HAMILTON – Colgate got revenge on the team who ended its season a year ago when the Raiders defeated reigning Patriot League Champion Lafayette, 1-0 on Saturday night.

"I couldn't be more proud of the guys," head coach Erik Ronning said. "It was an absolute team win. I have a tough time thinking of who the MVP was because so many players did such a terrific job.

"I give them so much credit for keeping the faith over the course of the last few weeks. Our record doesn't indicate how good we are and the team knows that. We've played some tough teams, we've gotten a little unlucky here and there but today we put together a complete game."

The Raiders (2-7) handed Lafayette its first loss of the season and move to 1-0 in conference play. Junior Evan Heroux tallied the game-winner in the 55th minute off an Ethan Kutler corner kick. Frankie Bergonzi was also awarded an assist on the play when he flicked the ball over to Heroux for the game's lone goal.

In a back and forth first half, Lafayette (2-1-5, 0-1 PL) tried breaking through in the 10th minute. The ball was bouncing around inside the box before the Raiders were able to clear it out. Lafayette collected the ball and struck it on net but Colgate's Ricky Brown made a terrific save to keep the game scoreless.

The Raiders had three great scoring chances in a 10 minute span but weren't able to convert. The first one came when Kutler worked his way inside the Lafayette box. He found an opening and fired a shot on net, but the Leopard's goalie Nathan McDonald make a diving save.

A couple minutes later Tanner Schilling played a low cross into the box from the right side of the field. Zach Pagani was eyeing up the ball but wasn't able to get a good shot off as McDonald blocked the shot and then jumped on the rebound.

Schilling again started a Raiders' attack when he sent a through ball to senior vice captain Nick Arpey, who was making a run behind the Leopards' back four. Arpey one-timed it on net but the ball hit the side netting barely escaping the inside of the near post.

Just before halftime, Lafayette had a good chance on goal. Jeff McLaughlin played the ball over to Greg Biggiano, who had a one-on-one with a Colgate defender on the right side of the field. Biggiano then sent the ball into the box but Colgate cleared it away before any damage could be done.

After 55 minutes of strong soccer, it was Colgate who found the back of the net. Evan Heroux tallied his first marker of the year following a well-played corner kick by Kutler. The rookie played a high ball into the box where Bergonzi flicked it on using his head. The ball then found the head of Heroux, where he redirected it on frame for the 1-0 advantage.

Lafayette turned up its attack by pressuring the Raiders defense in an attempt to find the equalizer. The Leopards almost did with 15 minutes remaining following a dangerous set piece. After a free kick at midfield, the ball was bouncing around inside the box before Lafayette played it back to Andrew Gonzalez, who one-timed it at the top of the box. The ball was sailing in but Heroux made a great defensive play throwing his body in front of the ball to block the shot.

Less than a minute later Brown made another stellar save on Lafayette's Peter Adubato. The senior found himself inside the six-yard box with the ball but before he could get a clean shot off Brown came sliding out to grab it at his feet.

Kutler tried to extend the Raiders lead with 11 minutes remaning in the game. After Schilling ran down a long ball deep in Lafayette's half, he dropped it back to Kutler, who was waiting in the top right corner of the box. He saw an opening and blasted a driven ball low toward goal. His kick went through traffic and almost into the lower left-hand corner of the goal but McDonald made a diving save to push it away.

In a last ditch effort Lafayette tried to grab the tying goal when Alec Golini played a dangerous corner kick into the box. Adubato got his head on it but his flick on net rolled just wide.

Colgate finished the game securing the clean sheet. Brown tallied the first shutout of his career and made three saves while McDonald recorded six.

"We knew today was the start of our second season and everything we did leading up to this was preparation and the guys performed extremely well," Ronning added. "We will enjoy this one and then get back to work on Monday."

The Raiders take the field again on Saturday when the host Loyola for another league matchup at 7 p.m. on Van Doren Field.