HAMILTON, N.Y. (10/24/09) -   Senior Alex Weekes (Stroudsburg, Pa.) collected his sixth goal of the season but it wasn't enough as the Colgate men's soccer team fell to Bucknell 2-1 in the final minutes of play Saturday night on Van Doren Field. 

 

The Raiders (6-8-1, 2-3 PL) were first to score gaining the 1-0 advantage at 30:52 in the first half during what would prove to be a thrilling Patriot League match-up.  After a scramble in the box, Weekes gained control of the ball and faked out Bucknell goalkeeper Tommy Caso who stood in the right of the goal looking to prevent the Colgate senior from scoring.  Instead Weekes dribbled around a defender to the left side of the box, forcing Caso to scramble back, while Weekes sent his shot sailing over the Bucknell defense and into the right corner of the net.

 

Bucknell (12-4-0, 4-1 PL) looked to tie the game before the half-time break as leading scorer Conor O'Brien got off a clear shot on goal with just under five minutes remaining. Colgate goalie Chris Miller (Dallas, Texas) was there for the save, jumping up to knocked the ball out and over the top of the goal, sending the Raiders into the second half with a 1-0 advantage.

 

The Bison came out ready to score in the second half as they looked to tie the game, but the Colgate defense held strong as Miller made another great stop at 16:08 in the half as Josh Plump took a hard clear shot from the far right side. 

 

Colgate had a chance to earn a two-point lead less than ten minutes into the game as Weekes served the ball up the field to freshman Shane Conlin (Randolph, N.J.) who was already behind Bucknell's defense.  Conlin dribbled into the box, but two defenders caught up and slowed down his shot on goal as Caso was able to make an easy save.

 

Bucknell finally collected their first goal of the game with just under ten minutes remaining as Plump took another shot, this time from only about 10 yards out, and sent it sailing over Miller.  With the game tied at 1-1 and less than ten minutes remaining, both teams were looking to pick up a quick goal for the win.  Bucknell's Andrew Powell sent in the game-winning with 1:52 left on the clock to give the Bison the 2-1 victory.  

 

The Raiders outshot Bucknell 19-14 overall and 10-4 in the first half, while the Bison led in corner kicks 7-5.  Miller had six stops for Colgate while Case made 10 for Bucknell.

 

The Colgate men will be back in action on Friday, Oct. 30 when they host their final regular season home game over Colgate Family Weekend.  The Raiders will take on conference opponent Navy at 7 p.m.