The Bison opened their Patriot League competition at home against Colgate on Feb. 25. After a 40-minute game delay, the men’s lacrosse team came out strong with a 2-1 lead in the opening minutes of the game, but Colgate netted four unanswered goals, including three with a man advantage, to take the lead going into the second quarter.

The Orange and Blue came out fighting in the second quarter, scoring three quick goals to tie the game at 5-5, but the Raiders continued to score nine of the next 10 goals to take the momentum. While Colgate expanded their game-high lead to 14-6, the Bison did score four of the final goals of the game.

Goalie Christian Klipstein ’19 recorded 13 saves for the Bison, while Sean O’Brien ’18 and Reed Malas ’19 led the team in goals with three each.

Penalties plagued the Orange and Blue in the loss, as they got called for nine of the game’s 16 infractions. The Raiders converted four of seven man-up opportunities due to these penalties. Additionally, Colgate dominated the contest in faceoffs, winning 17 of 27. Though the Bison had the slight advantage in shots by 44-41, they could not take the advantage on the scoreboard.

“While we had a tough loss to Colgate this weekend, I think that we learned a lot about what we need to work on moving forward in league play. The Patriot League is one of the toughest conferences and every team is very talented. For us to succeed, we have to make sure that we work harder than everyone else, and understand that it takes a full team effort to win any conference game. As a team, we are very excited to get into the heart of league play, and keep taking steps toward a Patriot League Championship,” Malas said.

The five-goal differential was the first game of the season for the Bison that was decided by more than one goal. The loss brings the team’s overall record to 2-2 on the season. The Bison will continue their Patriot League contests as they travel to Navy on March 4.