HAMILTON – Colgate, coming off a hard-fought draw against Navy on Saturday, scored two second-half goals to knock off Holy Cross 2-0 Wednesday evening at Beyer-Small '76 Field.
With Colgate looking to add to its undefeated 1-0-1 Patriot league record, the first half was relatively uneventful with most of the play staying close to midfield for the first 45 minutes.
While each team did have several chances – Colgate with seven shots and Holy Cross with three – neither team was able to capitalize before the intermission.
The second half opened with more intensity. By the 52nd minute, there had already been two shots (one for each team) and a yellow card on Holy Cross player Nick Hupe.
In the 59th minute, Holy Cross defender Taj Salawu committed a foul just outside the penalty area. Colgate forward
Alejandro Coury capitalized on this opportunity, and blasted a shot on goal. The goalie initially caught the ball, but fumbled it and let it roll into the back of the net. This goal gave the Raiders the 1-0 lead.
With 10 minutes left in the match, Holy Cross's Marcus Williams received his second yellow card, and a red card as a result. As the match continued, the Crusaders played with desperation, trying to equalize the score with only 10 players on the field.
The Raiders started to put more pressure on the Holy Cross defense, sending numbers into the Holy Cross penalty box. After settling a throw-in near the corner flag, Colgate generated a shot on goal with a nifty back-heel cross. After Holy Cross goalie Josh Tubbs blocked this initial shot,
Antonio Ducrot flew in to bury the rebound for his second goal of the season, sealing the win for the Raiders, who were victorious at home, 2-0.
FROM THE SOURCE
Head Coach Erik Ronning
"Another quality performance overall. We were very solid defensively and I'm happy the team earned a clean sheet.
"We now move forward and focus on our preparation for a tough game at Loyola."
UP NEXT
The Raiders have two tough Patriot League opponents in their sights. Colgate heads back to Maryland to take on defending champion Loyola in their 10th game of the season on Saturday at 1 p.m. One week later, Colgate hosts American University, the other Patriot League finalist from last year, next Saturday, Oct. 8, at 2 p.m.
