Junior Josie Johnson scored a pair of goals to lead the Raiders to victory.
HAMILTON, N.Y. (9/13/07)—Colgate University junior Josie Johnson (Wilmette, Ill.) scored a pair of goals to lead the Raiders to a 3-0 victory over visiting Iona College in their national television debut. The game was broadcast by Fox Soccer Channel in front of a boisterous crowd of Colgate fans.
Sophomore Jessica Bitsack (Mendham, N.J.), Jillian Arnault (Clay, N.Y.), and freshman Beth Clifford (South Jordan, Utah) all had two assists in the victory. Senior Franny Iacuzzi (Evanston, Ill.) continued her climb up the records chart with one tally.
The Raiders controlled the run of play in the early minutes of the first half. Colgate continued to press forward throughout the opening 15 minutes, getting in behind the Gaels' defense, but could not quite connect on that finishing pass.
Colgate broke through in the 26th minute when Arnault collected the ball at midfield and sent a perfectly weighted through ball down the right flank to a streaking Bitsack. The sophomore midfielder sent a cross into the box right onto the head of Johnson who put it right inside the near post for the 1-0 lead. The Raider defense held strong for the final 25 minutes of the opening half, allowing Iona just three shots.
Iona's best chance of the half came on a corner kick in the 11th minute, but a Diane Hare header flew over the crossbar for a goal kick.
Coming out of the break with a 1-0 lead, Colgate continued to control the action. The Raiders needed just seven minutes into the second frame to get on the board again as Iacuzzi got in behind the backline and earned a corner kick after taking the Iona goalkeeper one-on-one.
Bitsack fired the corner kick into the six-yard box where Clifford headed the ball down to the feet of Iacuzzi who put into the back of the net for her fifth goal of the season. That score moved her into a tie for second on the Colgate career goals list and a tie for fourth on the career points board.
The final tally for the Raiders came in the 81st minute as Arnault sent in a free kick from 35 yards out. Clifford got her head on the ball again, finding the feet of an open Johnson to put the game out of reach at 3-0.
Colgate dominated the action, outshooting Iona 13-5 for the game, including 6-1 for shots on goal. The Raiders won the corner kick battle 14-4. Senior Carly Sousa (Darien, Conn.) went the distance in goal for the Raiders, making one stop. Iona keeper Suzanne Baldissard made three saves in 90 minutes of action.
The Raiders return to action on Sunday, Sept. 16 at Northwestern. The game is set for 2:15 p.m. (Eastern Time). Colgate is home again on Sept. 18 versus Marist.