HAMILTON – With Lehigh's comeback in the final minutes of regulation, the Colgate field hockey program fell in its Patriot League opener in a 2-1 final. After a scoreless first half, Taylor Casamassa put Colgate up, but the Mountain Hawks responded with a pair of goals in under 5:00 to claim the game.

The Raiders are back in action tomorrow as they host in-state rival No. 19 Syracuse at Tyler's Field.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
All play was battled in the midfield through the start of the game, before a shot by Blair Boyles became Colgate's best chance midway through the opening quarter. After the teams reached the end of the first quarter scoreless, Colgate saw another quality chance by Nora Mulroy as the Raiders soared down the field and strung together passes to get it in the circle. The shot was deterred by the defense and sailed just wide of the goal.

Lehigh saw the only penalty corner opportunity of the half, but the Colgate defense broke it up to send the ball wide of the cage. Another shot on goal was tallied by Colgate's Carter Leahy before halftime, but the Patriot League foes would enter halftime with a scoreless game.

After the Raiders had a shot that was deflected into the keeper's pads on their first penalty corner midway through the first quarter, Colgate was ready to capitalize on their next chance. It was on another corner opportunity that Taylor Casamassa sent a long ball from the top of the circle to the back of the cage for Colgate's 1-0 advantage in the final minutes of the third.

The Raiders' lead would stand until the final minutes of regulation, as Lehigh was persistent to storm the Colgate circle. With a deflection in front of the net, the Mountain Hawks were able to tie the game with just 4:10 remaining in regulation. Although the Raiders tried to carry the ball up field, Lehigh drew a string of penalty corner chances as the clock ticked down. With just 1:39 remaining in regulation, Lehigh was able to take a straight on shot to the low left corner of the cage for a 2-1 advantage that would stand through the final horn.
 
STATISTICAL STANDOUTS
• With her go-ahead goal, junior Taylor Casamassa notched her third of the season and now leads the squad with nine points on the year.
• Having a hand on the Colgate goal, sophomore Kali Williams and junior Katie Anderson each earned an assist. It marks Williams' second assist in the last four games and Anderson's first of the year.  
• In goal, sophomore goalkeeper Anna Unger had a strong performance that included a game-high of four saves in the third quarter for a game total of six.
• The Raiders had clean defensive play, only allowing one defensive penalty corner to Lehigh in the opening half of action.
  
THE BOTTOM LINE
• Lehigh 2, Colgate 1
 
RECORD UPDATES
• Colgate holds a 2-5 overall record, and opens Patriot League play 0-1.
• Lehigh improves to a 4-1 record on the year, and starts Patriot League play 1-0.
 
HEAD COACH APRIL CORNELL'S TAKE
"Lehigh had really great low defense, was strong on tackles, and protected their feet really well so it limited our corner opportunities. Certainly our first thought is to get a shot on goal, not drawing a corner, but to still get that shot off.

"Anna Unger played fantastic today. She had some key saves on some of the penalty corners and on some of the rebounds on penalty corners. I think it gave our defense a lot of confidence knowing that she was back there and was so strong and steady.

"The biggest thing for tomorrow is to remember that when we step out on the field, it's a new game. We need to learn from this game, especially from the play at the end. We were under such tremendous pressure from Lehigh, that it's maintaining our composure when they have possession. Certainly with Syracuse we'll have to keep that in mind as well if we want to be successful and maintain possession."
 
UP NEXT
The Raiders round out their home stand tomorrow as they host No. 19 Syracuse for nonconference play. Game time against the in-state rival is slated for a 1 p.m. start.
 
FOLLOW THE RAIDERS
For more information on the Colgate field hockey program, follow the Raiders on Twitter @ColgateFH and on Instagram at Colgate_FH.