ANNAPOLIS, Md. – No one saw this coming: Colgate 18, Bucknell 5.
 
No. 18 Colgate blitzed into the Patriot League Tournament championship game with a record-breaking victory here in Friday's first semifinal. Matt Clarkson and Ryan Walsh went for seven points apiece as the Raiders set tournament marks for goals in a game and largest margin of victory.
 
The Raiders now face fifth-seeded Army, which they defeated 8-5 last Friday night in West Point. The Black Knights upset top-seeded and 15th-ranked Navy 11-7 in the late semifinal.
 
Friday's victory was Colgate's fifth straight, longest for the program since the 2012 Raiders won five in a row twice on their way to the NCAA tournament quarterfinals.
 
Now this year's edition needs just one more victory to book an automatic ticket back to the NCAAs.
 
Colgate improved to 3-0 all-time against Bucknell in the semifinal round, and 5-1 against the Bison in the tournament altogether. The Raiders are 1-1 all-time against Army in the Patriot League Tournament, but Sunday is their first championship meeting.
 

Clarkson tied his career-high with five goals and set a personal best with seven points. Walsh scored four goals for the second straight game – he has 11 over the last three – and matched his career-high with seven points.
 
Bucknell concludes its season at 9-6.
 
Sunday's championship game starts at 1 p.m., with CBS Sports Network carrying the telecast.
 
Bottom Line
• Colgate 18, Bucknell 5
 
Won-Lost Records
• Colgate improved to 9-4 with its fifth straight victory.
• Bucknell ended its season at 9-6.
 
Records Galore
• Bucknell employed three different goalkeepers in the first quarter as Colgate raced to a 7-2 lead.
• The seven goals matched Colgate's best scoring output in any quarter this season (7-1 vs. Lafayette in the first quarter).
• The Raiders led 10-4 at intermission for their highest-scoring half of the year. It also matched their largest halftime lead (8-2 over Lafayette and 9-3 over Lehigh).
• Colgate's 18 goals were the most scored by one team in a Patriot League Tournament game. And the 18-5 result was the tournament's largest margin of victory.
• Colgate's previous tournament scoring high was 14 twice, both in 2012. The Raiders defeated Bucknell 14-9 in the semifinals before losing 16-14 to Lehigh in the championship game.

• Colgate defeated Bucknell on Friday for the second time this season. The Raiders need a season-sweep of Army to claim their second Patriot League Tournament championship.
• Colgate and Army both have one Patriot League Tournament crown to their ledgers. The Raiders won in 2008 and Army in 2010.
• Colgate is appearing in its fifth championship game, and first since 2012. Army is appearing in its fourth title tilt, and first since the Black Knights won the 2010 title.
 
More Key Info
• Colgate goal scoring went to Matt Clarkson with 5, Ryan Walsh 4, Chase Wittich 2, Peter Donato 2, and then single tallies from Anthony Abbadessa, Tyler Rigo, Kevin Adams, Jack Stebbins and Robby Dunigan.
• Abbadessa and Walsh contributed three assists apiece, and Clarkson had two. Donato and Connor Murphy picked up single assists.
• Colgate's first five goals were scored by five different Raiders (Wittich, Clarkson, Donato, Walsh and Abbadessa).
• The Raiders scored goals on their first six shot attempts and nine of 10.
• The ninth one was a highlight-reel, behind-the-head special from Walsh. The senior captain has 11 goals in his last three games and 26 for the season.
• Walsh scored his four goals on four total shot attempts. Other Raiders with perfect shooting nights were Wittich (2-of-2), Abbadessa (1-of-1), Rigo (1-of-1), Adams (1-of-1) and Dunigan (1-of-1).
• Colgate finished with 18 goals on 25 shots.
• Colgate's other senior captain, Clarkson, leads the Raiders with 42 points. His five goals Friday matched a career-high (Bryant 2013), and his seven points topped his previous best by one (Vermont 2015).
• Murphy's streak of at least two ground balls in every game this season was snapped, but he did contribute his second assist of the year.

• Matt Yeager tied a career-high with three caused turnovers. He also had three ground balls.
• Dunigan's goal was the first of his career and capped the scoring with 3:55 remaining.
• Brandon Burke made 10 saves before giving way the last 5:52 to Jake Danehy, who posted one save.
 
Beyond the Box Score
• Several of the statistical categories favored Bucknell.
• Shots were 31-25, ground balls 28-25 and faceoffs 15-10.
• Colgate was 10-of-13 on clears to Bucknell's 8-of-11, and the Raiders were 3-of-7 on extra-man to Bucknell's 2-of-5.
• Colgate had a decided advantage in saves, 11-2, and a slight edge in turnovers with only 11 to Bucknell's 14.
 
Turning Point
• Colgate scored the game's first two goals before Bucknell made it 2-1 with 9:07 left in the first quarter.
• The Raiders answered with five straight goals to lead 7-2 by the end of the period. Bucknell drew no closer the rest of the way.
 
From the Source
• Colgate head coach Mike Murphy: (On the game) "I didn't see that one coming. I've got to give credit to the players. They did a great job; they were unbelievable. We had a really good week of practice and our senior leadership continues to impress me every time we take the field.
(On if this was Colgate's best game of the season) "Yeah, because of what it means; it gives us a chance to play Sunday. If it was 6-5, I would have said it was the best win because it was the next one. As cliché as that sounds, winning now is important because it gets you a chance to move forward and play for a championship.
"I love this senior class. I love them. I love them like they're my own sons. To watch them grow from their freshman year to right now has been a pleasure for me. And to watch No. 22 and No. 10 perform like they did today – I'm really proud of them."

(On Friday's fast start) "Bucknell is very good defensively – they are very coordinated – so you have to be patient, move the ball crisply and find the open guy. As coordinated as the defense can be, the ball still moves faster. And if you move the ball quickly, you're going to find some open looks and we were able to bury them.
"Sam Grinberg was phenomenal Tuesday night, and we did a good job of shooting our shots. I'm proud of the way we shot the ball."
(On getting ready for Sunday) "They get to celebrate this one for 45 minutes. We've got to move forward and get ready for our next opponent. You hope you're peaking at the right time, and I'm looking forward to playing on Sunday.
• Colgate attackman Ryan Walsh: (On if this was Colgate's best game of the season) "We pride ourselves on being efficient and we started the game nine of 10 shooting. We moved the ball quickly and were unselfish. That's our MO this year and it's working. We're getting hot at the right time.
(On the quick turnaround to Sunday) "It's the championship game. I don't care how tired our legs are, we're going to bring it and be ready. Every team's playing and every team's tired. It's not going to be a factor.
(On his behind-the-back goal) "I got into the No. 2 longpole and he wasn't very big, so I knew I could push my way in. I was waiting for a slide and it never came, so I thought I would put it behind Grinberg and let him pick it up.
• Colgate midfielder Matt Clarkson: (On if this was Colgate's best game of the season) "Offensively, yeah. We prepared all week for them to slide like that, and our execution was the best all season.
"Our goal was to stay patient and we did that pretty well. We faced them back in February and we know they're pretty hectic on defense.
(On the winning streak) "The four-game losing streak could have gone in a bad way, but it's just one play at a time – hitting singles, as Coach says. We start at the faceoff and work from there.
 
Gate Grab Bag
• Attendance for Friday's doubleheader at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium was 2,011.
• Abbadessa was presented his Patriot League Rookie of the Year trophy on the field before the game.
 
Up Next
• Colgate plays Sunday at 1 p.m. in the Patriot League Tournament championship game.
• The Raiders take on fifth-seeded Army (10-5), which upset top-seed and host Navy 11-7 in Friday's second semifinal.
• In Tuesday's quarterfinal, Army rallied with the game's final six goals to shock Loyola 12-11.
• Colgate won 8-5 at Army last Friday night in the regular-season finale.