Colgate’s Bobby Lawrence forced a pair of turnovers and picked up three ground balls against Army Sunday. (Photo by Bob Cornell)
Colgate Now Tied for Third with Trip to Lehigh Next
By John Painter
(Hamilton, NY – March 31, 2013) Colgate missed its chance Sunday to climb into a three-way tie atop the Patriot League standings when Army registered a 10-4 triumph at Andy Kerr Stadium.
The Raiders trailed 3-0 after one quarter and 5-0 before they finally found the net on Ryan Walsh’s 25th goal of the season late in the first half. But the visiting Black Knights tacked on five more scores after intermission to pull themselves into a third-place tie alongside Colgate at 2-1.
The top four teams advance to the Patriot League Tournament later this month at the site of the regular season champion. Bucknell and Lehigh lead the conference standings, each at 3-0. The Raiders play at Lehigh this Saturday and host Bucknell on April 20. Both of those games can be seen on the CBS Sports Network. In between is an April 13 trip to Lafayette.
Colgate, now 7-3, saw its four-game winning streak come to an end. Army improved to 6-3 overall.
Early Strike Sets Tone
Army’s John Glesener scored 18 seconds into Sunday’s game on his way to a five-goal afternoon. He added one assist and leads the Black Knights with 42 points.
“Johnny Glesener’s a great shooter,” Colgate head coach Mike Murphy said. “We knew that going in and we told our guys they were going to be shooting as soon as they got off the bus – between Glesener and No. 9 Garrett Thul.”
Thul was a prime target for the Raiders defense, and Colgate held the sharp-shooting senior to just one goal and no assists. But Colgate’s 1-2 offensive punch of Peter Baum and Walsh accounted for the same exact totals, combined, so it was Advantage: Army.
“The story of that game was one, the play of Sam Somers; he was excellent in the goal for them,” Murphy said. “And then defensively, they just took us out of rhythm. They really pressed the edge, which we knew was coming after watching film of those guys. But they did a really good job.”
Streaks Come and Go
Walsh kept his scoring streak alive and Baum did not. Walsh scored a goal in his 26th consecutive game, while Baum was held completely scoreless for the first time in 54 games dating to the next-to-last contest of the 2011 season.
Earlier this year, Baum’s streak of consecutive games with a goal was halted at 21 by Cornell.
“He took some shots and their goalie was equal to the challenge,” Murphy said of Baum. “Brendan Buckley did a very good job on Peter individually, but they did a very good job as a team taking us out of a lot of things we wanted to do.
“All the credit in that win needs to go to Joe Alberici and his guys, because they played fantastic. If you’re a fan of Army lacrosse, you’re proud of the effort your guys put forward on Sunday afternoon.”
Foote Adds a Pair
After Glesener’s early dart, the Black Knights scored twice more in the opening period when Al DeStefano tallied his first of the year and Andrew Boyd his fourth. Thul and Glesener pushed the advantage to 5-0 Army by midway in the second period before Walsh drew one back for Colgate on a twisting and turning dunk from close range with 3:56 showing.
But the Raiders couldn’t add to their momentum and Army scored twice more to start the third period. Pat Brennan fired his third of the year and Boyd his second of the game to make it 7-1.
Connor Brown scored his third of the year in the third quarter, and freshman Eric Foote added a pair of fourth-quarter goals – his first two of the season – to help salvage the Raiders’ offense. But Glesener scored three more times over an 11-minute span to seal the game for Army.
“The goals we got were because we were a little bit more physical in those particular instances,” Murphy said. “They were just too little, too late.
“For both teams, this was a must-win. Their guys came out and played 60 minutes of hard lacrosse, and our guys did some spotty work. I’ve got to do a better job of coaching my guys.”
Poise and Passion Required
Colgate finished with season-lows for shots (29) and ground balls (24), while posting zero assists for the first time this season. Army attempted 37 shots and grabbed 30 ground balls.
Face-offs were 10-7 Army, the Black Knights committed 17 turnovers to 15 for Colgate, and clears were 17-of-20 for the Raiders and 19-of-23 for the Black Knights. Colgate was 0-of-1 on extra-man opportunities; Army 1-of-2.
Army’s Somers finished with 13 saves. Colgate’s Conor Murphy made eight saves until being spelled by Jake Danehy for the final 4:21.
Colgate’s next task is another tall order in the case of Lehigh.
“We’ll take Monday off and then get back to the drawing board,” Murphy said. “It’s a very talented Lehigh team that beat Navy on Saturday, so we’ve got to come ready to work.
“Every time that you into a Patriot League game, you’ve got to expect to work and have the poise and passion to compete with the teams in this conference. Every game’s going to be a grind. If you’re not ready to punch the clock, then you’re going to find yourself on the wrong end of a score.”
Army 10, Colgate 4
Army (6-3, 2-1): John Glesener 5-1, Andrew Boyd 2-0, Pat Brennan 1-1, Garrett Thul 1-0, Al DeStefano 1-0, Tim Coll 0-2, Jimbo D’Aprile 0-1. Totals: 10-5.
Colgate (7-3, 2-1): Eric Foote 2-0, Ryan Walsh 1-0, Connor Brown 1-0. Totals: 4-0.
Saves: Army 13 (Sam Somers); Colgate 9 (Conor Murphy 8, Jake Danehy 1).
Halftime: Army 5-1.