LEWISBURG, Pa. (4/19/08)—Colgate University sophomore Ian Murphy (Constantia, N.Y.) tallied his career-high fourth goal of the game with 4:46 left in the fourth quarter to lead the Raiders to an 11-9 upset victory over ninth-ranked Bucknell. Sophomore goalie Tim Harrington (Lutherville, Md.) was outstanding, making 11 saves for the Raiders, including four in the fourth quarter.

 

The Raiders (8-5, 4-2 PL) will enter the Patriot League Tournament as the No. 3 seed and will play second-seeded and No. 10 Navy at 7 p.m., at Michie Stadium on April 25. Army will serve as the host and No. 1 seed and will play Bucknell (9-4, 4-2 PL) at 4 p.m. The winner advances to the championship game on April 27 at 2 p.m.

 

Sophomore Zack Craumer (Greenwich, Conn.) and junior Brandon Corp (Chittenango, N.Y.) both added two goals and an assist, while Kevin Colleluori (Bethpage, N.Y.) and Nick Monastero (Bohemia, N.Y.) had two points apiece.

 

Trailing 8-7 after three quarters, the Raiders outscored the Bison 4-1 in the final frame to earn their first win over a ranked opponent this season. It is the fourth straight win for Colgate over Bucknell.

 

The Raiders came out of the break and tied the score for the sixth time on the evening. Murphy took a pass from Matt Lalli (Princeton Junction, N.J.) and rifled his left-handed shot into the back of the cage from 15 yards out.

 

Bucknell went back in front with 7:05 left on the clock with an unsettled goal after a Colgate turnover. The Raiders needed just 1:13 to tie the game for the seventh time as Colleluori took a pass from Josh Back (Guilderland, N.Y.) and fired it over the shoulder of Nick Sciubba.

 

Murphy gave Colgate the lead for the first time since the Raiders led 6-4 in the second quarter with 1:06 later. He dodged his defender to the right side of the cage and flicked the ball into the net for what proved to be the game-winner.

 

Bucknell got the ball back in the final minutes of play, but Harrington and the Colgate defense were up to the task. Harrington made a pair of crucial saves on the Bison possession and senior Chris Mulholland (Jenkintown, Pa.) picked up the loose ball with just over a minute remaining to put the Bison back on defense.

 

The Raiders called a timeout with 1:12 left and forced the Bison to pull Sciubba as an extra defenseman. With nobody in net, Corp got the ball from 20 yards out and lofted it into the net to seal the two-goal victory for the Raiders.

 

The opening quarter featured a flurry of action and a combined seven goals. Both teams were playing with high energy as the ball was moved up and down the field at a furious pace.

 

Monastero opened the scoring just 2:57 into the frame with a quick stick shot off a pass from Colleluori from behind the cage.

 

The Raiders’ defensive midfielders continued to frustrate the Bison over the next few minutes forcing turnovers on the clear attempts. Bucknell had just one shot in the opening few minutes and just five in the first quarter.

 

Bucknell evened the score at the 7:09-mark with a rifle into the left upper-90 from Doug Buckley.

 

Corp gave the Raiders the lead again with just under five minutes left to play when he beat his defender to the left side of the crease and fired a turnaround shot over the shoulder of Nick Sciubba.

 

The back-and-forth action continued with a Bison score in transition 1:15 later. Bucknell intercepted a Raider pass and raced down the field. Mark Lane quickly fed Austin Winter who snuck the shot low into the right corner of the net.

 

Colgate and Bucknell traded goals to head into the final minute of play knotted at three. Following a faceoff win by Chris Eck (Fairfield, Conn.), the Raiders set up the offense for the final shot of the quarter. Corp took the ball behind the cage and found Zack Craumer (Greenwich, Conn.) right on the doorstep for the 4-3 lead after the first 15 minutes.

 

The Raiders picked up where they left off in the second quarter when Murphy dodged his defender and beat Sciubba with a left-handed shot.

 

Colgate and Bucknell traded goals as the pace of the game slowed a little. The Raiders led 6-4 before the Bison made it a one-goal game with a tally from Tim Brandau. Bucknell got possession in the final minutes and put together its longest possession of the game, but the Raider defense held the Bison off the scoreboard to head into halftime with a 6-5 lead.

 

The scoring slowed in the third quarter as the defensive intensity picked up. Both squads struggled to clear and get good looks at the goal throughout the 15 minutes.

 

Bucknell evened the score, 6-6, just 1:13 into the quarter with a shot from Menzies. The scoring stopped for the next 12 minutes before the Bison took the lead for the first time at 7-6 with a shot from Brandau with 1:19 left.

 

Eight seconds later, junior Will Planer (Rumson, N.J.) fired home a quick shot off a pass from Craumer in an unsettled goal off the faceoff. The Bison closed out the flurry of scoring in the third quarter with a tally from Menzies with 13 seconds left to take an 8-7 lead and set up the exciting fourth quarter.

 

Eck went 15-of-24 at the faceoff “X” and picked up seven groundballs. Planer also had seven groundballs. The Raiders held Bucknell to just 17-of-27 on clears for the game.

 

Winter led the Bison with four points on three goals and an assist, while Brandau contributed a hat trick. The Bison won the groundball battle 32-26 and outshot the Raiders 41-31. Nick Sciubba had just five saves and none in the fourth quarter.