Sept. 16, 2017
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EASTON, Pa. - Freshman Anna Steps came through with the clutch game-winner on Saturday afternoon at Rappolt Field as she found the back of the cage in overtime to push Lafayette to a 3-2 victory in the opener of Patriot League play over Colgate.
The majority of the game was controlled by the Maroon and White and the Leopards seemed to be in good shape after taking a 2-0 advantage into the halftime break. However, Colgate responded strong in the second stanza, beating Leopards' net-minder Sarah Parks twice to force an extra session following a 2-2 tie after 70 minutes.
The overtime session was dominated by Lafayette, though, tallying all six shots and three corners to tilt the run of play to Colgate's defensive half. Working in from the left side in the 72nd minute, Steps side-stepped a defender and fired a rocket into the far right corner to seal the 3-2 win.
Colgate goalie Maria Krull was outstanding and single-handedly kept the Raiders in the game at times. The senior finished with 16 saves on the afternoon, facing 27 Lafayette shots compared to just six for the Raiders' offense.
Sarah Park stopped three Raider shots and allowed two goals, picking up her fifth victory of the season between the pipes. Lafayette improves to 5-1 overall and 1-0 in league play.
Sophomore Sam Di Maio was involved on each of the first two Leopard goals of the afternoon, finishing off a rebound for her first, 27:14 into the contest. It took just over two minutes to add the second as she found senior Rosie Shanks in the goal mouth for the 2-0 lead.
Colgate's first marker came about six minutes into the second half when Michaela Corvi worked around a defender in the top left corner of the circle and fired across into the right side of the cage to cut the Leopards' lead in half. Then, six minutes later, the Raiders induced a penalty stroke and Molly Klare made no mistake, banging her effort off the left post and in to tie it at two.
Through the final 25 minutes, Lafayette's defense tightened up, though, not allowing another score and forcing the game into extra time. Steps made that last just 1:15, securing the 3-2 sudden-death victory.
Next up for the Maroon and White is a venture back out of conference on Monday, hosting Cornell at 7 p.m.
