This Week
Thurs./Sun., Oct. 22nd/25th – vs. Holy Cross/ vs. Army, 7 p.m./4 p.m.
The Raiders make their final road trip of the regular season, as they travel to Worcester, Mass., to take on Holy Cross Thursday night, and then hit the road again on Sunday down to West Point, N.Y., for an evening game against the Black Knights of Army.
Scouting the Crusaders
Holy Cross will host the Raiders with a three-game unbeaten streak on the line, holding a 1-0-2 mark in their last three contests. The Crusaders have an overall record of 7-6-3 and are 1-2-1 in conference play, but also have an impressive 4-1-3 record at home. Senior forward Shelby Sand leads all Crusaders with seven goals and is tied for first in the league in that category. Playmaker, Katherine Donnelly also leads the league in assists, bringing seven into their match against the Raiders. Mary Ferketic has seen the most action in net for Holy Cross, making 13 appearances holding a 1.11 goals against average and posting four shutouts.
Scouting the Black Knights
The Black Knights, who will face Bucknell on Thursday, are coming off a big overtime win, which snapped five game winless and gave them their first league win of the year. Going into Thursday's match, Army has a 6-8-2 overall record 1-2-1 mark in the league. Senior midfielder Elizabeth Betterbed leads all Black Knights with nine points on three goals and three assists. Six other players have also found their way into the scoring column, as they are averaging 12.4 shots per game. Junior Alex Lostetter minds the net for the Black Knights; making 72 saves in 14 appearances in goal, and has completed four shutouts.
Last Time Out
The Raiders are coming off back-to-back league wins against American and Lafayette. Freshman Avery Atkins (Dallas, Texas) scored her second goal of the season in the last contest for the Colgate, giving the Raiders a, 1-0, victory over American. Junior Mary Segreti (Downers Grove, Ill.) recorded her first point of the season, with an assist on Atkins' goal. Goalkeeper, Ashley Walsh (Cicero, N.Y.) also made 10 saves in the win.
Last Time vs. Holy Cross/Army
The last time the Raiders took the pitch against Holy Cross, Colgate came out with a 1-0 win on a Christine Walker goal in the 83rd minute off a corner kick from Jessica Bitsack. The win over the Crusaders was the last home victory of the Raiders 2008 season.
Colgate has not come out of a game against the Black Knights with a win since the 2006 season, when they earned a 3-0 win at home. But the last time these two faced each other, Army shutout the Raiders, 1-0, with the games lone goal coming in the 19th minute.
Colgate Player of the Week
Freshman goalkeeper Ashley Walsh was honored with, yet another, Patriot League Award, picking up her third Rookie of the Week accolade on Oct. 19th. Walsh also was honored as the Patriot League Goalkeeper of the Week on Oct. 5th. Joining Walsh on the weekly awards list was junior Calista Victor (Seattle, Wash.) who picked up her first honor as the leagues Defensive Player of the Week.
Climbing the Charts
Ashley Walsh is ranked 10th in the nation, and first in the Patriot league in save percentage with a .892, and tops the league in total number of saves with 107. Her six shutouts on the year also places her third in the league.
Leading the Way
Freshman Jillian Kinter (Newburyport, Mass.) leads the Raiders offensively with three goals and one assist for seven points. Maddie Malone (Glen Ridge, N.J.), Jillian Arnault (Clay, N.Y.), Danielle Wessler (Port Republic, N.J.) and Avery Atkins each have two goals for four points so far this season. Sarah Henderson (Rochester, N.Y.) also has four points with one goal and two assists. Walsh's 6-6-3 record leads the Raiders goalkeeping.
Preseason Picks
The Raiders were selected to finish according to the Patriot League Preseason Poll as chosen by conference coaches and sports information directors. The Raiders collected the most first-place votes with seven but fell just short in total points with 83, just seven less than the No. 1 team, Navy.
The Brawn File
Head coach Kathy Brawn will open her 19th season with the Raiders this weekend. Brawn hails as the Colgate women's soccer all-time winningest coach with 215 career wins and has collected nine of the Raiders ten Patriot League Tournament titles, the most for any Patriot League coach.
Back for Colgate
The Raiders return last year's top three point leaders in Jessica Bitsack, Danielle Wessler and Jillian Arnault. Bitsack and Wessler led the team in goals with four apiece, while Bitsack added three assists and Wessler one. Arnault finished the year with three goals and two assists. Goalkeeper Rebecca Michlin is also back this season after starting in all 19 games last year while earning five shutouts.
