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SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Colgate notched its first victory of the early women's soccer season here Friday afternoon when it defeated Albany, 2-0, in the New York Challenge Cup hosted by Syracuse University.
 
The Raiders took the 1-0 edge in the 37th minute when Catherine Williams finished off a great feed from Sophie Lederer. Colgate then made it 2-0 just after halftime following sophomore Emily Crichlow's tally off a cross from Corey Persson. All goals and assists marked the first of the year for each student-athlete.
 
Jenna Panepinto got the Raiders' attack off to a solid start when she fired a long-range shot from the right side of the field midway through the opening half. Her attempt, however, sailed just wide of the goal.
 
A minute later, the Colgate defense held strong while Albany found itself on a small breakaway. Goalie Erin Cummings stood her ground though and jumped on the ball, stopping any shot and potential goal from happening.
 
Sarah Coy then tried her luck on frame with 20 minutes remaining in the first half. The junior saw an opening from the wing and launched a shot toward net. Unfortunately her attempt just missed the right-hand corner of the goal.
 
Colgate broke the deadlock at the 36:01 mark when Lederer collected the ball on the left side. She quickly played Williams, who was streaking down the center of the field. The Buffalo, New York, native took a few touches, before placing it in the back of the net, making it 1-0.
 
The Raiders took their one-goal lead into the break, but just four minutes after halftime Colgate added another tally to make it 2-0. The play started after Persson dribbled down the right side of the field, sending in a beautiful cross just before the endline. Crichlow wasted no time eying up the pass as she volleyed it out of the air and into the lower left-hand corner of the goal.
 
Coy nearly made it 3-0 Colgate when she riffled a shot toward the upper right corner of the net. The Great Danes got lucky again, though, as the ball skimmed off the post and out of play.
 
Cummings finished the game with four saves and earned her first shutout of the year.
 
The Raiders are back in action Sunday to close out the tournament with an 11:30 a.m. contest against St. John's. Live stats will be available at the start of the game.

BOTTOM LINE
• Colgate 2, Albany 0

WON-LOST RECORDS
• Colgate jumps to 1-2-0 on the year
• Albany dips to 1-2-0

KEY RAIDER INFO
• Both Williams and Crichlow netted their first goals of the year.
• Lederer and Persson also earned their first points of the season as each notched an assist.
• Cummings registered her first shutout of the year, blanking the Great Danes after making four saves.

FACTS & FIGURES
• The Raiders finished with 16 shots compared to Albany's 12.
• Colgate also recorded a 5-3 edge on corner kicks.
• The Raiders held the advantage on shots on goal as well at 8-4.
• No player received any cautions throughout the game.
 
Gate Grab Bag
• The attendance at the SU Soccer Stadium was 215
 
From The Source
• Colgate Head Coach Kathy Brawn: (on getting the first win of the year) "It's so important to get that first win. I don't know that we've got everything ironed out that we need to get ironed out but the fact that we found a way to win that game against a really aggressive and prepared Albany team was so important.
 
"Erin Cummings has stepped up and done a really terrific job in goal. She has stepped into the position and has a presence back there, which is helping us quite a bit. Beyond that, Catherine's (Williams) goal and Emily's (Crichlow) goal were both great finished and good plays leading up to them. We are kind of on our way in the right direction. Once we can get more of a complete game put together it will look a lot better too.
 
(on what she and her staff can take away from the game to help prep for St. John's on Sunday) "There were moments today where we read the game well and did very good things. Some of the energy we saw out there today will bode well for us against St. John's, who is going to be another super talented team with some special players on it. We are going to have to come out and be ready at the opening whistle. If we take care of a couple little things, build on a couple things, we will certainly be there."

UP NEXT
• The Raiders next opponent is St. John's on Sunday at 11:30 a.m. at the SU Soccer Stadium.
• Live stats will be available for both games.