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HAMILTON – It was must-win and the Raiders responded.
 
Colgate used a lightning start and wire-to-wire defense to post a crucial 10-4 victory over Navy here Saturday at Crown Field. The Raiders improved to 2-4 in the Patriot League and got the start they needed for this closing three-game conference stretch.
 
Chase Wittich led the offense with a career-high four goals. He scored Colgate's first of the game midway in the opening quarter to spark a five-goal barrage.
 
Both of Anthony Abbadessa's goals came in that first-quarter flurry, sandwiched around goals by Griffin Brown and Jack Stebbins as Colgate grabbed a 5-0 lead. The Midshipmen never pulled closer than three goals the rest of the way.
 
Navy's four-goal output was its lowest of the season. It came on the heels of a three-game winning streak that saw the Mids score in double figures all three games.
 
Colgate allowed its fewest goals since an 11-4 win over Binghamton early in the 2016 season. In the process, the Raiders snapped a three-game overall losing streak and evened their home record at 3-3.
 
The Raiders bumped up one place in the Patriot League standings to a tie for seventh. They play at Holy Cross next Saturday and then host Lafayette in the Friday night conference finale April 21.
 
The top six teams qualify for the Patriot League tournament, which starts April 25.
 
Bottom Line
• Colgate 10, Navy 4
 
Won-Lost Records
• Colgate improved to 4-7 overall and 2-4 in the Patriot League.
• Navy dropped to 5-7 and 3-4.
 
Raider Scoring Recap
• The Raiders scored five goals in the first quarter, and that was all they would need.
• Wittich, Abbadessa, Brown, Stebbins and Abbadessa again made it 5-0. The whitewash was Colgate's first defensive shutout of the opening quarter this season.
• Navy rallied with a pair of goals and pulled within 5-2 with 9:09 left before half.
• Midshipman faceoff specialist Brady Dove won the ensuing draw but then Abbadessa forced a turnover and Wittich scooped up the ground ball all alone in front of the Navy net.
• That goal made it 6-3 and the teams played scoreless over the last 8:58 of the half.
• Navy struck first again to start the third quarter, and the Mids held the Raiders scoreless for more than 20 minutes but couldn't penetrate Brandon Burke and the Colgate defense.
• Finally, Sam Cleveland scored with 3:18 remaining and Brown followed at the 1:59 mark. Wittich tallied twice more in the fourth quarter and the Raiders finished on cruise control.
 
Facts & Figures
• Colgate's defense held Navy scoreless for nearly 18½ minutes to start the game and then a combined 21-minute stretch over the third and fourth quarters.
• Wittich had four career hat tricks to his credit – two this season – but never a four-goal game before Saturday. His previous hat tricks this year came in wins over Bucknell and Siena.
• Stebbins has four goals against Navy in the last two meetings. He scored a hat trick last season in Annapolis.
• Brown's two goals gave the rookie 21 for the season and nine multigoal games. Both figures lead the team.
• Colgate registered a season-high 11 caused turnovers. Will Blumenberg had a career-high three and Abbadessa and Strecker Backe contributed two apiece.
• Burke was spectacular again, posting 12 saves and denying Navy any scoring surges all afternoon. He also found his way to a career-high seven ground balls.
• Robby Dunigan made his first start of the season and responded with a pair of assists to equal his career high.
• Peter Donato also matched his career high with three assists, while Cleveland score a goal and assisted on two others.
• Cleveland leads the team with 14 assists, followed by Donato and Abbadessa with 11 apiece.
 
From the Source
• Colgate head coach Mike Murphy: (On the game) "I said to our team early in the week that we would have (to win) on the backs of our seniors. It started with Brandon – he kept us in that game early. They had a couple of inside takes that either hit the pipe or hit him. Strecker Backe was really good underneath. Tyler Schmarak came in for Jackson Patterson and did a nice job.
 
"I'm just proud of our effort. We needed to have a consistent effort, and we had that over the course of 60 minutes."
 
Listen to the rest of Coach Murphy's comments HERE.
 
• Colgate junior Chase Wittich: (On the first quarter) "We just came out ready to play. We wanted to play fast and get after them and that's what we did. It was a fantastic job by our defense, and our seniors really stepped up."
 
Listen to the rest of Wittich's comments HERE.
 
Gate Grab Bag
• Attendance at Crown Field at Andy Kerr Stadium was 441. 

Up Next
• Colgate plays its final Patriot League road game Saturday at Holy Cross.
• The Crusaders are coming off a 10-5 win at Lafayette, improving to 3-3 in conference play.
• The Raiders lead the series 25-2, but one of those Holy Cross wins came last season by a 12-6 count in Hamilton.
• Start time from Worcester is noon.