MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. (3/3/12) – Eleven different players scored at least one goal as the Colgate men's lacrosse team blew past Robert Morris 24-14 in its third win of the season and its first road victory on Saturday afternoon.
This was the most goals scored by the Raiders in a game since 1991 when Colgate defeated Army 25-8, and was the largest scoring margin in a win since 2008 when it defeated Denver 15-10 on the road.
The Raiders were led by junior Peter Baum who had 10 points from eight goals and two assists, scoring a goal in eight of his 11 shots in the game. He was followed by freshman Ryan Walsh who had six points from three goals and three assists, and by junior Matt Baker who added two goals and three helpers for five points. Sophomore Brendon McCann had four points from three goals and one assist, senior co-captain Jeff Ledwick had three points from two goals and one assist, and freshman Conor Braddish had two points from one goal and one assist. Junior Robert Grabher also added two points from two helpers while sophomore Justin Kirchner, sophomore Jimmy Ryan, senior co-captain Kevin Boyle and seniorColby Wilson also tallied one goal apiece.
After dropping its first game of the season, it was clear that Colgate (3-1) was determined to turn things around, coming out to its strongest start of the season with four straight goals to take a 4-0 lead just five minutes into play. The spree started just 1:45 into the match when the Raiders were able to capitalize on an extra-man opportunity with a shot from Baker off a pass from Ledwick to take the 1-0 lead. Just five seconds later, Colgate extended its lead to two goals with a tally from Baum. Grabher won the faceoff, ran the ball down the field and passed it over to Baum, who then fired it into the back of the net. Feeling the pressure, Robert Morris won the next faceoff and was able to take its first shot of the game at the 11:46 mark but was denied by senior goalie Jared Madison. This offensive surge from the Colonials only fueled the Raiders more, who then went on to find back-to-back goals from Ryan and Walsh to put the score at 4-0. Sophomore Bobby Lawrence had an assist on Ryan's goal. Robert Morris then put its first mark on the scoreboard in the 10th minute but it was not enough to topple Colgate, which went on to score eight more goals, highlighted by three goals from Baum, to put the score at 11-2 at the end of the first 15 minutes of play.
The second period was as fruitful as the first, with the Raiders opening scoring once again with Walsh's third goal of the game with help from Baum at the 14:10 mark. The Colonials answered back at the 13:55 mark with their third goal of the game to put the score at 12-3. The back and forth scoring then continued for the rest of the period, with Wilson tallying a man-up goal with an assist from Walsh at the 10:47 mark and Robert Morris responding with a fourth goal at the 10:04 mark. Kirchner then scored a goal at the 6:22 mark but then a pair of goals from the Colonials in the next minute and a half reduced the score to 15-6. With less than four minutes left in the half, Boyle added his first goal of the season, but despite Robert Morris finding a seventh goal six seconds later, Colgate was able to find a pair of goals from Baum and McCann to put the score at 18-7 at the end of the first half.
The second half did not see as many goals as the first. The Raiders opened scoring once again with a goal from Baum just 1:09 into the frame with an assist from Baker. The pair then combined for a second goal at the 11:18 mark to increase the Raiders lead to 13 goals with the score at 20-7. Robert Morris then found its first goal of the period at the 10:32 mark, which then gave way to back-to-back goals from Baum and Baker. However, this time around it was Robert Morris that was able to find its offensive rhythm in the final five minutes of the period, scoring four straight goals to put the score at 22-12.
Colgate then went on to find a pair of man-up goals from Ledwick in the final period, while Robert Morris added two goals of its own to eventually give the Raiders a 24-14 win in their first road matchup of the season. Colgate outshot the Colonials 50-34 in the game, scoring on almost 50 percent of its shots.
Senior goalie Jared Madison had 10 saves in his third win of the season while sophomore Conor Murphy had one save in his first collegiate appearance in which he spent 7:52 in net for the Raiders. Robert Morris also had two goalies see time in net, accumulating a total of 14 saves between them.
Colgate went a flawless 4-for-4 on its extra man opportunities while holding the Colonials to just one goal in their three opportunities.
The Raiders will resume play in just three days when they host Hobart on Tuesday, Mar. 6 at 4 p.m. in Hamilton, N.Y.