Oct. 17, 2009
Box Score
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EASTON, Pa. - It looked like the Leopards' slim, 1-0 lead over Colgate late in Saturday night's game might be just enough for a win, but two late Raider goals dealt the Lafayette men's soccer team a heartbreaking league loss.
The loss was Lafayette's first at home this season and dropped the team's record to 7-5-1 overall and 2-2-0 in Patriot League play. The Raiders, meanwhile, improved to 6-6-1 and now also stand at 2-2-0 in conference action.
Colgate out-shot the Leopards 19-5 and forced Lafayette goalie Andrew Pianko into making a season-high nine saves. Freshman Sean Peckham accounted for the lone Lafayette goal, which came on a penalty kick midway through the first half.
Pianko was called into action early, making two saves less than two minutes apart after just 10 minutes of play.
Colgate continued to dominate on the offensive end, but a costly foul in the box by the Raiders gave Peckham his second penalty kick opportunity of the year. Peckham came through again, firing his shot into the upper left corner of the net for a 1-0 Lafayette lead with 22:37 to play.
At the 32-minute mark, Peckham nearly doubled the Lafayette lead when a pass from B.J. Glenn found his feet in front of the Colgate goal but he toed the ball just inches to the left of the net. The Raiders had the final scoring chance of the half on a shot by Shane Conlin with 3:45 to play, but it went wide and remained a 1-0 score at the midway point.
Coming out of halftime, Colgate' offense continued to put the pressure on the Leopards. The Raiders fired off two shots within the first two minutes of the second period, including a header by Patrick Letourneau that was saved by Pianko, his sixth stop of the night.
With 56:24 on the scoreboard, Colgate's Chris Ross should have tied the game at one-all when he got a good foot on the ball right in front of Pianko, but the shot went wide, narrowly preserving the Lafayette lead. George McFarland had nearly an exact opportunity with 15 minutes remaining but his shot also went just wide.
The Raiders, who had been so close to scoring several times throughout the night, finally converted on an opportunity following a Lafayette penalty outside the box. Jeff Leach found Mike Reidy, who put the ball past Pianko to even up the score.
With less than two minutes remaining, Colgate struck again. This time Leach found Alex Weekes who came through with his fifth score of the fall and second game winner.
Glenn and Chip Aronica countered with last-minute shots in an effort to tie the game and force overtime, but both sailed just inches wide of the goal.
The Leopards are back on the road on Tuesday with a 7 p.m. match at Cornell. They return to Patriot League play next Sunday with a 1 p.m. game at Army.
