EASTON, Pa. – Behind
Tara Atkinson's career-high five-goal performance, the Colgate women's lacrosse program closed out the regular season with a 13-12 victory at Lafayette. The Raiders strong play at either end of the field helps propel them into the postseason on a high note as they now travel to Boston University for the Patriot League Tournament Quarterfinals.
After a lot of neutral zone play early in the game, the Raider offense flew down the field to build a 3-0 advantage. After
Danielle Van Calcar swooped from behind the net and spun at the crease to crack Colgate onto the board, Atkinson scored back-to-back. After the senior capitalized on a free position goal, Atkinson powered through the defense unassisted for a low tally to the back of the net and posting her first two of the day. After receiving a feed from the back line by
Payton Gabriel,
Jacklyn Hooey was settled out front of the crease for the low goal past the tender to extend Colgate's 4-0 run.
Responding on its home turf, Lafayette tallied a trio to narrow the scoreboard to 4-3, but Atkinson sealed her third straight hat trick on another free position opportunity to make it 5-3 minutes prior to halftime.
Not going down easy, Lafayette gained its first lead of the day with its lone free position goal of the first half although Atkinson answered yet again to tie it at 6-6 with a stellar goal to the top of the net with just 00:05 remaining before the horn.
Coming out of halftime, the Raiders rallied on Lafayette's delay of game penalty as
CC Telesco fed the ball up the field to
Annelise Kotz. The duo produced a goal from the top of the arc with the man up advantage for a 7-6 lead just 00:08 into the second half.
A much more back-and-forth second,
Payton Gabriel broke another tie as she scored over the head of Lafayette's goalie for Colgate's 8-7 lead but the Leopards continued to pressure back. Atkinson answered for the Raiders yet again as she sped around the crease and her wide-angle shot put Colgate temporarily back on top at 9-8.
Lafayette claimed its second lead of the game with a pair of tallies before the Raiders tied the mark with 12:11 remaining in regulation as
Noelle Patterson swung wide with a high shot to the twine. With momentum back on Colgate's side, a long feed up the field was received by
Alissa Masini to begin a run. With a quick stick goal sent to the high stick side of the goalie, Van Calcar increased Colgate's advantage in a matter of minutes fueling the Raider bench.
A four-goal run by the Raiders for a 13-10 score was capped off by Hooey's second of the day as the Patriot League foes headed into a lightning delay with 6:33 remaining in regulation. Slippery play ensued as the teams returned to action and with a minute remaining, Lafayette made one last push with a pair of goals just 11 seconds apart for a one-goal game. As Patterson won the final draw control, the Raiders were able to withstand Lafayette's final attempts at tying to claim a hard fought 13-12 victory.
STATISTICAL STANDOUTS
• After posting her third consecutive hat trick, senior
Tara Atkinson continued to dominate offensively to post a career-high five goals on the Leopards. Adding to her offense, Atkinson recorded an assist for a six-point day and now holds a team-leading 51 on the season.
• Behind her sixth multi-goal game of the season, sophomore
Danielle Van Calcar now totals a career-high of 24 goals this year.
• With her fourth multi-goal game of the season,
Jacklyn Hooey tops the freshman class with her 13 goals on the season. Heating up heading into the playoffs, the midfielder now holds six goals in the last five games, while her second goal tonight marks her first career game-winner.
• With five goals in the last five games, sophomore
Annelise Kotz earned her 15th goal of the season.
• Junior
Payton Gabriel tallied her sixth goal of the season, and first since a multi-goal performance at American (April 13).
• Now with goals in all 16 regular season games, junior
Noelle Patterson recorded her team-leading 32nd goal of the season and led the team with four draw control wins on the day.
• Junior
Alissa Masini posted her eighth goal of the year when she put the Raiders up 11-10.
• Senior
Chelsea Taylor was a defensive force as she recorded a team-high of three ground balls and three caused turnovers on the day.
• Raiders were perfect at the line, going 3-for-3 on free position attempts.
• After rallying for seven saves in the opening half, junior goalkeeper
Samantha Croston totaled 12 on the day for her seventh double-digit save performance of the season.
THE BOTTOM LINE
• Colgate 13, Lafayette 12
RECORD UPDATES
• Colgate holds a 7-9 record, and a 5-4 mark in Patriot League action.
• Lafayette is 5-12 overall on the season, and is 1-8 in Patriot League play.
UP NEXT
Colgate begins postseason action on Sunday as it travels to Boston University for the Patriot League Tournament Quarterfinals. The No. 5 seeded Raiders take on No. 4 Boston University in a 1 p.m. first draw, where the winner advances to Thursday's Patriot League Semifinals against No. 1 Loyola or No. 2 Navy.
FOLLOW THE RAIDERS
For more information on the Colgate women's lacrosse program, follow the Raiders on Twitter @ColgateWLax and on Instagram at ColgateWLax.
