ALBANY, N.Y.  – First-year Anna Unger recorded a career-high 11 saves in the cage but Colgate's attack was held in check as No. 21 UAlbany defeated the Raiders 5-0 Saturday at Alumni Turf.
 
UAlbany came strong out of the gates and had Colgate on its heels early. The Great Danes pressured with three shots on goal and three penalty corners over the first 12 minutes of the contest. The Raider defense, anchored by Unger in the cage, kept the match scoreless until the Great Danes broke through in the 17th minute.
 
Coming off a penalty corner, Viol Von der Muhlen inserted a pass to the top of the shooting circle. Rachel Schannauer received the pass and delivered a quick strike to Dana Bozek, who lifted a shot past Unger to open the scoring at the 17:33 mark of the opening half.
 
Colgate looked to respond with more pressure in the UAlbany defensive territory and the Raiders forced a foul near the goal mouth to earn their first penalty corner in the 23rd minute. Nicole Salamone took the corner and got a shot off soon after, but she fired one just wide and UAlbany was able to clear.
 
The Great Danes doubled their lead on a goal by Ghislaine Beerkens with 8:16 left in the first half. Frederike Helmke delivered a long shot from outside and Beerkens redirected it through traffic to stretch UAlbany's lead to 2-0 in the opening stanza.

The Raiders battled back once more and Maggie Lake earned a penalty corner with just under six minutes left in the half, but Colgate was unable to get a clean shot off and UAlbany held its 2-0 lead into the half.

A strong defensive effort from both sides paced the first 20 minutes of the second half until the Great Danes struck again in the 57th minute.

Following a timeout by the home team, UAlbany scored three goals over a five minute span down the stretch. Bozek scored two of her own to earn a hat trick and Beerkens tallied her second as the Great Danes pulled away late for the 5-0 victory.
 
BOTTOM LINE
• UAlbany 5, Colgate 0
 
WON-LOST RECORDS
• UAlbany improved to 1-1.
• Colgate fell to 2-2.

KEY RAIDER INFO
• Anna Unger finished with a career-high 11 saves, the most stops in a game since Maria Krull tallied 16 against Pacific on Oct. 29, 2017.
• Unger is averaging six saves per game with 24 stops in four games. 
• Nicole Salamone and Maggie Lake took the two Raider penalty corners.
• Salamone finished with the lone shot for Colgate.

FACTS AND FIGURES
• Shots were 20-1 in favor of UAlbany.
• The Great Danes held a 9-2 edge in penalty corners.

FROM THE SOURCE
Colgate head coach April Cornell: I am very pleased with our overall performance today. Albany is a skillful opponent and we did a great job moving the ball quickly away from pressure. Our defense and midfield did an outstanding job with clearing the ball out, but now we need to continue to build our attack and take care inside the offensive third. This is a great learning experience for our team defense and making sure we get immediate pressure on the ball. We are looking forward to getting back to work and preparing for Lock Haven next Sunday.

GATE GRAB BAG
• Attendance at Alumni Turf was 237.
 
UP NEXT 
• Colgate remains on the road to take on Lock Haven Sunday, Sept. 9. Game time is set for noon. 
•  The Bald Eagles are currently 2-1 on the season with shutout wins over Lehigh and Towson.