Box Score

ERIE, PA (11/27/10) – The Colgate women's hockey team experienced a 4-2 setback on Saturday afternoon when it fell to No. 3 Mercyurst on the road in Erie, Pa. Freshman Taylor Volpe (Tustin, Calif.) and junior Amanda Kirwan (Mississauga, Ont.) scored a goal each for the Raiders.

Colgate (5-11, 2-4 ECAC) started off playing aggressively, opening the first few minutes of play with a flurry of shots at the Lakers' net. Mercyhurst soon picked up its pace, generating more offense and firing some shots in return, but by the end of the first 20 minutes of play, the game remained scoreless.

The second period started off similar to the first, however this time Mercyhurst opened scoring when Pamela Zgoda knocked the puck past Kimberly Sass (East Amherst, N.Y.) at the 4:31 mark to give the Lakers the 1-0 lead. Both teams continued to create opportunities on both ends of the ice but neither one could score.

The Raiders finally answered back in the first two minutes of the final frame, when Volpe found the net off a pass from sophomore Jordan Brickner (Lake Forest, Ill.) during a power play, to give Colgate the equalizer. The goal soon changed the tempo of the game as both teams fought to find a second goal and avoid overtime play. However, it was Merchyhurst that was able to break away with two quick goals at the 10:05 and 10:55 marks from Melissa Lacroix and Christine Bestland, and then a third goal minutes later at the 12:14 mark from Meghan Agosta, to take the 4-1 lead.

Despite the three goal deficit, the Raiders continued to play hard and attack the Mercyhurst net. Their efforts soon paid off at the 17:08 mark when Kirwan beat Hillary Pattenden with the help of sophomore Brittany Phillips (Lauder, Man.) and senior Jessi Waters (Menlo Park, Calif.) to give Colgate a second goal and cut the Lakers' lead down to two. However, time was not on the Raiders' side, and despite some last minute close attempts, they were unable to make a comeback, resulting in a 4-2 loss to the Lakers.

Sass had 34 saves for the Raiders while Pattenden had 15 saves for Mercyhurst.

Colgate will return to Starr Rink next weekend when it faces Clarkson on Friday, Dec. 3 at 5 p.m. followed by St. Lawrence on Saturday, Dec. 4 at 3 p.m.