HAMILTON — Colgate opened Patriot League play with a 0-0 draw against Bucknell Saturday afternoon at Beyer-Small '76 Field.
The Raiders had several chances to score throughout the game, outshooting the Bison 12-11 and accumulating five corner kicks.
Goalie
Alli Popham logged a career-best six saves, keeping Bucknell off the scoreboard with multiple big stops.
Colgate got off to a quick start with two corner kicks in the opening 11 minutes of the contest. The Raiders also had a pair of shots early on, with
Ally Giovino putting one wide less than a minute later and
Sophie Wand getting hers saved in the 13th minute.
In the 40th minute,
Jocelyn Rowe received a through ball in the box but couldn't quite get enough power behind her shot after the Bison's goalie came out to stop it.
Popham made two of her four first-half saves in the final six minutes. In the 39th minute, she denied a Bucknell player from point-blank range after the ball got threaded into the box. She also made a stop after a Bison player cut into the box and put one on goal.
The Raiders outshot the Bison 8-4 in the second half, with four of those coming off the foot of Wand. Just over a minute in, she fired one from the top of the 18-yard box that was a routine save for Bucknell's goalie. She also put a couple of shots just over the bar.
Colgate had two corner kicks in a four-minute span, one in the 73rd minute and one in the 77th, but could not capitalize on either.
Two minutes later, the Raiders got awarded a free kick just outside the box that Wand took, but she put the set piece attempt high. Colgate had one last chance in the 85th minute when Giovino connected on a header that got blocked out of bounds, resulting in another corner.
FROM THE SOURCE
Head Coach Lyndse Hokanson
"Overall, I am pleased with the performance of the team today. Getting results in the Patriot League is tough, as we know, so to come away with a point against a team like Bucknell is a critical start to conference play for us. We still need to find ways to be more clinical around the goal. I thought we settled in some moments for half chances. All things said and done, I am pleased but not satisfied with today's result - I feel as though we have more in us and hope we can continue to get stronger as we head into a very challenging week of conference play and on the road against a strong Boston side."
UP NEXT
The Raiders head to Boston University Wednesday for another Patriot League tilt. Kickoff against the Terriers is 6 p.m.
