BALTIMORE – Loyola University Maryland scored the game's last five goals as part of a larger 7-1 run that carried the Greyhounds to a 17-11 Patriot League victory over visiting Colgate University on Saturday at Ridley Athletic Complex.
Adam Poitras scored twice during the run and had a game-high seven points as the Greyhounds secured a spot in the Patriot League Championships with the victory.
Poitras finished with four goals and three assists, while
Matthew Minicus and
Evan James each had four goals; Minicus added two assists.
Colgate led much of the first half until Poitras tied the game at 7-7 with a goal 2:09 before halftime. He then scored unassisted with 56 seconds left in the second quarter.
The Raiders tied the game 17 seconds into the second half with an Adam Salvaggio extra-man goal to make it 8-8.
Eric Pacheco would come up with the faceoff win and get the hockey assist as he threw to Poitras who got it to Minicus for a goal six seconds later.
Salvaggio would tie the game once against with an unassisted goal at 10:20 in the third, but Minicus responded with an unassisted tally of his own at 4:48, pushing Loyola back up, 10-9.
Colgate responded with an Alex Pistorius goal just over 90 second slater, and the game was tied for a third time in the second half.
Pacheco again won the ensuing faceoff cleanly going forward, and he scored five ticks after Pistorius to stake the Greyhounds to an 11-10 advantage that
Evan James would take to 12-10 with a goal 1:36 before the end of the third on a Poitras assist.
Michael Minicus, the older brother of Loyola's Matthew, scored for the Raiders 1:12 into the fourth quarter, and Colgate was again within one.
James, however caught a pass from
Matt Heuston inside, turned and shot low-to-low for a goal that pushed the advantage back to two at 7:48.
Poitras then used an inside roll on the crease and scored at 5:20, and Heuston stepped down for a goal from 12 yards on a
Seth Higgins assist with 4:30 left in the quarter, and Loyola led 15-11.
James added an unassisted goal, and Poitras scored from
Matthew Minicus in the last minutes to provide the final margin.
Poitras' goal, assist and points totals all either set or matched his career-highs. He matched career-bests in goals and assists, while his seven points set a new high. He also had a career-high two caused turnovers. James' four goals were a new season high.
Loyola will close the regular season with a 7 p.m. game on Friday, April 28, at Lehigh University.
