HAMILTON — A goal in each half helped Colgate defeat Navy 2-0 Saturday afternoon at Beyer-Small '76 Field, earning the team its first Patriot League win of the season.
Alli Popham picked up the shutout, finishing with three saves in net. The junior made two big stops in the final 20 minutes to keep her team ahead. It marked Popham's third clean sheet of the season.
The Raiders' backline held off multiple Navy chances, including four corner kicks, to preserve the shutout.
In the 76th minute,
Cara Schmidlein secured the win for the Raiders. After dribbling down the right wing, she played the ball into the box and it rolled past the Mids' goalie to make it 2-0
Ari Bezanson gave Colgate an early 1-0 lead when she found the back of the net in the eighth minute.
Ally Giovino played the ball to
Ana Schremp, who fed it to Bezanson. The sophomore dribbled into the box and buried a shot.
Colgate had multiple other chances throughout the game.
Sara Anelli nearly put one in the back of the net in the 54th minute when she got played the ball off a free kick but put it just over the goal.
The Raiders outshot the Midshipmen 7-4 in the first half.
Schremp had an opportunity for a goal of her own in the 18th minute when she dribbled into the box and fired a shot that got tipped over the crossbar by the goalie, leading to a Colgate corner kick. Less than a minute later, Anelli put another one just over the top.
The Raiders had a second corner kick in the 23rd minute following a shot by
Demi Maroudas that they couldn't convert.
Colgate came out hot right from the start when Giovino got a free look in the box six seconds into the game, but she put her shot to the right of the post.
FROM THE SOURCE
Head Coach Lyndse Hokanson
"Super proud of the team's resilience and grittiness to find a way to win tonight. Especially coming off of Wednesday, which was a tough result for the team after what I thought was a very solid performance, they found a way to bounce back and stay committed to seeking a win. It was a pretty even game, and Navy had us under pressure for stretches, but our defense and goalie were up to the task. It also felt great to find the goal. It's hard to win in this league, especially against a team like Navy, who is consistently at the top of the league. Thankful to our alumnae who helped our team understand what it means to be a part of this program and cheered their hearts out for us today. That made the win all the more special to celebrate with them. Looking forward to the next game against Cornell and continuing to push forward."
UP NEXT
The Raiders hit the road for their final non-conference game of the season Tuesday, taking on Cornell at 7 p.m.
