Box Score HAMILTON, N.Y. – The Lafayette men's soccer team dropped its first conference match of the season, 2-1, to the Colgate Raiders on Saturday afternoon.
The match didn't showcase too much offensive prowess in the early moments. Both sides managed some to grab some set pieces, but neither could make anything of them.
Senior forward
Andrey McIntyre almost gave the Leopards the lead in the 27
th minute after freshman defender Jackson Vadja played him in behind Colgate's defense. The Hanover, Jamaica native took a low-driven shot with his left foot, but Colgate goalkeeper Eric Widrick was up to the task.
The Raiders came close to snatching the lead in the 34
th minute. Timmy Donovan was striding through on goal and attempted to slot his right-footed strike to senior goalkeeper
Griffin Huff's back post. The tame effort dribbled just wide, as it appeared Huff had it covered.
In the 39
th minute, sophomore midfielder
Max Fujimori gave the Maroon and White the lead. Classmate
Nikolas Hadjimitsis had the ball on the wide-right flank before he beat his man down the line. His cross floated towards the back stick where a gliding Fujimori leaped for the ball. The Trumbull, Conn. native's first-time effort found the top corner beating Widrick.
Colgate had a few half chances towards the end of the first half, but center backs
Cole Duschang and
Nicholas Liebich did well to clear their lines. At halftime, the Leopards led 1-0.
The second half began with a battle in the middle of the park, as both teams traded possession. Both sides showed offensive progression, but couldn't connect in the final third in the early moments of the second half.
In the 64th minute, Colgate found the equalizer. The Raiders held the ball in their own half before a series of passes granted them a numbers-up situation. The ball swung around Lafayette's penalty area making its way to Blake Pipkin. Pipkin set himself with his first touch and guided the ball past Huff with his second, tying the match at 1-1.
The Raiders found more momentum, gaining a corner in the 72nd minute. Pipkin served the ensuing free kick into the box, which found the head of a free Jacob Blackwin, who notched Colgate a late 2-1 lead.
Lafayette made changes and committed more numbers forward in the later stages of the contest. After Huff took a deep free kick, the ball kindly fell to Fujimori in Colgate's box. Fujimori spun around and fired a quick shot, but Widrick made a comfortable save. The Raiders ended up hanging on, garnering their first conference victory.
Lafayette returns home at 7 p.m. on Tuesday for a non-conference matchup with Albany.
To keep up with the Lafayette men's soccer team, follow its social media pages
X/@LafayetteMSOC | Instagram/@lafayette_msoc | Facebook/GoLeopards
