HAMILTON, N.Y.-  Despite holding a 16-14 halftime lead, Monmouth University's football team fell to 0-1 on the season after dropping a 35-23 affair to Colgate on the road Saturday night.

Colgate scored twice under a minute in the third quarter to regain the lead while forcing a pair of MU turnovers en route to the season opening victory.  The Raider defense held Monmouth scoreless almost the entire second half until 2:40 were left on the scoreboard.

After stopping the opening MU drive at the 'Gate 38, the Raiders used a mix of runs and passes, including two converted third and longs en route to the game's first touchdown.  The 14 play- 98 yard drive ate up 6:51 of game time and ended with a one yard Nate Eachus touchdown run, giving the Raiders 1 7-0 advantage.  The 98 yard drive was the longest in Colgate football history.  

On Monmouth's second drive, redshirt freshman Kyle Frazier (Gaithersburg, Md./Damascus) and company took over after another solid Mike Avent (Upper Marlboro, Md./Eleanor Roosevelt) kickoff return. Frazier went three-for-three on the drive, with tailback David Sinisi (Cedar Grove, N.J./Cedar Grove) rushing for 28 yards on the 10 play drive that covered 50 yards.  Sinisi tied the game up when he rumbled in the endzone from two yards out on second down. 

'Gate answered right back, moving the ball through the air and eventually taking a 14-7 lead on a Greg Sullivan to Pat Simonds nine yard touchdown pass.  The score was set up by a 23 yard completion from Sullivan to Doug Rosnick in the middle of the field.

It took two plays for the Hawks to score, with Sinisi following up a first down run with a 50 yard screen pass which he took to the house.  Eric McCutcheon (Edison, N.J./J.P. Stevens) missed the extra point wide left and MU trailed with 8:39 to play by a score of 14-13.

After three consecutive three-and-outs by the teams, including two by Colgate, MU's offense took the field with 4:10 to go in the half.  A facemask penalty on first down helped the Hawks move to their own 33 yard line.  Junior Andrew Mandeville (Hazlet, N.J./Raritan) made a couple of key completions to Rodney Salomon (Marlboro, N.J./Marlboro), including a third down pass that went for 13.  On the next play the junior was flushed out of the pocket but used his legs for a 17 yard pickup.  With 16 seconds left, McCutcheon converted a 23 yard field goal to give MU a 16-14 lead.

The second half started with a pair of three and outs, but Colgate regained the lead on its second possession of the half when Eachus went untouched from four yards out.  The Raiders' drive went for 11 plays and covered 74 yards to give the home squad a 21-16 lead with 7:28 to play.

On the ensuiing kickoff Colgate intentionally kicked the ball shallow,  and Raider Zach LaSavage found himself with the ball for MU's first turnover.  Two plays later Eachus ran untouched for 35 yards to give 'Gate a 28-16 lead. 

The Hawks went on a drive of their own, mainly behind the legs of Sinisi, who converted a fourth and one to give MU a fresh set of downs.  However, one play later Mandeville was sacked and fumbled the ball with Colgate's Greg Kafaf recovered and any momentum was instantly shifted to the home squad.

Colgate wrapped up their scoring with a 28 yard touchdown pass from Sullivan to Simonds, pushing the Raider lead to 35-16.  The Hawks drove down the field one more time, with Sinisi passing the ball to redshirt freshman Tyler George (Berkley Heights, N.J./Gov. Livingston) in the back of the endzone to cut the lead to 35-23 with 2:40 to play.

Sullivan was 8 of 14 passing for 136 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 99 yards.  Simonds hauled in four passes for 80 yards with a pair of scores.  Eachus carried the balled 20 times for 139 yards and three touchdowns.  Colgate, who amassed 410 total yards, was seven-for-11 on third down. 

Sinisi led the Hawks offensively with 102 yards on 26 carries with a rushing score.  The fifth year senior had three catches for 56 yards, including the 50 yard TD reception.  Salomon led the MU receivers with five catches for 39 yards.  Mandeville finished the game 7-for-9 with 97 yards and a touchdown.  Frazier was 6-for-9 for 38 yards through the air. 

Avent finished 112 yards on four kickoff returns, also finishing with seven tackles.  Safety Jose Gumbs (Queens, N.Y./Hebron Academy) had 11 tackles and a fumble recovery while linebacker Joe Cella (Jackson, N.J./Jackson Memorial) finished with 10 stops.