In a hard-fought game against Colgate, two second-half goals from the Raiders gave the women’s soccer team a 2-0 loss in Hamilton N.Y. on Oct. 18. Four nights later, Brigit Falcon ’15 came through in the clutch with her first career game-winner in overtime against Lafayette in a 2-1 home victory.

In their first game of the week, the Bison provided a strong effort that could have turned the tide in their favor against Colgate. The Raiders finished one ahead of the Orange and Blue in shot attempts, shots on goal, corner kicks, and saves. It came down to the 79th minute, where a breakaway pass from midfield skimmed past two Bison defenders and resulted in a 1-0 lead for Colgate. Over four minutes later, the Bison committed a foul, leading to a penalty kick goal that insured the Raider win.

“The game was very even; we just couldn’t find the back of the net,” Kendall Ham ’18 said. “Focusing on scoring goals is definitely something we need to work on because playing a team evenly doesn’t mean anything unless we show it on the scoreboard. Our focus for the next couple games is firstly to win and get as many points as possible, but [also to] do so by playing our game and playing to our strengths.”

Despite the loss, several players engineered quality shot attempts in the game. Meghan Holtz ’18 had a shot make contact with the goalpost in the 53rd minute, while Cora Climo’s ’17 header almost made it past the goalkeeper.

“Colgate is a great team and has been having a very good season, but I thought we played really well against them,” Climo said. “We’ve played hard and with passion in every game this season, yet we have struggled to put the ball in the net. We really need to set our sights on doing whatever we can to score–it’s not how, it’s how many.”

Colgate is ranked as the number one team in the NSCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional Poll.

The Bison still finished with three second-half corner kicks, two of which took place in the 70th minute. Falcon and Holtz both had last-minute opportunities to put the Orange and Blue on the scoreboard, but both shots failed to reach the net.

“I was really proud of how we stuck to our game plan and executed it. Even though we lost, we put up a great effort and made it an even match,” Falcon said. “If we can put that much intensity and precision into the rest of our games, we will be a threat coming into the tournament.”

Against Lafayette, the Bison turned things around, even though the Leopards got on the board first in the 17th minute. The Bison were the beneficiary of a Lafayette own goal later on after one of the Bison’s 10 corner kicks deflected off a Leopard into their own net. After regulation ended, Holtz found Falcon who launched a 30-yard shot over the goalkeeper to claim the golden goal for the Orange and Blue.

Playoff contention is still a priority for the Bison (8-7-2 overall; 3-3-1 Patriot League), as they travel to Worcester, Mass. to battle Holy Cross on Oct. 25.

“Our focus is simply trying to win out the remainder of our league games. The more we win, the better position we are in for the tournament,” Falcon said.