EASTON, Pa. – Lafayette men's soccer hosted Patriot League foe Colgate on Saturday, which resulted in a scoreless draw at Gummeson Grounds: Home of Mike Bourger '44 Field at Oaks Stadium.
The matchup against the Raiders also served as the Leopards' Alumni Day. The 2025 season marks the 30-year anniversary of a pair of historic championship teams. The 1994 & 1995 men's soccer teams won back-to-back Patriot League titles and were the first to do so since the conference's inception. Members of both teams made their way back to College Hill on Saturday and were commemorated at halftime for their outstanding achievements.
Colgate looked dangerous in possession at the beginning of the match and the visitors had a lot of the ball in the opening 45 minutes. The Raiders generated some corner kicks early on, but Lafayette registered the first shot on goal in the 21
st minute. Sophomore
Cade Maglione was skating past defenders when he was brought down just outside the Colgate's penalty area. Junior
Samir Dishnica stood over the ball and struck a powerful shot that forced a solid save out of Eric Widrick.
With 15 minutes to go in the opening period, the contest began to open up in midfield. Colgate was methodical in possession and the Maroon and White looked to cause chaos on the counter.
The visitors created a half chance with just over a minute left in the first half. Colgate was pinging the ball around Lafayette's defensive third, before Liam Winograd got on the ball. The defender served a lofted ball into the box, looking for Alex St. John. The forward attempted the spectacular with a bicycle kick, but his effort didn't trouble senior captain
Eric Axtman in goal.
At the intermission, the match remained scoreless.
The Leopards were on the front foot to start the second stanza. Freshman
Nicolas Papadopoulos won a free kick just over midfield in the 52
nd minute and Dishnica was set to deliver. His cross made its way back to the forward and his headed effort required a sprawling save from Widrick.
Moments later senior captain
Nicholas Liebich came close to breaking the deadlock. Sophomore
Jackson Vajda found himself in the attacking third and after beating his man to the byline he was fouled. Maglione prepared to serve the ball into the box, which caused an initial scrum. The ball eventually found Liebich who's header just soared over the crossbar.
Both sides looked to their bench in the final 20 minutes of the game and junior
Roy Biegon was causing all sorts of problems for the visitors. Lafayette dominated a stretch of play, but in crunch time the Raiders maintained the majority of possession.
With under five minutes remaining Biegon forced a turnover in midfield. The Nairobi, Kenya native then slipped fellow classmate
Max Fujimori through on goal. The winger had his man beat for pace, but Widrick did just enough to steer him away from goal.
After 90 minutes of play, the contest concluded in a 0-0 draw.
The Maroon and White return home at 4 p.m. on Saturday when American comes to town.
To keep up with the Lafayette men's soccer team, follow its social media pages.
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