Box Score

HAMILTON, N.Y. (11/1/11) – Senior co-captain Steven Miller recorded his first hat trick of his career on Tuesday night to help lead the Colgate men's soccer team to a 3-3 double overtime tie with Harvard in its final non-conference game of the regular season.
 
Despite holding the lead by one or two goals for close to 90 minutes, Harvard was able to cut the Raiders' two-goal lead twice and eventually find an equalizing goal in the final seconds of the game to send it into overtime. Miller, who is the reigning BRINE Patriot League Offensive Player of the Week, scored two goals in the first half and one in the second while junior Shane Conlin had a pair of assists in the first two goals.
 
Colgate (10-4-4, 4-1-1 PL) had its most fruitful first half of the season against the Crimson, finding two early goals to take a 2-0 lead. After taking the first shot of the game, the Raiders were able to find their first goal just 14:17 into play when Conlin crossed the ball from the right wing into the box to Miller, who then fired it into the back of the net to put the score at 1-0. Colgate did not settle down after its first goal, holding the shooting advantage as the half progressed, which soon led to a second tally at the 28:01 mark by Miller with help from Conlin to extend its lead to 2-0. Harvard answered back this time around with a goal less than 10 minutes later to cut the Raiders' lead and end the opening 45 minutes of play with the score at 2-1.
 
Colgate struck first again in the second half as the team searched for an early cushion goal. Its pressure on net was soon rewarded with a third goal from Miller in the 57th minute to increase the Raiders' lead to two goals once again. Freshman Jimmy McLaughlin dribbled the ball down the left wing and crossed it to Miller who then headed it past the keeper to score his 11th goal of the season. The intensity of the game remained high throughout the half, with both teams generating offense on both ends of the field. Then, with less than 11 minutes left on the clock, the Crimson was able to break Colgate's two-goal advantage once again with a goal at the 79:06 mark to reduce the score to 3-2. The teams continued to play hard in the closing minutes of the game with the Raiders holding the one-goal advantage, but then with four seconds left on the clock, Harvard was able to find an equalizer to tie the game at 3-3 and send it into overtime.
 
In the first overtime period, Colgate continued its pattern with McLaughlin taking the first strike of the period, similar to the first and second halves, but was blocked by a defender. The Crimson returned the favor with a shot of its own but by the end of the first additional 10 minutes of play, the score remained 3-3.
 
The final overtime period also started off with yet another first attempt by the Raiders, this time by sophomore Barrett Metzger. As the period progressed, both teams continued to battle it out in search of the golden goal but neither team could find it, ending the game with a 3-3 double overtime tie.
 
This was Colgate's fourth double overtime tie of the season, all of which have been on the road, and its seventh overall game to end in additional time.
 
BRINE PL Goalkeeper of the Week, junior Grant Reed, had three saves for the Raiders while Harvard's Austin Harms had six.
 
"For the majority of the game, we were very good," stated head coach Erik Ronning. "However, as a team we made some critical errors and managed the game poorly at the end. As a coach, I could have done a much better job as well and take much of the blame in not getting the win. This was a great learning experience for me and for our team, and we will use this as motivation to get better. We have a very good group and I know we will grow and continue to improve. Credit to Harvard for never giving in."
 
Colgate will complete its regular season with a Patriot League matchup against Navy on Saturday, Nov. 5 at 4 p.m. at Van Doren Field. The team will honor its five seniors before the game as part of its Senior Day celebration.