WORCESTER, Mass. – Despite an outstanding offensive presence through the first and fourth quarters, the 2020-21 season came to a close for the Colgate field hockey program in a 2-1 decision at Holy Cross.

With the fourth seed on the line, Holy Cross earned the bid into the four-team Patriot League Tournament, ending Colgate's season after its 2-0 start through the season's five regular season games.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Raiders opened with three straight penalty corner opportunities, but the defense was able to tie up the ball in the arc to keep it from finding the cage. In a season where all of Holy Cross' goals have come off of penalty corners, the Raiders went on to successfully defend seven corners through the opening half.

After outshooting the Crusaders by a 9-4 margin in the scoreless opening quarter, the Raiders faced more defensive action in the second. A defensive save by Rachel Alderfer kept it scoreless nearing the half, but the clock still had time left for a team to make a late impact. It was with just 33.8 remaining that Holy Cross was able to gain a 1-0 advantage.

Carrying momentum over from the half, the Crusaders converted on another penalty corner by sending a deflection to the back of the cage just 2:11 into the third quarter for a 2-0 lead.  Try as they might, the Raiders were unable to crack onto the board as the clock hit the final 15:00.

It then all came down to the final quarter as the Raiders looked to tie up the must-win matchup for a bid into the Patriot League Tournament.

The effort was apparent early, as less than a minute in Colgate got onto the board. After the Raiders sacrificed a penalty corner, they defended it cleanly and sent it out of the zone. It was then that Casamassa carried it down the field and scored a low tally to cut Holy Cross' lead to 2-1.

Similarly to the first quarter, the Raider offense was prevalent through the fourth. Dominating play as they looked to tie it up, the Raiders saw another opportunity, but a diving effort by the Holy Cross netminder kept the home team ahead.

Looking to convert on a penalty corner, Minturn's shot was blocked, before Bronwen Rees-Wiedemann's was saved. Battling offensively and drawing penalty corner opportunities, Colgate opted for the extra attacker and empty net for the final 3:24 in the one-goal game. Even after generating seven shots in the fourth quarter, the clock would run out before Colgate could land a tying tally in the cage, sounding on a 2-1 decision in the season finale.
 
STATISTICAL STANDOUTS
• Scoring the lone goal was senior Taylor Casamassa. She held a team-high of two goals on the season for four points.  
• The other top scorer of the season, senior Meghan Minturn put up a career-high of seven shots while landing a team-high of four on goal. She led the Raiders with Casamassa at four points by two goals on the year.
• Key to keeping it close was first-year Rachel Alderfer as she earned two defensive saves. It marked the first time since Sept. 8, 2019 that a player had two defensive saves in a single game (Emily Kness).
• Junior goalkeeper Anna Unger faced a season-high of 22 shots, making eight saves.
• Colgate tallied a season-high of 19 shots, landing a season-best of nine on goal.

SEASONAL STAT NUGGETS
• Overall, Colgate had opened the season in a 2-0 start. It marked the squad's first 2-0 start since 2018 and first 2-0 Patriot league start since 2014.
• With the season-opening win over Bucknell (March 7), head coach April Cornell earned her first Patriot League win in her career.
• Rewarded for their efforts in the season-opener, Mari Kniezewski (Offensive Player) and Anna Unger (Goalkeeper) were named to the first Patriot League weekly honors of their careers.
• Meghan Minturn (Offensive Player) and Ella Murphy (Rookie) added to the Patriot League weekly honors on March 22 after the team improved to its 2-0 start.
• Colgate graduates nine players to the Class of 2021 in Emma Goldberg, Katie Anderson, Campbell Matheis, Nora Mulroy, Meghan Minturn, Blair Boyles, Meredith Rappaport, Taylor Casamassa, and Josie Cook.
  
THE BOTTOM LINE
• Holy Cross 2, Colgate 1
 
RECORD UPDATES
• Colgate earned a 2-3 Patriot League record.
• Holy Cross improves to a 2-3 mark in League play.
 
FOLLOW THE RAIDERS
For more information on the Colgate field hockey program, follow the Raiders on Twitter @ColgateFH and on Instagram at Colgate_FH.