With a 1-1 weekend for the field hockey team, the Orange and Blue made history on Oct. 25 with a 5-1 road victory over Colgate to clinch hosting rights for the Patriot League Tournament for the first time in program history. The Bison fell at No. 10 Syracuse 4-0 the next day, bringing the team’s overall record to 10-5.

The first match of the weekend for the Bison concluded with success due to an astounding team effort. Five Bison players were able to find the back of the net throughout the course of the match to help the Orange and Blue remain unbeaten in Patriot League play.

Colgate started off the game strong, scoring the first goal of the match in the opening minutes. The penalty corner goal ended up being the Raiders’ only offensive success throughout the rest of the match, as the Bison responded quickly with a strong defensive presence. The Orange and Blue defense shut down the Raider offense and worked to spark the rest of the team’s effort up top.

Amy Mucelli ’17 and Emma Fitzgerald ’17 began the Bison scoring run, as the two were able to find the back of the net successively and put the Bison back on top 2-1. The second half remained silent for its majority, but the Orange and Blue found great success within 10 minutes to increase their lead to four goals. Anna Wills ’17, Kayla Sullivan ’16, and Kelsey Mucelli ’15 each recorded a point to end the scoring. The offensive strategy for the Bison ended up paying off for them in the end.

“After eliminating one girl with a pass or dodge, there was a lot of open space to take the ball and put it into a good scoring position. Three of the goals were scored at the top of the circle because we were able to create space and line up for a quality scoring opportunity,” Fitzgerald said.

The result signified the most conference wins in a season for the program and provided a sense of confidence for the team’s battle against No. 10 Syracuse a day later. Although the team was unable to find a second win on the weekend, the loss provided many positives to utilize during league play. Goalie Shannon Keen ’16 recorded seven saves on 11 shots on goal in the game.

“The game [against Syracuse] was very helpful, showing what we need to work on with our press and really increased our speed of play, which will be very important for next weekend,” Fitzgerald said.

The match at Lehigh on Nov. 1 will determine if the Orange and Blue will clinch the first outright Patriot League regular season title in the program’s history. Senior Day will follow on Nov. 2 when the Bison host Lock Haven at 1 p.m. to close the regular season.