HAMILTON, N.Y. - The Lafayette men's soccer team finished out its 2015 season with a 3-0 defeat at the hands of Colgate on Saturday afternoon in Hamilton, N.Y.
The defeat marks the Leopards' eighth of the year, finishing with a 5-8-5 overall mark and a 2-5-1 record in conference action. The game was the last for Lafayette's five seniors, Quentin Anson, Nate Arronson, Greg Biggiani, Michael Bloom and Eric West.
Midway through the opening half, a Colgate forward worked into the left side of the Lafayette box and cut back, forcing a takedown by a Lafayette defender to set up a penalty kick for the home side. Despite Lafayette keeper Brad Seeber guessing correctly in his attempt to keep Patriot League-leading scorer Ethan Kutler off the board, Kutler slotted a perfect attempt just inside the left post for the score.
Late in the half, though, Lafayette showed signs of a potential comeback. With less than 20 minutes to play, junior Campbell Weyland found a hole down the middle of the field and worked up from his right-wing spot into scoring position at the top of the box. However, his firing shot sailed over the crossbar.
Less than 10 minutes later, West connected with junior Ben Marks for a chance, again at the top of the Raider box. Working down the left side, Marks flicked a ball past a defender and played West open toward the middle. The senior opted for a low attempt back to the left post, but it skidded just outside the bar for a goal kick.
Lafayette's best chance at an equalizer came with 16 minutes to play in the second half and off the foot of an unlikely source. With Marks sending a cross off a Colgate defender in the middle of the box, freshman Kyle Pettit stayed with the play and gathered the ball with a narrow-angle opportunity, 1v1 with Colgate keeper Ricky Brown. Petitt tried a low shot that hit off the keeper and the near post and rolled all the way across the goal line and out the back line on the far side for a corner that was eventually cleared from danger.
A pair of beautiful diving saves from Seeber back-to-back in the 75th minute did only enough to delay a second tally. With 13:54 to play, the Raiders executed a corner, with a side-volley finish from Zach Tamen adding insurance. Another score late in the game sealed the fates of the Maroon and White to a 3-0 final.
Seeber ended up with six saves on the afternoon, while Colgate's Brown stopped four Lafayette shot attempts on goal. Overall, shots were 13-9 in favor of the Raiders, while Lafayette worked five corners compared to three for the home side.
