HAMILTON – Sharpshooting Fairfield used a 7-0 first-half run to build a big early lead and then held off Colgate in a 12-7 decision here Saturday.
The visiting Stags scored eight goals on their first 11 shots and led 8-2 at halftime. Fairfield expanded the margin to 11-4 and 12-5 in the fourth quarter before the Raiders tacked on a couple of closing goals.
Colin Burke scored three times and TJ Neubauer twice during Fairfield's seven-goal run over an 11:51 stretch of the first half. Burke and Neubauer tallied four goals apiece.
Six different scorers accounted for Colgate's seven goals, with rookie
Sam Cleveland netting a pair to go with an assist.
Peter Donato posted a goal and two assists for a matching three-point game, while
Cam Williams had a goal and an assist.
Colgate returns to Patriot League play next Saturday. The Raiders host Army West Point in a 1 p.m. game televised by the American Sports Network.
Bottom Line• Fairfield 12, Colgate 7
Won-Lost Records• Both teams are now 3-5.
Raider Scoring Recap• Donato wound his way through traffic for the game's unassisted first goal. The Raiders led 1-0 with 12:08 on the first-quarter clock.
• Cleveland broke Fairfield's scoring run midway in the second quarter with a transition goal from 10 yards out off a feed from
Chandler Millstone.
• Trailing 8-2 at halftime,
Chase Wittich scored a minute into the third quarter by taking a feed from Donato and scoring from the left angle.
• Colgate took advantage of a man-up situation when Williams scored from a 45-degree angle to the goalkeeper's right. Cleveland earned the assist on Williams' first extra-man goal of the season.
• Stebbins found the net from right in front for the first of three Colgate tallies in the final frame. Donato drew the defenders and then spotted Stebbins, who scored his sixth of the campaign.
• Cleveland scored his second of the game off a give-and-go with Williams just 3:24 from the end.
• And then
Anthony Abbadessa tucked in the final goal of the game on a nice bounce-shot despite being fouled.
Tyler Rigo picked up the assist in the final minute.
Facts & Figures• Fairfield made the most of its 30 shots, scoring 12 goals for a .400 shooting percentage. Colgate connected for seven goals on 36 shots.
• The Stags scored on eight of their first 11 shots.
• Fairfield posted a 26-20 edge in ground balls but committed 12 turnovers to Colgate's 10.
• The Raiders were 16-of-17 on clears (now 88.0 percent for the season), while Fairfield was 15-of-17.
• Fairfield scored a pair of man-up goals in three opportunities, while Colgate was 1-of-2 with Williams scoring the goal.
More Key Info• Cleveland, Wittich and Abbadessa are tied for the Colgate lead with 11 goals apiece. Donato and Cleveland each have nine assists, and Cleveland is the point-leader with 20.
• Millstone's second-quarter assist marked his first collegiate point in his 40th career game.
•
Collin Orr (6-of-9) and
Peter Marchetto (5-of-12) combined to help Colgate post an 11-10 edge in faceoffs.
• Stebbins led the Raiders with four ground balls to match his career high from last Saturday at Boston University.
•
John Baker caused two turnovers to equal his career high.
•
Connor Murphy caused one turnover and leads the team with seven for the season.
•
Brandon Burke made nine saves; Fairfield's Tyler Behring had 10.
• Stags attackman Burke with his four-goal performance has 11 in his last three games; Neubauer in addition to his four goals had a game-high five ground balls.
Gate Grab Bag• Attendance at Crown Field at Andy Kerr Stadium was 312.
Up Next• Colgate hosts Army West Point next Saturday to begin a stretch of five straight Patriot League games.
• The Black Knights are 6-2 overall and 3-0 in the Patriot League after defeating Holy Cross 16-7 Saturday afternoon.
• Start time is 1 p.m. from Crown Field at Andy Kerr Stadium, with the American Sports Network televising the game.
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