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PROGRAM SCHEDULE PROPAGANDA: PRESS RELEASE
THIS IS WHY WE FIGHT: THE SCHEDULE
Here are some schedule highlights and games of note:
Samesies (Almost)
March 14: at Fairfield
Colgate didn't spend weeks and weeks worrying about what their 2015 schedule would look like. Instead, the team pressed the eject button on Binghamton, slid Fairfield into the week that was open due to the Bearcats dismissal from the Raiders' universe, and turned road games into home games (and vice versa), keeping opponent appearances in the same location as last season:
| 2014 | 2015 |
| Bryant | at Bryant |
| Vermont | at Vermont |
| at Lafayette | Lafayette |
| Bucknell | at Bucknell |
| Hobart | at Hobart |
| at Boston University | Boston University |
| at Binghamton | at Fairfield |
| Cornell | at Cornell |
| at Navy | Navy |
| Loyola | at Loyola |
| at Lehigh | Lehigh |
| Holy Cross | at Holy Cross |
| Army | at Army |
| at Syracuse | Syracuse |
That is incredible symmetry, even if it is reversed. Each point on the team's slate features virtually the same opponent as last year. The Raiders will essentially play the same schedule it played in 2014, changing only the location of the event and facing a team from Connecticut rather than one from New York's Southern Tier. This is basically what your grandparents do when they take their biennial cruise to the Caribbean, a vacation taken on the same line with the same cruisers with accommodations on the same floor and the same eating pattern and activity days. This is a habit-obsessed dream.
Travelin', Ramblin'
February 22: Lafayette; March 7: Boston University; March 21: Navy; April 4: Lehigh; May 2: Syracuse
About a third of Colgate's regular season will be on the road in 2015, a sharp contrast to the eight regular season home dates that the Raiders had in 2015. Playing only five of 14 regular season games in Hamilton is going to be rough, a situation where Colgate will frequently endure two-game road pairings while having one game at Andy Kerr Stadium to recalibrate their internal functions before traveling again for back-to-back road contests. None of that is fun and when compressed competition dates start to appear on the team's schedule, the volume of traveling that the Raiders have could impact the team's overall production. It'll be interesting to compare Colgate's season -- one heavy on bus rides -- to that of a team like Stony Brook, a program that will drop anchor much more than navigating turbulent seas.
"This Means Fargin War!"
May 2: Syracuse
Syracuse hurt Bob Woodruff's feelings a quarter century ago:
I was here more than 25 years ago to play lacrosse against Syracuse right here in the stadium. I think we lost about 24-3. In fact, I was sitting here and looking at these 50,000 seats during our game. You know, I think seven of you showed up to watch us play. So I think this is a lot better crowd than we had all that time ago.
It's all about revenge in Hamilton in 2015. Woodruff did not get clobbered in vain. (Random series history notes: Syracuse is 44-11-1 against Colgate all time; the Raiders are only 6-15 against the Orange in Hamilton; Colgate is 2-4 against Syracuse since the 2001 season, holding an average margin of defeat in those games of 4.5 goals.)