HAMILTON - Ava McCloskey buried a long range shot over the Holy Cross goalkeeper with just five minutes remaining to secure the Raiders 1-0 win over Holy Cross on Wednesday evening at Beyer-Small '76 Field.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Ellie Stokes forced a corner kick 10 minutes into the match after a piece of skill to skip past the first defender but the second defender cleaned up.
- Ari Bezanson created a bit of space on the top of the 18-yard box but her shot was blocked by a Crusader defender.
- Throughout the opening frame, Nikki DiCaprio, Sophia Ro, and Adelaide Brislen made numerous blocks and tackles in the back to keep the Raiders goalmouth clean.
- With less than 10 minutes to go in the first half, Jess Urena cut inside on her left and fired a shot but the Holy Cross defender got a slight touch on it to prevent a shot on goal.
- Bezanson crossed a low ball into the path of Josie Tunney just before halftime but the striker was unable to corral it and the match went into the halftime break scoreless.
- In the 57th minute, Bezanson belted a shot off the crossbar and Ana Schremp found the rebound but the Holy Cross keeper made a diving stop to keep the match tied at zero.
- Lydia Thornton found the ball on the doorstep from an Ellie Stokes cross but the shot was right at the Crusader goalkeeper.
- Bezanson ripped another shot with 15 minutes left but it did not threaten the Holy Cross goalkeeper too much.
- With just over five minutes to go, Ava McCloskey picked up a loose ball and fired from 20 yards away over the Crusader goalkeeper and into the back of the net to give Colgate a late 1-0 lead.
- Colgate's backline and goalkeeper held strong at the back and secured the 1-0 win.
GAME NOTES
- Ella Poppinga made four saves in net to earn her third clean sheet of the season.
- McCloskey scored her first goal of the season and first game winner of her career.
- The Raiders moved to the top of the Patriot League with an unbeaten 2-0-1 record.
UP NEXT
Colgate (5-3-4, 2-0-1 PL) heads to West Point to take on Army on Saturday. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m.
