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HAMILTON – The Colgate men's soccer team earned a hard-fought 3-2 win over Army in the Patriot League Quarterfinals behind a hat trick from senior Ethan Kutler and seven saves from senior keeper Ricky Brown Tuesday night at Beyer-Small '76 Field. With the win, the third-seeded Raiders secure a spot in Friday's Patriot League Semifinals against second-seeded Loyola.
 
Kutler's three goals mark the first time in the 26-year history of the league that a player has recorded a hat trick in a Patriot League Tournament game. The Lansing, N.Y. native and first team All-League selection scored the first goal of the game in the 13th minute before converting a pair of second-half penalty kicks.
 
A long-range shot from senior Colin O'Neill accounted for the game's first shot in the sixth minute, but it floated right into the hands of Army keeper Justin Stoll. Brown made two saves in the next two minutes before Kutler put the Raiders on the board in the 13th minute. The senior flicked the ball past an Army defender just past midfield to earn himself a breakaway run before burying the ball past Stoll to give the Raiders an early 1-0 lead.
 
The Black Knights retaliated less than three minutes later as Rex Epps was able to score on an Army corner kick to even the score at 1-1.  The teams exchanged shots over the next 20 minutes, with the best opportunity coming on a missile from first-year Kentaro Morrison that flew just wide in the 35th minute. Neither team was able to find a go-ahead goal in the rest of the half as the game went to halftime knotted at 1-1.
 
Army's Nick Williams gave the Black Knights a brief 2-1 lead in the 57th minute when he connected on a pass from Tyler Mitchiner and rifled the ball across the box and into the back of the net.  The Raiders answered less than two minutes later when sophomore Uyi Omorogbe drew a foul in the box that led to a penalty kick opportunity. Kutler was able to convert the kick to tie the game at 2-2 in the 59th minute.
 
The Raiders nearly found another in the next minute as attempts from Kutler and junior Jared Stroud were thwarted by Stoll. The Raiders were awarded another penalty kick in the 67th minute as junior Troy Moo Penn drew a foul in the box. Kutler stepped up once again and buried the ball past the diving Stoll to put the Raiders ahead 3-2.
 
Colgate was able to hold off a late Army charge as Brown made three saves in the final five minutes, including a huge stop with less than 10 seconds remaining, to help the Raiders secure the 3-2 win.
 

BOTTOM LINE

• Colgate 3, Army 2

 
WON-LOST RECORDS

• The Raiders improve to 12-6-1 on the season.
• Army's season ends at 9-8-2 overall.

 
KEY RAIDER INFO

• Kutler's three goals brings his season total to eight. He's now scored 31 goals in his career, which ranks third all-time in the Colgate record book. His 77 career points ranks second.
• Brown's seven saves were a season-high for the senior keeper.
• The win is Colgate's first victory in the Patriot League Tournament since the Raiders won the championship in 2011. 
• Colgate is now just one win away from tying the program win record of 13 that was set in 1994.

 
FACTS & FIGURES

• Army held a 15-12 shot advantage and 9-7 edge in shots on goal.
• Corner kicks were even at 3-3.
• Brown's seven saves were compared to Stoll's four.

 
FROM THE SOURCE
Head Coach Erik Ronning

• "We knew it was going to be a close game. Army is a very good team that is fast, athletic, dangerous and well coached. There was a lot of emotion in this game because both teams are fighting for their seasons, and I think both teams left it all out there tonight. I give a lot of credit to Army."
• "The game could have gone either way to be quite honest. Ricky made a great save at the very end and we just happened to make one more play than they did tonight."
• "I really happy for this group, particularly the seniors. I know they're not done. They're a confident group. There's a lot of belief and trust and this is a tight-knit family. I'm really proud of the group for what they've overcome, what they've accomplished and what we can continue to do moving forward."
• "Obviously Ethan's hat trick was phenominal. It takes some guts to knock in two penalty kicks. A lot of guys stepped up to make plays tonight and we did what we needed to do to get a win. It was a grind at the end and we had to battle and claw, and that's the way this league is."
• "We're really looking forward to the challenge of Loyola. They're an incredibly talented team. We know it'll be a challenging game, but we'll be ready and well prepared."

 
Senior forward Ethan Kutler

• "This is the first playoff game we've won in my career, so this is a huge moment for my class and me personally. Getting the win in the last game I'll ever play on our home field is something special."
• "We are extremely excited for the semifinals. We don't think we played 100 percent against Loyola, so we're excited to get a chance at redemption."

 
UP NEXT

• The Raiders will travel to Washington, D.C. Friday for the Patriot League Semifinals.
• Colgate will take on No. 2 Loyola in the day's second semifinal at 1:30 p.m. from American's Reeves Field.
• The winner of Colgate/Loyola and American/Bucknell will advance to Sunday's 1 p.m. Patriot League Championship game. The champion earns the league's automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament.
• All information on how to follow can be found at Tournament Central.