HAMILTON, N.Y. (3/8/08) – The Colgate women's lacrosse team scored the last seven goals of the first half and never looked back on its way to an 11-8 win over two-time defending Patriot League champion Holy Cross on Saturday, Mar. 8, at Tyler's Field. With the victory, the Raiders (2-4, 1-0 PL) snapped the Crusaders' (0-5, 0-1 PL) 15-game winning streak against Patriot League teams.

Sophomore Brie Moran (Little Silver, N.J.) paced Colgate with four goals, while junior Ashley Didio (Syracuse, N.Y.) and sophomore Katie Holland (San Diego, Calif.) added two goals each. It was an all-underclassman effort as the Raiders were without the services of senior tri-captains Lindsay Pittard (Skaneateles, N.Y.) and Jessica Van der Meulen (Liverpool, N.Y.). Senior Kristine Corkum, and freshmen Mary Milley and Meg O'Leary scored two goals each to lead Holy Cross.

After falling behind 5-1 before the game was 15 minutes old, the Raiders rallied and scored the next seven goals, including three by Moran, to take an 8-5 lead by halftime. Colgate netted the last three goals of the half, all within the final 61 seconds, to break up the tie. The Raiders outshot the Crusaders in the half, 22-7, and picked up 14 groundballs to Holy Cross' five.

Colgate continued to pour on the offense in the second half, as Moran netted her fourth goal of the game 1:56 into the period. O'Leary broke up the Raiders' run at the 8:41 mark, but Didio and Holland added a goal each to give Colgate a five-goal lead, 11-6. As time wound down, Milley and Corkum both scored to make it a three-goal game, but the Raiders claimed possession in their own end with just over a minute to play and ran out the clock.

Junior goalkeeper Sara Drexler (Pottstown, Pa.) earned the win in net for the Raiders after making five saves. Holy Cross' Amy Martin, who was peppered with shots for most of the game, finished with 18 saves.

Colgate outshot Holy Cross 36-18 on the afternoon, and earned a 27-16 advantage on groundballs. The Crusaders posted an 11-10 edge on draws, and committed 34 turnovers to Colgate's 25.

The Raiders return to non-conference play for their next three games, starting Tuesday, Mar. 11, when they visit Albany. The contest is scheduled to begin at 7:00 p.m.

Box Score

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HAMILTON, N.Y. - The Holy Cross womens lacrosse team fell to Colgate, 11-8, on Saturday afternoon in the Patriot League opener for both teams. With the loss, the Crusaders fall to 0-5 overall (0-1 Patriot League), while the Raiders improve to 2-4 overall (0-1 Patriot League).

Senior Kristine Corkum (Ipswich, Mass.), freshman Mary Milley (Fairfax, Va.) and freshman Meg OLeary (Longmeadow, Mass.) each scored two goals for the Crusaders. Freshman Annie Boylan (Andover, Mass.) had one goal and one assist, while sophomore Katie Gardner (Garden City, N.Y.) scored one goal.

Colgate was led by Brie Morans four goals and Ashley Didios two goals and one assist.

The Crusaders jumped out to a 4-0 lead to open the first half. The goals were scored by Milley, Gardner on a free position shot, Boylan and then Corkum on a free position shot. After Colgate made it a 4-1 game, OLeary scored a goal off an assist by Boylan to make it a 5-1 contest. The Raiders then scored seven straight goals to take an 8-5 lead into halftime.

After Colgate scored its eighth consecutive goal to start the second half, OLeary netted her second goal of the game to cut the Colgate lead to 9-6. The Raiders then scored two goals to increase their lead to 11-6. The Crusaders scored the last two goals of the game with goals by Milley and Corkum for the 11-8 final score. Corkums goal came on a free position shot.

Holy Cross freshman goalie Amy Martin (Bloomfield, Mich.) made 18 saves, while Sara Drexler stopped five shots for Colgate.

The Crusaders return to action on Saturday, March 15, when they travel to Annapolis, Md., to meet Patriot League opponent Navy at noon.

2008-03-08