HAMILTON – Emily Amano's first collegiate goal early on in the second half proved to be the game-winner in Colgate's 2-0 shutout victory over visiting Albany.
 
In a tightly contested matchup, Amano provided the game's first breakthrough in the 56th minute. She fought her way to the top of the six-yard box and deposited a rebound into the net to give the Raiders the lead, which was their first of the young season.
 
The tally was well deserved, as Colgate came out firing in the second half after the teams played to a scoreless draw in the opening 45 minutes. Amano's finish was the result of hard work inside the box, and the Raiders' second marker followed that theme.
 
About 20 minutes after the initial goal, Colgate built up another quality chance when they earned three consecutive corner kicks. On the third effort, Natalie Kozlowski controlled a ball at the top of the box and was dragged down to earn the team's first penalty kick of the year. Abby Sotomayor stepped up and confidently struck a low ball to the left of keeper Andrea Leitner to all but put the game away.
 
The visitors weren't able to muster up many quality chances in the closing minutes, as Kelly Chiavaro picked up her second clean sheet of the season in the Raiders' goal when she stopped all six shots that she saw. Her best of the afternoon came about 13 minutes into the contest when she slid to her right to stop a chance that was labeled for the far post.
 
The final few minutes were played predominantly in the Albany end of the field, as Raider head coach Kathy Brawn used 16 outfield players in the game to keep legs fresh down the stretch.
 
Sunday's final stat line showed an oddity and an example of extreme parity. Both teams finished the game with the same amount of shots (17), saves (6) and corner kicks (6.)

Bottom Line

• Colgate 2, Albany 0

 
Won-Lost Records

• Colgate improved to 1-1-1.
• Albany fell to 2-2-0.

 
Facts & Figures
 

• Amano's goal was the first of her collegiate career and she joins senior Martina Loncar as the two Raiders who have notched their first career tallies in 2018. Loncar got hers Aug. 17 at Virginia.
• Sunday's game began a stretch of four straight home games for the Raiders that concludes in mid-September.
• With the win, the Raiders improved to 15-8-5 in home openers during Brawn's tenure as head coach.
• Colgate's two second half goals marked the first time they've struck twice in the same stanza since October 14, 2017 against Bucknell, a stretch that spanned seven games.
• The Raiders are now 3-1-1 in the past two seasons against America East competition, with two of those wins against the Great Danes.

 
From the Source

• Colgate head coach Kathy Brawn: "We recovered pretty well from the Lowell game. We came out with a good mentality and were well prepared. We weren't sharp at the beginning of that game, but credit to our players because we worked out of it."
• Brawn on playing at home: "We love it. Guys from the men's team were out here and it creates more of an atmosphere. Being at home is really great. If that doesn't give you an advantage, you're not doing it right."
• Colgate freshman midfielder Emily Amano: "This was the best we've played offensively so far this year. We've held our own defensively in the past two games, but in this game we focused more on the offensive side and we really produced there.
• Amano on scoring her first career goal: "It was unreal. There was a huge crowd and the team was there, it was unbelievable."

 
Gate Grab Bag

• Attendance at Beyer-Small '76 Field was 356.

 
Up Next

• Colgate stays at home to face La Salle on Thursday.
• The Explorers are off to an unbeaten 3-0 start and have not conceded a goal yet. They'll host Drexel on Monday night.
• Kickoff from Hamilton is 7 p.m.