The Colgate Raiders edged the Bison men’s lacrosse team 10-9 with a last second goal on Saturday, April 3.

At halftime, the Raiders held a slim 5-4 lead. The Bison netted the second quarter’s final two goals to draw within a single strike after falling in an early hole due to a 3-0 Colgate run. The Raiders came out of halftime hot, having scored the first two goals. After that, the Bison went on a 4-0 run from the third quarter’s 7:29 mark to the fourth quarter’s 10:46 mark. Their 8-7 lead was their first advantage of the contest.

Harry Wellford ’23 found the back of the net for a go-ahead goal, but the Raiders evened the score at 8-8, just nine seconds after Wellford. Colgate managed to score another goal with 3:43 left in the contest, to give Colgate a one-goal lead and spark the last minute heroics for the Bison. Shortly after Tommy Sopko ’21 scored to tie the game up at 9-9, a Colgate attacker came from behind the net to score the game-winning goal with just 10 seconds remaining in regulation.

“This weekend’s outcome was disappointing, but I think there is a lot to build off of from Colgate. We have four games remaining on our schedule, three of which are against Patriot League opponents. Despite our losses over the course of this season, we are both excited and thankful that we get to compete against an opponent each week, especially during a COVID-19 season,” Matt Barkauskas ’22 said.

Alston Tarry ’22 and Sopko both saw multi-point outings for the Bison. Sopko finished with three goals and one assist, and Tarry finished with one goal and one assist. Travis Talarico ’22  filled the stat sheet with 10 ground balls, four more than his previous career high and two caused turnovers, and was subsequently named Patriot League Defensive Player of the Week. Goalie Ben Clark ’21 finished the contest with nine saves, and Nick Crovatto ’22 went seven for 18 in the faceoff X, along with scooping up five ground balls.

Eyeing an upcoming match with Lafayette this weekend, Barkauskas said, “We’re feeling confident for our game against Lafayette. It is a home matchup against a team that we are familiar with, and we are hopeful to earn our second win against a strong Lafayette program.”

The Bison will host Lafayette for their first night game of the season on Saturday, April 10 at 7:30 p.m.