HAMILTON - Alli Popham made five saves as the Raiders fell 2-0 to Dartmouth at Beyer-Small '76 field on Thursday night.

COACH HOKANSON'S COMMENTS

"I thought we responded in the second half. I was disappointed with the first half performance and I wanted us to respond and pose more of a threat. I thought we got more grip on the game in the second half and statistically it was more even.

They were causing us trouble in our defensive system, credit to them, they found a way to be dangerous and we had to make a modification to the way we were defending it. I thought we adjusted well, unfortunately we were unable to generate enough on the attacking side.

When you concede and are playing from behind it's really hard. They are a good team and they played well tonight so I won't take anything away from them but I would like to see more from us."

HOW IT HAPPENED

Dartmouth struck first just four minutes into the match with a long range effort going into the top right corner.

Colgate remained under pressure from Dartmouth during the first 15 minutes but Alli Popham continued to prevent the Big Green from doubling its lead.

The Raiders best opportunity of the first half came from an Ari Bezanson strike from 18 yards away, narrowly missing the left post wide.

Alli Popham made three stops in the first frame to keep the Raiders behind just one goal.

Bezanson drew a foul five minutes into the second half giving Ava McCloskey an opportunity to put the ball into a dangerous area. The free kick flew just past the left post as McCloskey was unable to connect with a fellow Raider.

Just after the free kick, Demi Maroudas skillfully dribbled her way into the Dartmouth box but the shot on goal was stopped by the Big Green goalkeeper.

In the 56th minute, Dartmouth scored its second after a scramble in the box led to the ball bouncing past Popham giving the Big Green a 2-0 lead. 

Bianca Howitt fired a half volley just missing wide of the target in the 60th minute. Moments later, Popham came up with a huge stop. Diving to her left after a Dartmouth striker hit a curling effort just eight yards away.

Howitt found herself one last chance in the 87th minute, after a through ball from Bezanson, Howitt took an ambitious effort towards goal but the ball flew just over the crossbar.

The Raiders continued their battle in the second half but fell 2-0 to Dartmouth on Thursday evening.

UP NEXT
Colgate (1-6-1) stays in Hamilton for its last non-conference match of the season as they host UAlbany on Sunday, Sept. 15. Kickoff is set for 3 p.m.