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HAMILTON – Tyler Rigo earned his first start of the season and netted his first career hat trick, but it wasn't enough as Army West Point held on for an 11-7 decision here Saturday.
Army led 7-2 at the half and 10-2 just past the midway point of the third quarter before Rigo tried to spark a Colgate comeback. The senior midfielder overlapped the third and fourth quarters with a pair of goals and then assisted on
Anthony Abbadessa's tally with 6:32 left.
Chase Wittich added back-to-back goals to narrow the Army lead to 10-7 before Black Knights attackman Cole Johnson capped a seven-point day with his fourth goal.
Sam Cleveland scored the other Raider goal with a first-quarter strike on a man advantage.
Army entered the game ranked 16th and 18th nationally in the major polls. The Black Knights improved to 7-2 overall and 4-0 in the Patriot League, while Colgate is now 3-6 and 1-3.
Colgate is home again next Sunday against Loyola. Faceoff is noon in a game being televised by the CBS Sports Network.
Bottom Line• Army 11, Colgate 7
Won-Lost Records• Colgate is now 3-6 overall and 1-3 in the Patriot League.
• Army improved to 7-2 and 4-0.
Raider Scoring Recap• Cleveland scored his team-leading second man-up goal of the season and 12th overall when he tallied with 5:13 left in the first quarter to halt Army's opening 4-0 run. Abbadessa had the assist.
• Rigo scored his first of the day just 31 seconds into the second quarter. All three of the senior captain's goals Saturday were unassisted.
• The Raiders were scoreless until Rigo tallied again with 1:19 showing on the third-quarter clock. He made it three for the day with another solo effort at the 9:56 mark of the fourth.
• That goal seemed to spark the Raiders, who scored three more times in the next 6½ minutes.
• First it was Abbadessa with his 12th of the season to temporarily tie Cleveland for the team lead in goals. Rigo assisted the Abbadessa strike.
• But then Wittich scored a pair of goals 2:32 apart to cap a 5-0 Raider run and pull Colgate within 10-7. The goals for Wittich were Nos. 12 and 13.
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Cam Williams assisted on the second Wittich goal, and that was as close as the Raiders would come.
Facts & Figures• Where there were statistical edges, they went Army's way.
• The Black Knights outshot Colgate 40-34 and scooped up 30 ground balls to 23 for the hosts. Eleven of those Army ground balls came in the fourth quarter to help quell Colgate's comeback try.
• Army also posted a 12-9 edge in faceoffs. Colgate's
Peter Marchetto was 6-of-11 and
Collin Orr 3-of-10.
• It was a clean game, with only seven turnovers per team and just one failed clear for each side. Colgate was 15-of-16 and Army 16-of-17.
• Saves were 11 apiece and both teams scored one extra-man goal.
More Key Info• Wittich's two late goals moved him into the team lead with 13. Cleveland and Abbadessa are close behind with 12. Cleveland remains the points leader with 21.
• Colgate's seven turnovers were a season low.
• Rigo drawing the assignment in midfield was the first alteration to Colgate's starting lineup all season.
• Rigo's previous goal-scoring high was two on three occasions; his previous point-scoring high also was two.
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John Baker continued his solid defensive work with three ground balls and a caused turnover.
Leo Stouros contributed two ground balls and a caused turnover.
• Army opened the game with four straight goals and then put together a 5-0 run in the middle portion to lead 10-2 late into the third quarter.
• Army's Johnson paced all scorers with four goals and three assists. Jimbo Moore and Conor Glancy added two goals apiece.
Gate Grab Bag• Attendance inside Crown Field at Andy Kerr Stadium was 442.
Up Next• Colgate hosts Loyola next Sunday to cap a four-game home stand.
• The Greyhounds are 6-3 overall and 3-1 in the Patriot League after defeating Bucknell 14-3 Saturday afternoon.
• Start time is noon from Crown Field at Andy Kerr Stadium, with the CBS Sports Network televising the game.
