WORCESTER, MASS.  — Colgate men's soccer prevailed in a road test against Holy Cross, 1-0, to clinch the program's second appearance in the Patriot League Quarterfinals in as many years. An Alejandro Coury header off the assist from Cason Stafford served as the game-winner for the Raiders who earned their sixth shutout of the year in the season finale.  

"That was a gutsy performance and hard-fought game," Head Coach Erik Ronning said. "Cason and Alejandro came up with a moment of outstanding quality. Oliver made several saves to preserve the lead, and our back line defended like warriors. This is the type of performance that it will take to be successful in the playoffs." 

A rocky start to the match saw two Holy Cross strikes nearly find the back of Colgate goalkeeper Oliver Townend's net. An athletic foot save from the junior thwarted the initial chance in the third minute, and a solid contest from Ethan Harris forced a high miss from the Crusaders two minutes later on what was the home team's best scoring opportunity of the first frame.  

The Raiders settled in after being jolted to life defending two dangerous chances early. They put three of the next four shots on the score sheet, forcing the Crusader goalkeeper to make his first save of the night on a low strike from Coury at the point. 

However, Coury would redeem himself less than a minute later when Stafford served up a pinpoint pass across the box. Despite his momentum taking him away from the net, Coury mustered up enough strength to send the header past the keeper and just inside the back post. 

— Colgate Men's Soccer (@ColgateMSOC) November 1, 2023

Colgate rattled off two more shots before the break, with Stafford having his third shot of the half blocked by a defender before Adam Fam's attempt went high. 

Fighting for its playoff life, Holy Cross came out of the halftime locker room firing. The first 10 minutes of the second stanza saw four unanswered Crusader shots as part of a 9-1 shot advantage in the final 45 minutes of play. 

The shot disparity could have been even higher was it not for the superb play of Colgate's back line which has limited opposing offenses to one goal or less 12 times so far this season. 

With just 15 minutes to play, a throw-in deep in the Raiders' defensive third created ample opportunity for the Crusaders to send a cross into the box. However, Colgate defender Liam Winograd was able to send the ball safely out of play to keep the score even. Five minutes later, another cross dribbled in front of Townend in net but was cleared by Pahule before the Crusaders could win a touch. 

Townend then punctuated the victory with a dazzling save with under five minutes remaining to clinch Ronning's Raiders' ninth Patriot League playoff appearance and the program's 21st overall. 

— Colgate Men's Soccer (@ColgateMSOC) November 1, 2023

UP NEXT
Playoff soccer is coming back to Hamilton on Saturday, Nov. 4, when Colgate (7-9-2, 4-3-2 Patriot) plays host to Navy (6-7-5, 3-2-4 Patriot) with a 5 p.m. start time. The Raiders will look for redemption after falling to the Midshipmen, 1-0, just four days ago on Oct. 28.