HAMILTON — Rory Connor scored a career-high seven goals and
Matt LaCombe logged a career-best 21 saves in net to lead Colgate past Navy 17-8 Saturday afternoon inside Andy Kerr Stadium.
Connor notched five of his seven goals in the first half.
Michael Minicus provided helpers on three of Connor's goals on his way to recording a career-best five assists and tying his career-high in points with six.
The Raiders got hot after falling behind 2-0 early. Colgate scored eight unanswered goals starting in the first quarter and into the second to take an 8-2 lead.
Adam Salvaggio got Colgate on the board when he fired a shot in with eight minutes remaining. Goal contributions from
Ben Trumble and
Alex Pistorius, on a man-up chance, gave the Raiders a 3-2 lead just under 10 minutes into the quarter.
Connor tallied his first of the game at the 4:07 mark to double the Raiders' lead. Colgate then scored twice in the final minute of the first, with Salvaggio netting his second of the game, followed by Minicus finding the back of the net with four seconds left on the clock.
In the second quarter, Connor kept the offense rolling. The sophomore scored four straight goals in the first six minutes to push Colgate's advantage to eight at 10-2.
After the Midshipmen notched a pair of goals, Trumble ended the first half by scoring with seven seconds remaining on the clock to give the Raiders an 11-4 lead at halftime.
The teams exchanged goals at the start of the second half, with
Jack Turner finding the back of the net with just over 13 and a half minutes left, followed by a man-up goal from
Colin Ruppenstein five minutes later.
Colgate then went on another run with four-straight goals. Connor and
Nathan Fasanaro each scored at the end of the third. That was followed by another goal from Connor and a second tally from Ruppenstein in the fourth which extended the Raiders' advantage to double digits at 17-7 with five minutes remaining.
LaCombe made some big saves in the final period, stopping seven shots and preventing a potential comeback effort from Navy.
Colgate also shut down three Midshipmen man-up opportunities in the game.
FROM THE SOURCE
Head Coach Matt Karweck
"What an incredible team effort. We certainly had a few guys perform very well at the end of plays on both sides of the field, and that was exciting to watch. However, behind every great win was the commitment to the process. It was the dedication of our scout team players, the intentionality in our preparation all week long, and finally the composure to execute our game plan in every phase of the game. One thing is for sure, we were not perfect, and there is much work to be done. But, for now, we will enjoy this win, take the lessons from it, and keep driving to become the best team that we can be next week against an excellent Lafayette squad on their turf."
UP NEXT
The Raiders are back on the road next Saturday when they head to Lafayette for another Patriot League battle. Game time is 12 p.m. in Easton, Pa.
