EASTON, Pa. - Lafayette head coach Mick Statham indicated that while he was disappointed in the outcome, he had a lot of praise for the effort and performance of his squad in a 2-0 setback to Patriot League co-leader Colgate in an evening contest at Mike Bourger '44 Field at Oaks Stadium.

Playing in a fine mist that caused some slippery conditions, the Leopards dug in and provided some highlights on each end of the pitch against one of the more formidable opponents on the league slate.  Without senior midfielder Gabrielle Martone and receiving only limited minutes from forward Krista Kissell, Statham received stellar effort from the 17 players who saw the field.

"I thought there were some really good contributions out there," Statham said. "I had asked them for that before the game and I thought they really did us proud tonight. It obviously was not enough on the scoreboard but it doesn't take away from the efforts and how enjoyable the game was."

Colgate took a 1-0 lead early in the first half when freshman Ruby Diodati sent a ball deep into Lafayette territory from near midfield. The ball was controlled by sophomore Ellis Miller and sent past a diving Maggie Pohl for her third goal of the season.

Held without a shot in the first 45 minutes, the Leopards came out with a stronger attack to start the second half and had their best opportunity of the night in the 48th minute when Alex Stanford got behind the Raiders defense and found herself one-on-one with charging Colgate goalkeeper Kelly Chiavaro. The Raiders junior, who leads the league in both save percentage and GAA, was able to get enough of the shot to redirect it away from the goal.

Three minutes later, Lafayette freshman Katie Butler centered a ball to midfielder Katie Brannigan but once again Chiavaro was able to thwart the attempt.  The Leopards recorded a quartet of shots in the second half including a pair on goal by Brannigan.

"The quality of the finishes were the difference tonight," said Statham. "On our side, just being able to find a little bit more in the final third is what we need to continue to work on."

After the Leopards initial second half push, Colgate put together one of those quality finishes in the 53rd minute on a highlight reel connection from junior Dom DeMarco that was headed into the goal by sophomore midfielder Sage DiGiulio for a 2-0 lead.

The Leopards defense made certain that the Raiders would not add on to that lead as Pohl made arguably three of the best saves of her sophomore campaign to keep the deficit at two goals. 

"I thought they were very good tonight against some very good players," Statham said. "They were resilient, calm and accepted the challenge."

Next up for the Leopards is a non-league contest at Columbia on Monday to prep for their annual showdown at rival Lehigh next Saturday night. The match against the Mountain Hawks will begin an important four-game stretch as Lafayette seeks to reach the Patriot League postseason for a third consecutive season.