, which is a great testament to our backline and to Chris, for being able to make that decisive play to win a game. This is critical moving forward, that we can take as much pressure as we can off the backline, but the foundation of our team relies on a strong, cohesive defensive unit."
As the horn sounded, the Raiders gathered at midfield, reveling in their victory but knowing that their work was not done.
"At the beginning of the season we had a variety of goals that we wished to accomplish, and obviously winning a championship was included in those," Leach said. "However, our most important goal is to extend the season into the NCAA tournament, and although the regular season championship allows us to play on Van Doren, which is ideal, we still need two more wins in order to achieve our ultimate goal of tournament play and beyond."
Colgate will take the field at home once again this upcoming Friday at 5 p.m. when they take on fourth-seeded Bucknell in the first Patriot League semifinal.
This will be an exciting affair, as Bucknell was the only team that scored off the Raiders throughout the seven games of Patriot League play when the two teams played to a 3-3 tie in Lewisburg, PA.
"We are incredibly excited to play against Bucknell again for a variety of reasons," Leach said. "One, they essentially ended our season last year, and two, they are the only blemish on our Patriot League schedule. It will be a challenging game, but if we instill our style of play and limit their effectiveness on set pieces we will have great success."
The winner of that game will face the winner of the Lehigh vs. American game at Tyler's Field on Sunday at 1 p.m. for the Patriot League Championship and a spot in the NCAA Tournament.
Last Saturday, The Colgate football team defeated Lafayette 24-14 on their Senior Day at Andy Kerr Stadium. Junior running back Nate Eachus rushed for 212 yards and two touchdowns and the Raiders defense...
