HAMILTON — Junior
Michael Minicus posted a career-high seven points, helping Colgate cruise past Holy Cross 22-9 in its season finale Friday at Andy Kerr Stadium.
The 22 goals scored by the Raiders are their most in a game since Feb. 13, 2018, when they put up 21 against Binghamton.
Minicus' seven points came from tying his career-high in goals with five and two assists. Freshman
Hunter Drouin also topped his career-best in points with five, logging a hat trick and two assists. Additionally,
Adam Salvaggio notched three goals while
Rory Connor had three goals and an assist, and
Colin Ruppenstein also tallied a hat trick.
Colgate opened the game by scoring 10 goals in the first, its most in a quarter this season. The Raiders notched six unanswered in the first nine minutes.
Rory Connor registered a pair of goals in that span, and
Thomas Colucci, Ruppenstein, Minicus, and Salvaggio netted their first goals.
After the Crusaders finally got on the board at the 5:04 mark, the Raiders answered back with goals from Ruppenstein and Minicus.
Bruce Ferguson and
Jacob Sposita completed the first-quarter scoring parade, giving the Raiders a 10-2 advantage.
Ruppenstein opened the scoring in the second, completing his hat trick at the 10:50 mark. After two Holy Cross goals, the Raiders went on another 3-0 run, led by Minicus getting two more and
Max Yates adding his name to the scoresheet to give Colgate a 10-goal lead at 14-4 with 4:53 remaining in the second.
Hunter Drouin notched one final goal in the first half to push the Raiders' lead to 15-5 going into the break. The freshman also scored Colgate's first goal of the third quarter, which came just over two and a half minutes in.
Colgate ended the third on a 4-1 run, beginning with Salvaggio notching his third of the game with 3:51 remaining. The Raiders found the back of the net three more times in the final two and a half minutes, getting tallies from Minicus, Drouin, and Connor to make it 20-7.
Salvaggio and
William Upchurch each found the back of the net at the start of the fourth to top off the scoring.
In goal,
Matt LaCombe and
Chris Burns combined for 15 saves. LaCombe got the start and played the first half, making eight stops, while Burns came in for the final 30 minutes, recording seven saves.
Brian Wilmans led the Raiders in face-offs going 11-for-18. As a team, Colgate held control at the 'x', posting 21 wins.
FROM THE SOURCE
Head Coach Matt Karweck
"I am so proud of this team. Throughout all of the adversity and heartbreak of this season, they could have very easily threw in the towel at the end. Nobody gave up, every one of them gave everything they had until the last whistle, and we finally executed a full 60 minute game like we've been trying to do all season.
All of our seniors got a chance to play, and played great. Our senior goalie,
Chris Burns, came in at half-time, and absolutely dominated. Salvaggio ended his career with a goal on his last shot. Pistorius, with an injured hand, toughed through "one more possession" and executed an extra man opportunity. Gayhardt, Lia, Cain, Wingate, Ferguson, and Brook all ended their careers with a defensive stop. And finally, Colucci and Wilmans lead our face-off unit with a dominant performance of 21 for 34.
This senior group has established and solidified our style and intensity by playing our final game in the truest form of, The Colgate Lacrosse Way. Thank you to those 11 seniors for their continued leadership, leaving this program with a great win, and giving us a major boost of motivation for next year."
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