BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Connor Cates scored in the 89th minute to earn the Raiders a 2-1 win at Lehigh. The win gave Colgate a big three points in the fight for a spot in the Patriot League tournament. 

COACH RONNING'S COMMENTS
"I am proud of our team for our resilience and the courage we played with tonight. The group played on the front foot from the opening whistle, and we were unfortunate to concede two penalties. Oliver made a huge save on the first penalty, giving the group a huge boost. After Lehigh tied the score, our guys continued to fight as they had done from the opening whistle, and that fight was the reason we got the win. A lot of positives to carry over into a critical game against Army on Tuesday."

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Cates' game-winner marked the first goal of his career. Cason Stafford dribbled into the box and left a pass off for the sophomore, who fired a one-timer from just beyond the penalty marker that got tipped by the keeper and went in.
• Lehigh had drawn even in the 70th minute when it got awarded its second penalty kick of the game.
• Jack Beerling gave the Raiders a 1-0 advantage in the 57th minute. A header clear attempt rolled out to Beerling, who took a rip from about 20 yards out, rocketing it past the keeper.
• The final 18:30 saw a back-and-forth battle with the teams combining for nine shots.
• Stafford had a great look in transition in the 88th minute when the keeper came off his line, and the senior fired a shot but got denied on a kick save. He also had an attempt saved in the 83rd minute.
• Oliver Townend made a big save in the 82nd minute after Lehigh got free on a breakaway. 
• Shortly before the save, Blake Pipkin ripped one from in the box, putting it over the crossbar. The first-year also hit one off the right post in the 79th minute. 
• Charlie Yates had a good look less than a minute into the second half when his header attempt got saved.
• During the first half, the Mountain Hawks had a chance to pull ahead in the 41st minute when they got awarded their first penalty kick that Townend dove to his right to stop.
• Colgate had two corners in the opening 25 minutes. The first came in the 12th minute, from which Colin Hughes put a header off target. Just under 10 minutes later, the Raiders got their second but could not get anything going.
• Six minutes into the game, Pipkin played a cross to Hughes, who tried a header that was denied on a diving save.
• Townend came up big early, stopping a shot from right in front in the ninth minute.

GAME NOTES

• Beerling tallied his third goal this season, all of which got scored from outside the 18-yard box.
• The penalty kick save was Townend's second of the season after he did the same in the win over No. 12 Virginia.
• The senior finished with five saves in goal.
• Colgate held a 12-9 advantage in shots. The shots on goal were even at 6-6. 

UP NEXT
The Raiders conclude the regular season at home Tuesday with Patriot League Tournament implications on the line. Colgate will take on Army at 6 p.m. on Beyer-Small '76 Field.