Box Score

ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Ryan Groffie scored his first collegiate goal as he lifted the Colgate men's soccer team 3-2 in overtime past the Navy Midshipmen here Saturday night.  

“I'm real proud of the guys for responding the way that they did after playing a terrible first half and being down twice during the course of the game,” head coach Erik Ronning said. “They showed a ton of character and I couldn't be prouder of them. We'll get to enjoy the win for a day but then we've got to start getting ready for a tough Lafayette team heading into the Patriot League Tournament.”

Colgate (5-7-6) was led by Groffie who scored in the 108th minute of the second overtime. Tyler Forbes and Mike Garzi both notched tying goals in the game as well. Liam Stapleton grabbed three saves throughout the match.

“There's certainly a lot of positives to take away from today's game, obviously we battled back from being down twice and got the win in overtime but there are also a lot of things that we need to work on moving forward into the Patriot League Tournament,” senior captain Wade Martin said.

Navy (7-7-3) saw goals from Joseph Greenspan and Jamie Dubyoski. Gavin Snyder made nine saves in the game.

Two times throughout the last 45 minutes two different Raiders tied the game, making their second half a great game to watch.

Navy was the first to get on the board with a goal in the 23rd minute. However Colgate finished the first half strong grabbing three great scoring opportunities in the last 25 minutes.

Mike Reidy kicked off the Raider attack by intercepting the ball at the top of 18. He took a touch before blasting a shot near post. Snyder came up with a huge save as he punched the ball over the net and out for a corner kick.

Colgate almost equalized after Tanner Schilling and Forbes tried to connect. Forbes made a run in behind the defense and played a cross into the middle of the 18. A Navy defender broke up the play before Schilling could put it away inside the box.

A few minutes later James Byer played a beautiful header in over the Navy defense to Garzi. He collected the ball and took a hard shot. Snyder came up with another save to keep the shutout alive.

Navy's goal came in the 23rd minute by Greenspan. Colgate was unable to clear the ball in a scramble in front of the net. The ball bounced around, before Stapleton could come out and Greenspan put it in the back of the goal to give them the 1-0 lead.

Stapleton stopped a Midshipmen attack only a few minutes later after Greenspan took the ball down the sideline and played a high ball across the box. Thomas Shiba was waiting on the backside of the net and took one took before Stapleton came out forcing him to shoot high.

The second half got underway with a great Colgate scoring opportunity. Reidy shot near post inside the box but Snyder saw the ball at the last second and made the diving save.

A few minutes later the Raiders equalized with Garzi's third goal of the year. In a scrum in front of the net, Colgate took advantage and got a few shots off before Garzi was finally able to put it away.

Nick Arpey came up huge for the Raiders after he saved the ball off the goal line to keep the game tied at 1-1. The ball was played into Derek Vogel behind the Colgate defense. He placed the ball past Stapleton, who was coming out to make the save but the quick paced Arpey came sliding in to kick it off the line.

Colgate almost took the lead with 10 minutes to go in the game after Garzi and Dan Matthews played catch inside the box. Garzi played a great ball into Matthews, who was making a parallel run down the field. He took one touch before playing it back to Garzi, who continued his run. He one-timed it at net but it took a deflection by a Navy defender, saving the go ahead goal.

With five minutes left in the game Navy took back the lead after Dubyoski found an opening through Colgate's defense and ripped a shot on goal. Stapleton was able to get a hand on it but the ball still found the back of the net.

The Raiders tied the game yet again, this time with a little over one minute to go in regulation. After earning a free kick on a Navy handball, Stapleton stepped up to take the kick. He played a brilliant ball into the box, where it fell at the foot of Forbes. He smashed it into the back of the net, giving him his third goal of the season and sending Colgate into its seventh overtime game this year.

Overtime
During the first overtime Navy almost grabbed the winning goal after Grant Valenstein took a shot from five yards out. Stapleton saved the game for the Raiders by coming up with the big save.

With just two minutes left in the game Groffie scored the game winner, lifting the Raiders over the Midshipmen. Martin dribbled to the end line and played the ball into the middle of the box, where Groffie easily put it away.

“I knocked the ball into Reidy on the right sideline and he made a move to get around a Navy defender to slip me back the ball in behind, “ Martin added. “I took a pretty brutal first touch but was still able to hit it across the box where Groffie, the freshman, stepped up huge and buried it for us. It was a pretty good team goal.”

The Raiders advance to the Patriot League Tournament grabbing the No. 3 spot. They face No. 2 Lafayette on Friday at 2 p.m. on the campus of American University, which earned the No. 1 seed and hosting rights to this year's tournament.