April 20, 2002
EASTON, Pa. (www.lafayette.edu) - Colgate scored three goals in the opening five minutes and never looked back as the Raiders took a 12-8 win over regular season champion Lafayette on Saturday in Hamilton, N.Y. The win earned Colgate a berth in the Patriot League tournament while snapping the Leopards' five-game winning streak.
Colgate freshman Kim Corcoran got the Raiders on the board just 47 seconds into the game, and sophomores Meghan O'Neill and Jane Manning each added goals, for a 3-0 lead early in the first half.
Lafayette roared back to tie the game at 3-3, as senior Heather McClelland found the back of the net at 25:43 on an Erin Gallagher assist. Gallagher went on two score two goals in the next ten minutes, one on a pass from Fallon Cunningham and the other a free position shot.
Colgate regained the lead at 13:49 on a goal by Caitlin Houck. Lauren Moll pushed the lead to two at 5-3 with 5:30 remaining.
Lafayette freshman Katie Layng cut the Colgate lead to 5-4 with her second tally of the year with 3:51 remaining in the first half on a pass from McClelland. Colgate responded to add two goals from Moll and Sandler to put the Raiders up 7-4. Lafayette's McClelland took a pass from Jennifer Stone to score a buzzer-beater to trail, 7-5, going into halftime.
Lafayette remained hot as senior Stephanie Tinney scored just 30 seconds into the half to cut the Raiders' lead to one, 7-6, off a feed from McClelland.
The two teams held each other off for the next 13:21, before Colgate's Sandler scored to give the Raiders a two-goal lead.
Tinney pulled the Leopards within one less than a minute later, but the Raiders scored four straight to secure the victory.
Senior Jane Murray made 15 saves to preserve the Raiders' win, while Lafayette goaltender Leela Strong made seven saves in the Leopard effort.
Lafayette will look to exact revenge on the Raiders in the first round of the Patriot League Tournament on April 27 at 11 a.m. at Rappolt Field.
The Leopards will finish out the regular season with a non-conference game at Columbia on Tuesday at 4 p.m.
