HAMILTON – The Colgate women's lacrosse program was tested on both ends of the field on Saturday afternoon, but came out victorious in a 12-11 final over Bucknell on Senior Day. Bucknell was first to find the scoreboard and scored minutes after the opening draw, quickly building a 3-0 advantage. It was as Danielle Van Calcar earned her 13th of the season after dodging the defense that the Raiders were able to make it a two-goal game. With her second of the day, Van Calcar scored high above the goalie on a free position shot to lift the Raiders to their first lead at 5-4. Scoring on back-to-back chances, Van Calcar sealed her hat trick and propelled the Colgate offense past the Bison midway through the half. Colgate's key was a turnaround in a game that it trailed 3-0 in the opening minutes, and building a 7-4 advantage by the half behind a six-goal scoring run. In addition to outshooting the Bison 16-13 at the half, Colgate steadily stayed ahead behind spectacular saves by goalie Samantha Croston. After the Raiders opened the second half with Noelle Patterson's second tally, the seven-goal scoring run came to a close as Bucknell responded with a free position goal to narrow the score to 8-5. As Bucknell attempted to inch back, Tara Atkinson briefly brought the momentum back to the Raiders side with a sweeping play that fed the ball below the goalie for a 9-5 advantage. Midway through the second half, Bucknell sped to a four-goal run that narrowed it to a one-score game. Colgate's defense was tested for much of the second half as Croston continued to make critical saves to keep the Raiders ahead as the minutes wound down on regulation. It was a ground ball recovery by Madeline Barcia that kept play in Colgate's possession late in the game creating some breathing room on the field for the Raiders. With just 2:01 remaining in regulation, Bucknell fed a low shot to the cage to make it a one-goal game. Through the final time before the buzzer, the Raiders faced full defensive play down to a final second save by Croston before sealing the 12-11 victory in Patriot League play. STATISTICAL STANDOUTS • In addition to extending to a three-game scoring streak, sophomore Danielle Van Calcar tied her career-high of four goals on the day. Van Calcar's last four-goal performance was also against Bucknell (March 31, 2018). After her fourth multi-goal game of the season, Van Calcar holds 23 total points and 16 goals through 11 games played. • Also notching a hat trick against the Bison, junior Noelle Patterson now holds a team-leading 24 goals on the season. On her way to earning goals in all 11 games this season, Patterson has posted eight multi-goal games including three straight. • Van Calcar and Patterson were also the top possession producers for the Raiders, each winning four draw controls. • Junior goalkeeper Samantha Croston posted a season-high 15 saves in the Raiders' win. The performance was just one save shy of her career-high marked against Boston University last season (May 1). • Improving to a four-game scoring streak was senior Tara Atkinson as she recorded her third multi-goal game of the season. Now holding a team-leading 29 points on the year, Atkinson has earned back-to-back four point games. • With three goals in her last four games played, sophomore Kyra Weiner earned her third of the year. After notching one at Boston University earlier this week (March 27), Weiner has scored in back-to-back games. • Now with three goals on the season, junior Payton Gabriel marked her first multi-goal game of the year and scored for the first time since playing Binghamton (Feb. 20). • With three ground balls in today's game, senior Madeline Barcia surpassed 100 ground balls in her career and currently tallies 101. • Colgate recovered 31 ground balls to Bucknell's 22 and went 1-for-1 on its extra-man opportunities. THE BOTTOM LINE • Colgate 12, Bucknell 11 RECORD UPDATES • Colgate holds a 4-7 record, and a 2-2 mark in Patriot League action. • Bucknell is 4-8 overall on the season, and is 2-2 in Patriot League play. COACH BEVILLE'S TAKE "What a game! While we definitely have areas to approve upon I'm so proud of the girls for outlasting Bucknell today. I have to give a hats off to Samantha [Croston] who helped us maintain a lead and had several crucial saves throughout the game." UP NEXT Colgate continues action at home next weekend as it hosts Lehigh in a noon first draw on Saturday, April 6. The Patriot League game serves as the Raiders' Lace Up with Lax game, where they will be collecting new shoes to donate to local homeless shelters. For more information on the Lace Up with Lax event, click HERE. FOLLOW THE RAIDERS For more information on the Colgate women's lacrosse program, follow the Raiders on Twitter @ColgateWLax and on Instagram at ColgateWLax.