ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Ethan Kutler registered the game's only goal on Saturday night, lifting Colgate Men's Soccer past Navy and into sole possession of second place in the Patriot League standings.
 
Colgate and Navy headed into Saturday's tilt with nine points each. But following the Raiders 1-0 victory over the Mids, they shift into sole possession of second place with three conference games remaining.
 
After 67 scoreless minutes, Kutler handed the Raiders the go-ahead and eventual game-winner on a great feed from Jared Stroud. Senior Nick Rizzo intercepted a pass at midfield sparking a Colgate counterattack. The St. Louis, Missouri, native then found Stroud, who teamed up with Kutler for a give-and-go on the left side of the 18-yard box. The play put Kutler in behind the Mids defense and he wasted little time trying his luck on frame. He fired off a left-footed strike into the opposite side netting for his team-leading seventh goal of the year.
 
Navy thought it had equalized a few minutes later on a header off a cross but Colgate's Ricky Brown came up with a brilliant stop to keep his team up by one.
 
Brown finished with four saves on the night and earned his seventh victory of the year between the posts for Colgate.
 
Navy held the edge on shots in the opening period but Colgate had the best opportunity of the half on a header from Aram Ouligian in the 33rd minute. The first-year's attempt was just saved though by the Mids' goalie Jackson Morgan.
 
Early in the second half, the Raiders continued to try to break the deadlock with shots from Tim Oberg and Stroud but each time the Mids came up with the block.
 
Then in the 64th minute Colin O'Neill and Rizzo combined for a great chance on goal inside the box. O'Neill recorded the final shot but his attempt was cleared off the line by a Mids player.
 
Less than four minutes later, Kutler found the back of the net, ultimately securing the victory for the Raiders.
 
Colgate is back in action Wednesday when it travels to Army West Point for another Patriot League contest. Game time is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Clinton Field. Live stats and video available at kickoff.
 
BOTTOM LINE
• Colgate 1, Navy 0

WON-LOST RECORDS
• Colgate improves to 7-6-2 on the season and 4-2-0 in Patriot League play
• Navy dips to 7-6-1 and 3-2-0, respectively

KEY RAIDER INFO
• Kutler recorded his team-high seventh goal of the year and second game-winner.
• Brown finished with four stops in the contest.
• The Raiders are now in sole possession of second place in the Patriot League standings with three league contests remaining.

FACTS & FIGURES
• The Mids registered 18 shots to Colgate's 11, but the Raiders held the edge on shots on goal at 6-4.
• Corner kicks were in the favor for the Raiders at 6-4.
• Colgate finished with four saves, while Navy posted five.
• It was a clean game overall with no cards beings issued.
 
FROM THE SOURCE
• Colgate Head Coach Erik Ronning: (on the game) "Today's game had a playoff-like atmosphere with both of our teams sitting on nine points. Going into the game we treated it as such, and the guys really stepped up. We were patient, disciplined, and knew that if we stayed strong defensively, we would find opportunities to score."
 
"Ricky (Brown) came up with a big time save to keep the lead, Colin (O'Neill) had a great chance that was cleared off the line, and Jared (Stroud) and Ethan (Kutler) combined to set up a great goal. Ethan's finish was first class. We're very happy with the performance. Navy is such a strong team, so this was a big win for our guys. We'll look to replicate this performance on Wednesday when we head to West Point."

UP NEXT
• Colgate heads to Army West Point on Wednesday for a 7 p.m. tilt with the Black Knights.
• Army is coming off a 1-0 victory at Loyola on Saturday.
• Live stats and video are available at the start of the game.