HAMILTON – Drew Fischer scored a late second-half goal and
Jacob Harris made a penalty kick save in the 81st minute to help lead Colgate to a 1-0 victory over Monmouth on Sunday afternoon at Beyer-Small '76 Field.
Colgate with the win is now 1-2-3 on the year. Monmouth dropped to 0-4 after the loss. Harris and the Raiders earned their third shutout of the season in the victory.
After a scoreless opening half, Colgate came out strong in the second stanza and controlled possession early on. After a few missed opportunities on the offensive end, Fischer cashed in for his second goal of the season in the 71st minute.
Chris Noriega settled a loose ball at the far sideline and pushed a pass forward to Fischer. After a quick touch to get positioned near the top of the 18-yard box, Fischer sniped a long-range shot into the upper right corner of the netting for the go-ahead marker.
The Hawks brought more numbers forward and pushed for the equalizer. A foul near the Raider goal line awarded Monmouth a penalty kick with less than 10 minutes left, but Harris read George Akampeke's low shot correctly and dove to knock it outside of the right post.
Harris had another pivotal save in the final seconds of regulation after a rebound left Ebenezer Owusa wide open on the right wing. He finished with four saves total to preserve the shutout.
The teams were engaged in a back-and-forth defensive battle through the first 45 minutes. Monmouth fired the first shot on goal in the 33rd minute, forcing Harris to dive to his left on a long strike that was headed toward the post.
Kian Alberto struck Colgate's first shot in the 10th minute and it sailed just over the crossbar. Fischer nearly had the opening goal in the 22nd minute, but his shot from the left wing did not bend quite enough and sailed just wide of the far post.
Kentaro Morrison tallied Colgate's lone first-half shot on goal in the 43rd minute, a long-range blast that the Monmouth keeper scooped up for the save. Shots were 6-3 in favor of the Hawks at intermission, but neither side found the back of the net in a scoreless opening 45 minutes.
The game remained scoreless late into the second half before Fischer's go-ahead goal.
BOTTOM LINE
Colgate 1, Monmouth 0
QUOTES
Head Coach Erik Ronning
On the game:
"I am certainly pleased to get a result. Our guys always work really hard. This is a pretty young team that had not experienced the feeling of winning a college game together, so I am really happy for them. Every game is a learning experience and we took another step forward today. I am proud of their effort and now we look forward to preparing for Bucknell."
On the second half:
"As the game progressed, we grew into it more. We did a great job of creating a phenomenal goal and preserved the clean sheet. Jacob made a great save on the PK and another big stop near the end and we were able to close it out. All in all, we held the ball well and created some quality opportunities, in the second half particularly. We were really close early in the half but there are some areas that we can continue to improve on."
Senior Jacob Harris
On the game:
"It was awesome to get our first win today. Everyone played an important role in holding Monmouth off in the last few minutes. Overall, it was a solid team effort and gives us some momentum as we move into Patriot League play."
NOTABLES
- Colgate outshot Monmouth 10-6 in the second half to hold a 13-12 advantage.
- Final shots on goal were 6-4 in favor of the Raiders.
- The Raiders' 13 shots and six on goal were both season highs.
- Harris matched his season high with four saves in the shutout.
- Harris is now tied with assistant coach Ricky Brown '17 and Kenny Reisman '90 for third all-time on the Raiders' shutout chart with 17.
- Fischer's goal was his first game-winner in a Raider uniform.
- He finished with six shots and four on goal in the win.
- Alberto and Morrison had the other two shots on target for Colgate.
- Noriega collected his first collegiate point with the assist on Fischer's goal.
UP NEXT
Colgate opens Patriot League play on Saturday when Bucknell comes to town for Family Weekend. Kickoff from Beyer-Small '76 Field is slated for 4 p.m.
