PORTLAND, Ore. – 110 minutes were not enough to decide a winner as Colgate battled No. 20 Portland to a scoreless draw in the season opener for both teams Friday night at Merlo Field.
Portland saw the first flurry of opportunities with a couple shots off the crossbar inside the first 15 minutes.
Jacob Harris did not let anything past him from there, finishing with one save and a clean sheet after the first 45 minutes.
Colgate's first shot on goal came in the 17th minute, when
Kian Alberto took advantage of an open look and struck a low shot into the chest of Portland keeper Nico Campuzano.
Drew Fischer nearly broke the scoreless draw in the 30th minute with a shot that whistled just wide of the right post. Shots were 7-6 in favor of Portland at the end of a scoreless first half.
The Pilots controlled the pace in the early stages of the second half. Harris notched another big save on a 1-on-1 in the 50th minute. Colgate withstood six Portland corner kicks in the second stanza and continued to bend but not break.
Kentaro Morrison earned the best chance for the Raiders on a breakaway in the 69th minute. Campuzano raced out to cut down the angle and Morrison's shot was deflected away.
Chris DePetro fired a rebound on target and once again it was saved and cleared by the Pilots keeper.
Neither team would find the back of the net in regulation. Portland outshot the Raiders 8-0 in the two overtimes, with only one on target and Harris was up to the task.
BOTTOM LINE
Colgate 0, No. 20 Portland 0
QUOTES
Head Coach Erik Ronning:
"I am very proud of our young men. They earned a great result on the road against an exceptional Portland team. The effort put forth and commitment to each other was phenomenal.
"We were not perfect by any means but took a huge step forward tonight with this young team.
"We will now focus on our recovery and preparation for Oregon State."
NOTABLES
- Ronning rolled out his first lineup card of the season featuring Fischer as the lone starting freshman.
- Newcomers Max Edelstein and Simon Fisher both played in their first collegiate match.
- 14 Raiders in all saw action in the season opener.
- Sophomore defenders John Gerard and Dominic Galietta both earned their first starts in Maroon and White and played a career-high 110 minutes.
- Alberto and Will Stroud also played the full 110 minutes for the Raiders.
- Fischer led the Raiders with four shots.
- DePetro, Alberto, and Fischer finished with a shot on goal apiece.
- Shots were 21-10 in favor of the Pilots, while shots on goal were even at 3-3.
- Harris picked up his 15th career shutout, moving to within five of the all-time record held by David Cappucio '08.
- Harris currently stands fifth all-time, two away from assistant coach Ricky Brown '16 and Kenny Reisman '89.
UP NEXT
Colgate stays on the West Coast to take on No. 22 Oregon State on Sunday evening. Kickoff is set for 5:30 p.m. with the Pac-12 Network producing the live feed from Corvallis, Ore.
