LEWISBURG, Pa. – A goal in each half provided plenty of support for Kelly Chiavaro and the Colgate women's soccer team as the Raiders earned a 2-0 Patriot League shutout victory at Bucknell Saturday night at Emmitt Field. 
 
The win marked the third consecutive shutout and fifth straight win for the Raiders, who extended their unbeaten streak to 10 straight games in the process.
 
With nine shutouts on the season, the Raiders are two shy of their program record for single-season clean sheets (11; 1993, 1996) and three games away from their longest unbeaten streak in school history (13; 2014). 
 
Colgate dominated first-half possession and opened the scoring midway through the frame. Abby Sotomayor took the ball near the top of the box and settled a pass back to Mara Cosentino, who blasted a 20-yard shot into the back netting for the go-ahead tally in the 22nd minute.

Moments later with Colgate playing aggressively on offense, Sotomayor had a shot blocked and Dom DeMarco cranked a hard shot off the post.

The Raiders were not short on chances, as Ellis Miller, Emily Amano, and Adrienne Vaughn all forced shots on target in the early going.

The Raider back line stifled the Bison in the half, and Chiavaro went into the break with one save as Colgate held a 1-0 lead after 45 minutes of play.

The second half carried a similar script with most of the scoring chances in the Raider offensive end.

Miller doubled the Raiders' lead 10 minutes into the frame. Vaughn built some space inside the box and fired a shot on net from the right side. Theresa Adu-Attobrah dove to make the initial save, but the rebound caromed over to Miller at the doorstep for the one-touch goal.

The Bison were held in check throughout the second half. Their best chance came late on a strike by Carly Baggott but Chiavaro was up to the task for her second save of the frame as Colgate secured the 2-0 shutout.

BOTTOM LINE
• Colgate 2, Bucknell 0.
 
FOR THE RECORD
• Colgate remained unbeaten in league play (5-0-1) and improved to 9-2-3 on the season.
• Bucknell suffered its second league loss (4-2-0) and fell to 6-8-1 overall.  
• The Raiders are tied with Boston University for first place in the conference with 16 points.
 
KEY RAIDER NOTES
• Cosentino's first-half goal was her third tally on the week and 13th career marker.
• Miller matched her first-year season goals total with four in 2018.
• Sotomayor and Vaughn each added their third assists of the campaign in the win.
• Chiavaro posted three saves for her seventh shutout of the season.

BY THE NUMBERS
• Colgate held a steady advantage in shots (24-8) and shots on goal (9-3).
• Bucknell led the way in corner kicks, 4-1.
• Fouls finished 10-5 in favor of Bucknell.
 
FROM THE SOURCE
• Colgate head coach Kathy Brawn:
 
It was great to step on the field after the terrific victory by the men's team. It gave us some extra motivation to keep up the energy and come away with a hard-fought win on the 13th.
 
Once again, our back four were stellar from start to finish. Kelly [Chiavaro] came up with a huge save on a great strike in the second half that helped keep the momentum in our favor. Both goals were examples of great finishes on combination plays.
 
Recovery and refocus will rule the week as we prepare for and play Holy Cross and Navy in two big league matches coming up.
 
UP NEXT 
• Colgate returns home to face league foe Holy Cross Wednesday night at 7 p.m. at Beyer-Small '76 Field.