BALTIMORE – Colgate picked the perfect place at the perfect time to break out of its midseason lull.
 
The Raiders scored the game's first four goals here Saturday and never looked back, rolling to an 11-4 win over No. 15/16 Loyola. The victory was showcased in front of a crowd of 1,276 in the lacrosse capital city and a CBS Sports nationally televised audience.
 
Colgate (5-4, 3-2 Patriot) also said a satisfying goodbye to its four-game losing streak and jumped into a second-place tie in the conference standings alongside Loyola, Boston University and Army.
 
Cameron Williams posted the first hat trick of his career and went one better, scoring four times and assisting on another. He sparked a 12-point game for the starting Raider midfield of Williams, Peter Donato and Matt Clarkson.
 
Donato and Clarkson both contributed a goal and two assists. Chase Wittich scored two goals in a homecoming for the native of nearby Stevenson, Maryland, while Anthony Abbadessa, Ryan Walsh and Tyler Rigo added single goals.
 
Williams and Abbadessa continued their streaks of scoring at least one goal in every game this season.
 
The Colgate defense held Loyola (5-5, 3-2) to its lowest goal-output of the year by half. The Greyhounds had scored no fewer than eight goals in two games – an 8-6 win over Penn State and a 14-8 loss at Duke – and were averaging more than 13 goals per game.
 

It was the lowest goal-total allowed by the Raiders since a 7-4 win over Bryant to start the 2014 season.
 
Brandon Burke backed up the defensive effort with 12 saves, the second-best total of his career. He had 16 earlier this season in an overtime loss at top-10 Cornell.
 
Bottom Line
• Colgate 11, No. 15/16 Loyola 4
 
Won-Lost Records
• Colgate jumps to 5-4 overall and 3-2 in the Patriot League.
• Loyola is now 5-5 and 3-2.
 
Facts & Figures
• Colgate scored its 11 goals on 33 total shots. Loyola finished with four goals on 40 shots.
• Ground balls favored the Greyhounds, 31-28. John Baker scooped up five ground balls and Strecker Backe four for the Raiders, and both of those totals were personal career-highs.
• Colgate was 20-of-23 on clears, including a 13-of-14 effort over the first three quarters. Loyola on clears was 13-of-15.
• Special teams weren't really factor, but once again they favored the Raiders. Colgate was 1-of-2 on extra-man opportunities to Loyola's 0-of-2.
• Faceoffs went Loyola's way, 13-6. Peter Marchetto won 5-of-12 to lead the Colgate effort individually.
• The Raiders forced 15 turnovers and committed 13.
• Colgate is now 4-2 on the road this season, and Loyola is 2-4 at home.
• This was Colgate's largest league win since a 14-6 triumph over Holy Cross in 2013, and Loyola's most-lopsided conference loss since the Greyhounds joined the Patriot League last season.
 
Scoring Log
• Cameron Williams led the way for Colgate with a career-high four goals. He added one assist for a career-best five-point afternoon. Previous highs for the junior midfielder were two goals and three points.

• Williams took over the team lead with 15 goals.
• Chase Wittich scored two goals for the fourth time this season. He's tied for fifth on the team with nine goals.
• Colgate picked up single goals from Ryan Walsh, Matt Clarkson, Peter Donato, Anthony Abbadessa and Tyler Rigo.
• Williams and Abbadessa continued their streaks of scoring a goal in every game this season.
• Walsh, Matt Clarkson and Peter Donato had two assists each, with single helpers from Williams and Jack Stebbins.
• Colgate's first six goals were assisted.
• Wittich, Walsh, Clarkson and Williams scored during Colgate's opening 4-0 run.
• Williams and Donato tallied to begin the second period and make it 6-1 Raiders.
• Colgate led 6-2 at halftime, and both Loyola goals came in the final minute of the respective opening quarters.
• After an extended defensive stand to open the third quarter, Colgate put five in a row on the board for an 11-2 lead that all but settled things. Williams, Rigo, Williams, Abbadessa and Wittich were the goal-scorers in that 6½-minute stretch.
• The fourth quarter was scoreless.
 
Turning Point
• Take your pick – Colgate's start to either half was pretty salty.
• The Raiders broke on top 4-0 in the game's opening 11 minutes and rode that momentum to a 6-2 halftime lead.
• Colgate put this one away with a five-goal run to open the third quarter. It was 11-2 and the road-tested Raiders coasted from there.
 
From the Sources
• Colgate head coach Mike Murphy: (On the game) "I'm just really proud of my team. I've been a part of some teams as a player that had some serious losing streaks, and it just seems to snowball. To see the mental toughness of our team and how they come to work every day, I couldn't be prouder of these guys. The way we scrapped and clawed for four quarters, pride is the biggest thing I can say for this group."

(On fighting through the losing streak) "My goal for this team and our goal as a coaching staff is to make sure we get better every day. The kids have done a great job of understanding why we lost and moving forward. We can't dwell on it, but let's take the opportunity to get better. I know that's coach-speak, but I've got to credit our student-athletes. They come to work every single day. Understanding the scouting report, I've got a lot of smart academic kids and they proved it today"
(On Patriot League parity) "There are a lot of really good high school players out there and Division I lacrosse isn't getting any bigger. We've added some teams, but there are more high school players playing. We've got great coaches and great student-athletes in this league, and it's anybody's ballgame.
"There are a lot of really good players, and you can see that in our league. Kids are stepping up and it's not just seniors. It comes down to being able to execute and making the plays you need to make at those appropriate times. Some of the games haven't gone our way, but today we were fortunate with the way we played that it went our way."
• Colgate midfielder Cameron Williams: (On his efficient day) "It felt good getting a couple that probably shouldn't have gone in. My job's easy. The five other guys on offense do most of the heavy lifting. I just want to put myself in the right spot and bury them when I get my opportunities.
"The offense played really well today, especially the first three quarters."
(On breaking the losing streak) "We've always known, even during this four-game losing streak, that our goals are still ahead of us. The Patriot League tournament and, ultimately, a Patriot League championship are still ahead of us.
"The league's pretty crazy this year with a lot of parity. A lot of teams have gotten better. We knew we were still in this thing."
(On the offense) "Today we were on the same page – for the first three quarters, at least. Shots were falling and we got our looks, but it all started with our defense giving us opportunities and giving us possessions.
"My job is to get into the right spot, to be honest. I've been longing for a little more production out of myself. After the last couple of games, I felt I needed to take it to the rack a couple of more times today and they went for me."
• Colgate goalkeeper Brandon Burke: (On his success today) "The defense played great. The offensive and defensive middies really stepped up, but we don't win that game without our assistant coach, Stephen Toomy. He prepared us every single day this week. We knew exactly what they were going to do and we were ready.
(On the defense improving of late) "We're keeping it tight and communicating a lot better. We're trying to give up outside shots instead of inside shots."
(On Loyola's early frustrations) "It's a long game and I just try to take it possession by possession."
 
Gate Grab Bag
• Attendance at Ridley Athletic Complex was 1,276.
 
Up Next
• Colgate is back home next Saturday against Lehigh.
• The Mountain Hawks are coming off a 19-7 win at Holy Cross. Lehigh improved to 4-7 overall and 2-4 in the Patriot League.
• Start time from Crown Field at Andy Kerr Stadium is 2 p.m.