HAMILTON, N.Y. (9/23/06) – The Colgate University men’s soccer team scored two goals in the second half to upend Lafayette 2-1 at Van Doren Field on Saturday, Sept. 23.
An own goal put Colgate up 1-0 at 61:53. Junior
Eric Anton (Tacoma, Wash.) sent a pass towards the center of the field but no one was there but Lafayette’s Luke Sullivan. Sullivan went to stop the ball with his foot but it ricocheted towards to goal, surprising both Sullivan and goalkeeper Scott Backus who wasn’t able to get to it in time.
Anton factored into Colgate’s second goal when he feed sophomore
Matt Leach (New Canaan, Conn.) the ball on the left side of the field. Leach deked Backus who came out to play the ball and shot through the legs of defender Mike Tilley for the 2-0 lead at 84:14.
Lafayette ended Colgate’s six-game shutout streak when Mark Price lofted the ball from 12 yards out that went to the right of goalkeeper
Doug Litvack (Levittown, N.Y.) at 86:35.
Colgate started the game a little sluggish with most of the first half being played in the Lafayette offensive zone. The Leopards had back-to-back opportunities in the 11th minute that resulted in a save by Litvack and a team save by
Daniel Kerley (Leawood, Kan.).
The Raiders started to gain momentum during the last 10 minutes of the half, with Leach giving them their best look of the half. Leach had a close-range header off a
Justin Burney (Trabuco Canyon, Calif.) corner kick at 34:08 that was nixed by Backus.
Lafayette had the slight advantage in shots, 11-10, and had seven corners, six of which came in the first 12 minutes, to Colgate’s three.
Litvack made four saves, improving his record to 3-0-0, while Backus stopped three.
Colgate, ranked No. 3 in the region, improves to 5-0-2 overall and 2-0 in the Patriot League. The Raiders are in a tie for first place in the league with Lehigh. Lafayette, ranked No. 7 in the region, falls to 4-2-1 and 0-1-1 in the league.
Colgate will be back in action on Van Doren Field on Tuesday, Sept. 26 when they host Siena in a non-conference match up at 7 p.m.
Notes:
The win was Colgate’s first over Lafayette since the 2002 season.
Lafayette’s goalkeeper Scott Backus is a Hamilton, N.Y. native.
Lafayette won the 2005 Patriot League Championship.
