Colgate Advances to League Semifinals
HAMILTON — The Colgate men's soccer team stayed alive in the Patriot League Tournament with a 2-0 defeat of Navy behind two goals from senior captain Aidan Davock. The first playoff win in five years for the Raiders advances the squad to the semifinals, where top-seeded Boston University awaits on Tuesday night.
"I'm really proud of this group," Head Coach Erik Ronning said. "They put together a gritty team performance. We were pushed to the limit and had to battle through some difficult moments, but I'm looking forward to the next step in the playoffs."
Ronning's Raiders were able to play to their defensive identity after Davock's first goal of the night supplied an early cushion. The header from the first-team All-Patriot League selection came just under 15 minutes into the contest off the assist from Aidan Wright, his first career point.
Colgate successfully parked the bus for the remainder of the opening stanza, with the back line denying multiple dangerous attacks en route to the Raiders' seventh shutout of the year.
Credit for the clean sheet will fall on senior goalkeeper Andrew Cooke who played the lion's share of minutes in the match and made four saves. But despite not logging any statistics, junior Oliver Townend made several intelligent reads to prevent the Midshipmen from countering before he exited the game with an injury.
Navy upped the pressure coming out of the halftime locker room, jumping out to an 11-3 shots advantage through the final 45 minutes.
Colgate remained patient, however, defending for long spells of Navy possession before Davock delivered the dagger with under 60 seconds to play.
His relentless attack on Navy's keeper forced an errant touch, which Davock stole with ease. He strolled to within inches of the net before tapping in the score that delivered Colgate its first playoff win in since 2018.
UP NEXT
The Raiders will head to first-seeded Boston University on Tuesday night for a Patriot League Semifinals matchup at 6 p.m. The two squads played to a scoreless draw back in September.
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