Box Score

HAMILTON, N.Y. (8/31/11) – The Colgate men's soccer team found its second straight win of the season on Wednesday night, when it defeated Hartwick in a 1-0 double overtime thriller on Van Doren Field.

After a scoreless 90 minutes and a 0-0 tie after the first 10 minutes of overtime, the Raiders were able to find a last-minute goal from senior co-captain, Mike Reese, with just 46 seconds left on the clock, to win the game.

The first half was a very physical and fast-paced 45 minutes. Colgate (2-0) came out looking for an early goal and almost found it in the first five minutes of play when junior Shane Conlin fired the ball at an empty net due to a goalkeeping error but was blocked by the Hawks' captain, Pat Thompson, who threw himself in front of the shot. The near miss only fueled the Raiders more as they continued to attack the net, almost capitalizing on a few defensive mistakes, one of which hit the crossbar from a failed clear, but could not get past the Hartwick goalie, Tom Buckner, who made one impressive save after another to keep the game tied at 0-0. As the half progressed, the Hawks made some strong runs as they attempted to generate some offense, but could not get a shot off due to some solid defense from Colgate. Both teams continued to search for a first goal, but despite some attacking plays along the wings on both ends of the pitch, neither team could make their mark on the scoreboard, ending the first half tied at 0-0. The Raiders held a 9-0 shot advantage in the first half.

The teams carried the attacking momentum into the second half, as they battled it out on the field in search of a goal. Colgate continued to hold the shooting advantage but as the half continued, both teams picked up the tempo once again, creating scoring opportunities in front of each other's net but to no avail. With the threat of overtime in the near future, the Raiders came up with a pair of close opportunities in the final minutes of regulation time, one of which was a goal that was called back due to goalie interference by a Colgate player. However, their efforts were not enough, resulting in their first overtime game of the season.

The overtime periods were similar to the first 90 minutes of play, with both teams fighting for a goal and missing one close scoring opportunity after another as the players launched themselves at the ball. But then a long throw-in from sophomore Barrett Metzger in the final minute of play, found its way through the Hawks' defense to junior Patrick Letourneau,who directed it into the path of Reese. Reese then headed it low into the left corner of the goal to win the game for Colgate at the 109:14 mark. Letourneau and Metzger were credited with the assists.

The Raiders outshot Hartwick 20-4 in the game. Junior Grant Reed had one save for Colgate while Buckner had seven saves for the Hawks.

“I am very proud of our guys,” stated head coach Erik Ronning. “ We fought hard, competed for 110 minutes, and persevered against a very tough opponent. We have a difficult road ahead, and still have a long way to go. Regardless, it was a great victory tonight.”

The team will return to action this weekend when it travels to Villanova for a matchup on Sunday, Sept. 4 at 1 p.m.