LEWISBURG, Pa. – Sophomore Kentaro Morrison scored the game-winning goal in the 71st minute, while sophomore keeper Jacob Harris made six big saves in goal to lift the sixth-seeded Colgate men's soccer team to a 1-0 win at third-seeded Bucknell Tuesday night in the Patriot League Quarterfinals.
 
Colgate punches its ticket to Friday's Patriot League Semifinals with the win as the Raiders move on to face top-seeded Loyola in Baltimore. Kickoff is set for 5 p.m. Friday. No. 2 Boston University and No. 5 Holy Cross will play in the second semifinal at 8 p.m. The two semifinal winners advance to Sunday's Patriot League Championship.
 
Colgate came out strong as the Raiders rattled off five shots and three corner kicks in the opening 10 minutes, but none were able to find the back of the net. The Raiders had a strong opportunity in the 17th minute as senior Jared Stroud was set up with a free kick just outside the 18-yard box, but the Bucknell defense headed the ball out of harm's way to keep the game scoreless.
 
The Bison countered with the final seven shots of the half, but Harris made two key stops in goal while Bucknell's other attempts skirted wide as the game went to halftime scoreless.  
 
Stroud forced Bucknell keeper Emmett Witmer to make his first save of the night in the 52nd minute to begin the second half. Harris made two more key saves in the 56th and 67th minutes as the clock ticked down to 20 minutes with the score still at 0-0.
 
The Raiders were able to break through when Stroud was set up with corner kick in the 71st minute. Witmer punched the ball away, but Morrison collected the ball at the top of the box and fired a laser into the back of the net to give the Raiders a 1-0 lead with under 20 minutes to play.

GOOOAAALLL! Kentaro Morrison strikes in the 71st minute and the Raiders lead 1-0! 18 minutes to play. #GoGate pic.twitter.com/RxtrTvDU4m

— Colgate Men's Soccer (@ColgateMSOC) November 8, 2017

The Bison nearly evened it up in the 77th minute on an attempt from Cody Wax, but Harris knocked down the ball before sophomore Christian Clarke came up with the clearance to keep Colgate's 1-0 lead in tact.

HUGE save from Harris and clearance from Clarke to keep Colgate's 1-0 lead in tact! 12 minutes to play in Lewisburg. #GoGate pic.twitter.com/Fy25X4gsrx

— Colgate Men's Soccer (@ColgateMSOC) November 8, 2017

 
The Raider defense took care of the rest, keeping the Bison at bay for the final 10 minutes to capture the 1-0 quarterfinal victory.
 
BOTTOM LINE

• Colgate 1, Bucknell 0

 
WON-LOST RECORDS

• The Raiders improve to 8-10-1 overall. Colgate picks up its fourth-straight win over the Bison.
• Bucknell's season comes to a close at 7-8-4.

 
KEY RAIDER INFO

• The Raiders will be making a Patriot League Semifinal appearance for the third-straight season. Colgate fell in the 2015 semis, but won their 2016 matchup before going on to claim the league title.
• Colgate picks up its third-straight victory and second-consecutive shutout.
• Morrison's goal was his second of the season and his first game-winner.
• Harris' collected his third shutout of the season. He is now 4-1-0 in five appearances. His six saves were his second most this season.
• The Raider defense tallied its sixth shutout of the season.

 
FACTS & FIGURES

• The Bison finished the game with a 12-10 shot edge and 8-5 corner kick advantage.
• Colgate forced Witmer to make two saves in goal, both of which came in the second half.

 
FROM THE SOURCE
Head Coach Erik Ronning

• "This was a difficult game and Bucknell is a very good team. They had some quality opportunities, as did we. We were the team that happened to make the play."
• "I thought we were very consistent in the manner in which we defended and stuck to our game plan. We weren't terrific on the attack and possession all the time, but these young men grinded out an incredibly tough road win in a playoff game and they have a lot to be proud of. That was a good team and this is a tough place to play."
• "We'll look forward to Loyola on Friday, which will be another incredibly tough challenge. This time of year, it's about surviving and advancing. Every team we play is going to be of top quality and we're going to have to be at our best. We're going to recover and get ourselves mentally and physically prepared for Loyola."

 
UP NEXT

• The Raiders advance to the Patriot League Semifinals and will take on top-seeded Loyola in Baltimore Friday at 5 p.m. The Greyhounds won the regular-season meeting 2-1 on Sept. 22 in Hamilton.
• The winner advances to Sunday's 3 p.m. Patriot League Championship game.
• Free video will be available on the Patriot League Network.