EASTON, Pa. — Colgate fell 10-9 in overtime at Lafayette Saturday after the Leopards netted the game-winner with one-second remaining.
Following a back-and-forth overtime period, Nick Rossi scored from in front of the goal to give the Leopards the win.
In the first,
Thomas Colucci notched the game's first goal five seconds in after a faceoff win.
Jack Turner then scored back-to-back goals for the Raiders to put them ahead 3-1. The Leopards put another one in, but Turner answered right back, logging his third of the afternoon with 5:09 remaining.
Michael Minicus topped off the opening quarter scoring and gave Colgate a 5-2 advantage when he found the back of the net at just under the four-minute mark.
The Raiders recorded a pair of goals at the start of the second, with
Rory Connor notching one off a feed from Minicus, followed by
Donnie Tedesco scoring off a pass from Turner to put Colgate ahead 7-2 with 9:36 left. Lafayette registered the final three goals of the first half to make it a two-goal game at the midway point.
Adam Salvaggio opened the third quarter by scoring a minute in. The Leopards then tallied two more goals in the third to make the score 8-7 and would tie it up less than a minute into the fourth.
Salvaggio put Colgate back ahead 9-8 after he scored an unassisted goal and his second of the contest a minute later. The Leopards equalized again when Peter Lehman notched a goal four minutes later before Lafayette won it in overtime.
The Raiders outshot the Leopards 41-34 in the game, which included 20 shots on goal. Colgate also held control in faceoffs, going 14-for-21, led by Colucci, who went 13-for-19 and scooped up six ground balls.
On the defensive side,
Donny Gayhardt recorded four caused turnovers and
Michael Lia caused two.
Matt LaCombe made 13 saves in goal for the Raiders.
FROM THE SOURCE
Head Coach Matt Karweck
"This is a tough loss. We work our tails off all week to perform our best on Saturday, but we just didn't execute the way we practice. We spoke about execution during our phase work, but we made some critical mistakes that kept this game close.
I'm a little disappointed that we didn't make some set adjustments quick enough during the second half. Still, we gave ourselves a chance to win, and they made one more play than we did. We need to go back to work. Our preparation this week will be as focused as ever. Our backs are against the wall right now, and we are going to fight our way back into contention."
UP NEXT
Colgate opens a three-game homestand next Saturday when it welcomes Bucknell to Crown Field at Andy Kerr Stadium for a 1 p.m. Patriot League contest.
