DURHAM, N.H. – Steven DeLeo scored the lone goal in the 62nd minute and
Jacob Harris made five saves to lead Colgate past No. 22 New Hampshire 1-0 Thursday night in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at Wildcat Stadium.
Colgate advances to the second round of the tournament for the second straight year. The Raiders now hit the road to Winston-Salem, N.C., where they will take on top seed and No. 2 Wake Forest Sunday at 5 p.m.
With the win, the Raiders improved to 13-4-5 overall, tying the program record for their most wins in a single season. Colgate previously reached the 13-win mark in 1992, 1994, and 2016.
A back-and-forth first half ended with no score and New Hampshire came out with the first few chances of the second half. Colgate bent, but did not break. Harris and the Raider defense withstood a barrage of shots in the 56th minute and netted the only goal they needed just over five minutes later.
Oliver Harris bent a long pass to the corner for
Kentaro Morrison, who saved the ball on the end line and quickly centered a cross into the box. With a defender in the area,
Chris DePetro slightly redirected the cross and DeLeo slid from point blank to feather the shot inside the right post for the go-ahead goal.
J. Harris totaled five saves in the match but none bigger than the one on a penalty kick with exactly 10 minutes left in regulation. A Colgate foul inside the box gave Jack Bauer of UNH a chance to set the stage for an overtime thriller, but Harris had other plans, diving to his left and raising his arm to knock the ball away from the net.
The Wildcats continued to press heavily, sending 10 guys into the box on corner kicks searching for the equalizer. Colgate's defense prevailed and the Raiders iced the game down the stretch with a late offensive possession to secure the 1-0 victory.
BOTTOM LINE
• Colgate 1, No. 22 New Hampshire 0
FOR THE RECORD
• Colgate is now 13-4-5 on the season, tying the program record for most wins in a single season.
• UNH suffered its first loss at home and fell to 12-4-2 overall.
• The Raiders improved to 5-0 in November with five one-goal victories.
FROM THE SOURCE
• Colgate head coach
Erik Ronning:
(On the game) "First of all I want to congratulate New Hampshire on a great year. We had our hands full tonight, but we never broke. Our guys fought and battled. We were very disciplined and stuck to our game plan. It is tough to go on the road in the NCAA Tournament and get a result like this. They hadn't lost in two years here so this is important win for our team. These are the types of wins you need in the postseason."
(On
Jacob Harris' performance) "Jacob has been such a difference maker for us. He has a tremendous temperament and he gives us a chance to win every game. His athleticism and his ability to communicate, particularly in this game against a team that is strong on set pieces, are so important."
• Colgate senior
Steven DeLeo:
(On the game-winning goal) "At halftime, we talked about how we were going to break these guys down. We finally had a chance there in the second half and we capitalized. We were able to get the ball to one of our better ball handlers in space and I was just fortunate enough to be in the right place at the right time."
KEY RAIDER NOTES
• Colgate handed UNH its first ever loss at Wildcat Stadium. The Wildcats were 10-0-0 this season, and 20-0-3 over the past two years.
• The Raiders improved to 3-7 all-time in the NCAA Tournament.
• Colgate is now 2-1-1 against nationally ranked opponents and 3-0-1 against America East foes.
• The Raiders earned their first win on the road against UNH and improved to 2-7-1 all-time against the Wildcats.
• DeLeo has back-to-back game-winning goals after scoring the lone goal in a 1-0 victory over Army in the Patriot League Championship.
• Three of his four goals this season have been game-winners, and his only non game-winning marker tied the match at No. 6 Denver with less than three minutes left in regulation.
BY THE NUMBERS
• UNH held a 13-5 advantage in shots and a 5-2 edge in shots on goal.
• Corner kicks finished 7-2 in favor of New Hampshire.
• Colgate was called for nine fouls, while New Hampshire committed five.
UP NEXT
• Colgate sets its sights on No. 2 Wake Forest with a trip to the NCAA Sweet 16 on the line.
• Kickoff from Spry Stadium is set for 5 p.m. on Sunday.
