Courtesy of Colgate Athletic Communications

Raiders Advance to Sunday's Second Round at No. 13 Michigan

AMHERST, Mass. – The Colgate men's soccer team made history Thursday afternoon as the Patriot League Champion Raiders took down Atlantic-10 Champion UMass 2-0 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament and claimed the program's first-ever NCAA Tournament win.
 
The Raiders advance to Sunday's second round action and Colgate will travel to No. 13 Michigan. Kickoff from Ann Arbor, Mich. is slated for 5 p.m. Sunday. Colgate becomes the first Patriot League team to advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament since Navy did so in 2013.  
 
Senior Karl Brown put Colgate on the board in the 11th minute before classmate Jared Stroud doubled the Raider lead in the 38th minute. The Raider defense and sophomore keeper Jacob Harris took over in the second half to lead Colgate to the 2-0 shutout. 
 
Colgate took a 1-0 lead just over 10 minutes into the game. The Raiders were set up with a corner kick that was initially cleared by the UMass defense, but recollected by Stroud at the left edge of the 18-yard box. Stroud dribbled to the center of the box and fired off a shot that bounced off the post and into the center of the box where Brown one-touched the ball past the Minutemen keeper to give Colgate a 1-0 lead at the 10:10 mark. 

The Raider backline shut down a few UMass opportunities in the next 25 minutes, while Harris made one stop between the pipes, to keep Colgate ahead before Stroud doubled the lead in the 38th minute.
 
Stroud fired a shot from the right-hand edge of the 18-yard box and beat UMass keeper Bardia Asefnia to the right to put Colgate's lead at 1-0. A UMass free kick skirted just inches wide of the goal and Harris made a key stop on corner kick in the final minutes of the opening term to send Colgate into halftime ahead 2-0.

The Minutemen brought the pressure in the second half, firing off eight shots and three corner kicks in the final 45 minutes. Harris made several key plays in goal and the Raider backline stood strong to secure its eighth shutout of the season and clinch the 2-0 victory.

PATRIOT LEAGUE NOTES
*The Raiders become the fifth team in League history to earn an NCAA Tournament victory in their first NCAA Tournament win.
*Stroud has recorded four points thus far this post-season.  

BOTTOM LINE
 * Colgate 2, UMass 0  

WON-LOST RECORDS
*The Raiders move to 11-10-1 on the season with their first-ever NCAA Tournament victory.
*UMass' season comes to an end at 15-4-3

KEY RAIDER INFO
*Colgate claimed its sixth-straight win.
*The Raiders shut out a UMass team that entered the game averaging over two goals per game.
*Colgate was the first team to shut out the Minutemen since Sept. 12 when Dartmouth beat UMass 1-0.
*Brown's goal was his third of the season.
*Stroud netted his fourth goal of the season, and first that wasn't a converted penalty kick. He extended his team-leading point total to 19 with the goal.
*Harris secured his fifth shutout of the season and moves to 7-1-0 overall.

FACTS & FIGURES
*The Minutemen finished the game with a 15-8 shot advantage and 5-1 one corner kick edge.
*Harris made four saves compared to UMass's two.


FROM THE SOURCES
Head Coach Erik Ronning
*"I couldn't be more proud of the this group. They've gotten better every game and have continued to follow the game plan, believed and persevered. It was a tough game, particularly in the second half, but the guys stuck to the game plan and did a phenomenal job."
*"Our guys battled and fought in the trenches today. I couldn't be more happy for the guys in the program, all of the alumni who have been so supportive and the entire institution that has had our back through this whole run."
*"I'm very proud to be the coach of this program and I couldn't be more proud of this group of guys and the entire Colgate Soccer and Colgate University family."  

Senior Jared Stroud
*"To get this win today and create history is an awesome feeling. We fought it out and held onto the lead in the second half. I'm really proud of the guys and it means so much for this program and the Patriot League."
*"We're excited to go to Michigan. We're going to give it everything we have.  

UP NEXT
*Colgate moves on to face No. 13 Michigan in the second round of the NCAA Tournament Sunday.
*Kickoff from Ann Arbor, Mich. is slated for 5 p.m.
*The winner of Sunday's game advances to the Sweet 16.