HAMILTON, N.Y. – Leah Lewis scored under a minute into the match and the quick strike stood for 89 minutes as the Colgate women's soccer team earned its second straight shutout with a 1-0 victory over Fairfield on Tuesday evening at Beyer-Small '76 Field.

With the win, Colgate head coach Kathy Brawn became the 24th active NCAA Division I women's soccer head coach to reach 300 career victories. She also became the third active coach in the Patriot League to achieve the milestone.
 
Colgate wasted little time getting on the board with a goal 50 seconds into the match. On the Raiders' first offensive possession, Emily Amano struck a perfect corner kick into the box and Leah Lewis had an initial shot blocked but she connected on her own rebound to pull the Raiders ahead.

That didn't take long!

50 seconds into the match and Lewis gives us the lead off a corner from Amano! #GoGate pic.twitter.com/6L8la4wAXg

— Colgate Women's Soccer (@ColgateWSOC) September 18, 2018

The Raiders continued to force offensive pressure and Adrienne Vaughn nearly doubled their lead six minutes later on a breakaway but her shot skipped wide of the right post.

Vaughn had another strong opportunity after Abby Sotomayor threaded the needle with a pass through defenders to break Vaughn free on a breakaway. Vaughn blasted a high shot on net but Fairfield keeper Aytana Muschajew made a strong save to keep the score 1-0.

Fairfield began to press late in the half and forced Colgate keeper Kelly Chiavaro to respond. The junior netminder did just that, notching four saves in all, including one leaping snare where she whacked away a high shot from Holly Habyan, to maintain the clean sheet at halftime.
 

24' | Chiavaro with the HUGE save!

Colgate 1, Fairfield 0. #GoGate pic.twitter.com/sYYUSJWGLf

— Colgate Women's Soccer (@ColgateWSOC) September 18, 2018

After a back-and-forth start to the second frame, a Fairfield foul just outside the box set Ruby Diodati up with a free kick from 20 yards out. Diodati picked her spot and blasted a laser that kicked off the crossbar as she came just inches away from doubling Colgate's lead.
 
The Stags controlled possession for the majority of the second half with 10 shots and five on goal over the final 45 minutes. Sophia Boggs played the second half in net and picked up right where Chiavaro left off. Boggs made five saves in the second half and Colgate played solid defense down the stretch to preserve the 1-0 shutout victory.
 
BOTTOM LINE
• Colgate 1, Fairfield 0.
 
RECORD UPDATES
• Colgate brought its record to 4-2-2 win the win and extended its unbeaten streak to four straight games.  
• Fairfield dropped to 5-3-1 after the loss.

KEY RAIDER INFO
• Tonight's victory was the fourth clean sheet for the Raiders this season, and the team's second straight shutout.
• Colgate now leads the all-time series versus Fairfield at 5-4-0 and earned its first win over the Stags since 2004.
• This is the second consecutive game Lewis has found the back of the net for the Raiders. 
• The Raiders tallied a season-high nine corner kicks in the victory.

FACTS AND FIGURES
• Fairfield held a slight advantage in shots 18-15 and in shots on goal 9-7.
• Saves were 9-6 in favor of Colgate.
• The Raiders won the battle in corner kicks 9-3.
 
FROM THE SOURCE
Colgate head coach Kathy Brawn:
• On tonight's win: We found a way to win tonight. I am proud of our effort and our determination to stick with the process, particularly in the second half when Fairfield began to press. We just need to find a way to be more consistent for 90 minutes. We need some more voices on the field and play with a little more intensity for a complete match, but overall I am happy with the result against a tough opponent like Fairfield. 
 
• On the team's strong defense: We had a good feeling about our team defensively. Kelly Chiavaro and Sophia Boggs have both been playing so well in net and we felt it was important to give both of them action tonight. Kelly set the tone for us in the first half and Sophia rose to the occasion in the second half. Having solid defense sets up your structure for your ability to attack.
 
• On 300 career victories: I feel very fortunate to have worked with great coaches over the years here at Colgate. To share this victory with this group feels really special. We never want to rest on anything and I want our group to experience the best there is to offer. As coaches, we will do anything we can to help that.
 
Colgate junior Leah Lewis:
We came out and started pretty strong with our goal coming in the first minute. We kept possession pretty well in the first half, but felt we could have been better in the second half. That is something we will look forward to improving on as the season progresses. Defensively, we are playing with a lot of confidence right now and we all know what we are capable of this year. 

GATE GRAB BAG
• Attendance at Beyer-Small '76 Field was 313.
 
UP NEXT 
• Colgate returns to Patriot League play on Saturday with a matchup at Army set for 4 p.m.