LEWISBURG, Pa. – Colgate Men's Soccer used two first half goals to blank Bucknell here Saturday afternoon.
The Raiders saw first-year
Aram Ouligian and junior
Ethan Kutler both add to their season goals total with tallies in the opening period. Colgate pulls to .500 on the season with an overall record of 5-5-1 following the victory. The 2-0 margin also marked the second time this season the Raiders shut out their opponent.
Ouligian got Colgate on the board early with a brilliant header off a long throw-in from
Jared Stroud in the eighth minute. Following the long throw-in from the right side of the field, Ouligian was able to just get his head on it to flick it past the Bison goalie and into the opposite side of the goal.
A little more than eight minutes later,
Ricky Brown came up big for the Raiders after the Bison were knocking on the door. At the 15:18 mark, Bucknell's Sebastiaan Blickman's header drilled the crossbar, sending the ball ricocheting back into play. Nearly seconds later, Brown stiffed Blickman's hopes of finding the back of the net yet again when he registered a great stop on his second attempt.
Midway through the half, Kutler made it a 2-0 Raiders edge when he fired a driven shot through traffic from the top of the 18-yard box. Again, Stroud was handed the assist when he connected with Kutler to spark the goal. Kutler took a few touches to compose himself before smashing a shot into the 'upper 90' of the far post.
After the break, Colgate's defense was unbreakable. The Raiders compiled two quick blocked shots on attempts from Blickman and Andrew Leischner early in the half and never left up.
Colgate finished out the period and secured itself the two-goal victory, shifting its Patriot League mark to 2-2-0.
The Raiders next match is at nearby Ivy League rival Cornell on Tuesday. That game is slated for a 7 p.m. start on Berman Field. Live stats and video are available at kickoff.
BOTTOM LINEColgate 2, Bucknell 0
WON-LOST RECORDS• Colgate shifts to 5-5-1 and 2-2-0 in Patriot League play
• Bucknell falls to 3-5-4 and 0-2-2, respectively
KEY RAIDER INFO• Ouligian and Kutler both added to their career goals total with markers in the contest.
• Stroud notched both assists on the day, shifting his season total to four.
• Brown compiled five saves and recorded his second shutout of the year.
FACTS & FIGURES• The Bison held the edge on shots at 18-11 but both teams registered five shots on goal.
• Colgate earned five corner kicks throughout the game to Bucknell's three.
• Bucknell's Mike Lansing finished with one save, before Clarke Fox came in to record two. Colgate's Brown posted his second shutout of the season between the posts and pushed aside five shots.
• Kutler led the Raiders with four shots, two of which were on frame. Stroud added two shots, while five other Colgate players tallied one.
• It was a clean game overall with no cards being issued.
FROM THE SOURCE•
Colgate Head Coach Erik Ronning: (on the game) "The guys responded really well after a tough overtime loss against Boston University on Wednesday. We've been stressing the need to put together a complete 90-minute performance and challenged the guys to step up and make big plays. Today we were able to do both. I'm proud of the team for earning the shutout and that Aram (Ouligian) and Ethan (Kutler) were both able to get back on the scoresheet. This was an important win against an always tough Bucknell side. We'll enjoy this win and get ready for Cornell on Tuesday.
UP NEXT• The Raiders next travel to nearby rival Cornell on Tuesday for an out-of-conference road contest.
• Game time is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Berman Field.
• The Big Red hosted Harvard on Saturday and dropped a 2-0 decision to the Crimson.
• Live stats and video will be available at the start of the game.
