HAMILTON – The Colgate field hockey program fell 2-0 to Bryant on Sunday afternoon in non-conference play on a steamy Tyler's Field showdown. The Raiders showed lots of promise with chances in the offensive zone, including a pair of shots on goal by sophomore
Taylor Casamassa, but the Bulldogs late second goal in the final minutes was the deciding factor.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Bryant was first to get on the board when they were able to rebound after a shot that hit the pipe. The play came 10:19 into the game, and really amped up the Raiders presence in the offensive zone. By the second half, Colgate was peppering Bryant with shots early on, and totaled four attempts at the cage in the second half. After some late back-and-forth play in the heated matchup, Bryant was able to capitalize on one of its four corners to gain a 2-0 lead late in the game with a shot to the low right side of the goal.
STATISTICAL STANDOUTS
• Leading the team offensively was sophomore
Taylor Casamassa, who marked two shots on goal with a team-leading three shot attempts on the afternoon. It marks Casamassa's most shots on goal in a game since she tallied three against Central Michigan in the season opener (Aug. 24).
• In goal, freshman
Anna Unger made four stops with just two goals against on the day in her fifth complete game of the season.
• Others to tally shots on goal for the Raiders include
Nora Mulroy, who earned her team-leading eighth shot on goal of the season, as well as freshman
Carter Leahy, who's shot marks her first on goal of her collegiate career.
THE BOTTOM LINE
• Bryant 2, Colgate 0
RECORD UPDATES
• Colgate holds a 2-5 overall record on the year.
• Bryant improved to 2-6 on the season.
COACH CORNELL'S TAKE
"Overall, we had a lot of opportunities. I think we were able to create a lot more fast breaks and maintain possession on the attack. We had several chances where we were able to capitalize on second and third rebounds. The main thing for us to take away from today is that we had a more confident presence on the field, and the players had more confidence in their decision-making."
"Bryant's goalkeeper played a fantastic game and she had some great saves. We walk away from this game knowing that we were a very competitive team and that we fought for a full 70 minutes."
"As a team, we feel really good about how we performed today, especially with playing back-to-back games. We were fresh, we were aggressive, and we were connecting our passes, which was really great. Now if we can just have that composure on the attacking side to finish, I think we could be a really dangerous team."
UP NEXT
The Raiders are back in action on Thursday, Sept. 20 when they host Pacific in a 5:30 p.m. start on Tyler's Field.
FOLLOW THE RAIDERS
For more information on the Colgate field hockey program, follow the Raiders on Twitter @ColgateFH and on Instagram at Colgate_FH.
