WORCESTER, Mass. – It was another thriller on Kuzniewski Field, but Saturday's result went Holy Cross' way.
 
The host Crusaders bolted to a 6-1 first-quarter lead, withstood a Colgate charge and then scored the final two goals to register a 12-11 decision over the Raiders.
 
Colgate won 14-13 here two years ago en route to a Patriot League championship.
 
Holy Cross with the win qualifies for the Patriot League tournament and sets a program record with its fourth Patriot League victory. The Crusaders also made it two straight wins over Colgate for the first time ever.
 
Sam Cleveland matched his career high with four goals and Duncan Hoskinson posted his first collegiate hat track to pace the Raider offense. Strecker Backe contributed another strong game on defense, forcing three turnovers.
 
Bottom Line
• Holy Cross 12, Colgate 11
 
Won-Lost Records
• Colgate is now 4-8 overall and 2-5 in the Patriot League.
• Holy Cross also is 4-8 overall but now 4-3 in conference.
 
Raider Scoring Recap
• Hoskinson's goal with 5:49 left in the first quarter was the only Maroon mark against the early 6-1 Holy Cross lead.
• But just before the quarter break, the Raiders quickly turned a Holy Cross miscue into a fast break goal by Will Blumenberg.
• Backe caused the turnover and Brandon Burke forced outlet to Blumenberg, who scored on the run to make it 6-2 at the end of 15 minutes.
• Colgate carried that momentum into the second, scoring goals by Hoskinson and Cleveland to make a 6-4 game at intermission. Hats off to the Colgate D for a bounce-back quarter.
• There were four ties and two lead changes in the second half.
• Nicky Petkevich scored a spinning goal just over a minute into the third quarter to make it 6-5.
• Holy Cross then regained some momentum with a pair of goals 37 seconds apart for an 8-5 edge.
• But Colgate scored three in a row to tie it for the first time.
• Cleveland tallied with 7:42 left, Hoskinson with 6:14 showing to complete his hat trick, and then Griffin Brown got on the board with 5:40 showing.
• Holy Cross scored in the final minute to lead 9-8 heading to the fourth quarter.
• Cleveland got a little lucky and bounced his third goal into the net off a Crusaders defender. The game was tied 9-9 with 13:25 left.
• After Holy Cross regained the lead on Jon Vogel's third goal, Petkevich scored his second to tie it once again 10-10 with 11:05 showing.
• The Raiders took their first lead at 11-10 when Cleveland scored his career-tying fourth in the slot from Anthony Abbadessa's perfect pass. The clock showed 8:35.
• And that was plenty of time for Sean Kirkpatrick to complete a hat trick with a goal at the 5:31 mark, and then Jack Ortlieb to score the game-winner with 3:05 left.
• Colgate's last two quality scoring chances were shots by Brown that were saved by Holy Cross goalkeeper Jonathan Tesoro – his only two saves of the fourth quarter.
• Peter Donato's try in the dying seconds flew wide right, and Holy Cross survived a see-saw affair.
 
Facts & Figures
• Joe Delaney returned from injury and made the starting lineup, his first appearance since the opener against Marist.
• Colgate's defense kept Holy Cross off the board for a 23:18 stretch from the first to the third quarters.
• Cleveland's six-point game matched his career best.
• As expected, the stat sheet was pretty even. Burke saved four more shots than Tesoro but Colgate committed five more turnovers for the only one-sided margins.
• Brown extended his goal-scoring streak to 11 games. He leads the team with 22 goals.
• Cleveland grabbed the team lead in points with 32. The sophomore has 17 goals and a team-high 15 assists.
• Holy Cross held a man advantage four times, scoring twice. The Raiders never did have an EMO.
• Holy Cross' six first-quarter goals matched the most against Colgate in a period this year, tying Boston University's output in the third quarter back on March 13.
• Saturday's results eliminated Colgate from the Patriot League tournament.
• Colgate's 11 goals were the most scored in a loss since the Raiders fell 19-12 to No. 3 North Carolina in the 2015 NCAA tournament's first round.
 
Gate Grab Bag
• Attendance at Kuzniewski Field was 607. 

Up Next
• Colgate plays its final Patriot League game Friday night against Lafayette.
• The Leopards are coming off an 11-7 home loss to Bucknell, falling to 2-11 overall and 1-6 in conference.
• The Raiders lead the series 30-6 and have won the last two meetings. Colgate has won eight straight over Lafayette in Hamilton in a streak that began in 2000.
• Start time from Crown Field is 7 p.m. Postgame fireworks also are scheduled.