ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, N.Y. - Bard College head men's soccer coach Andy McCabe was looking at Wednesday's match against Sage as a litmus test of sorts.

The Gators had played Union to a tie, and lost a tough one to nationally-ranked Rensselaer, so this would be an opportunity to see exactly where the Raptors stood - because even they knew that being 3-0-1 at this point in the season could be a mirage.

For about 37 minutes, Bard failed the test. For the rest of the game, they passed with flying colors.

Sage jumped out to a 2-0 lead, then hung on for dear life as Bard got to within a goal, then saw a ball played off the Sage goalline in the 87th minute to pull out a hard-fought 2-1 victory.

For quite a while, it didn't look like it was going to be a close game at all. Sage took a 1-0 lead in the 19th minute when freshman Peter Fabrykiewicz (Delancey, NY) slid onto a cross in the goalmouth from Alex Lanza (Poughkeepsie, NY). And Fabrykiewicz struck again about 10 minutes later when he took a pass at the top of the box, had time to settle it, and beat Bard keeper Daniel Gagne to the left post for a 2-0 lead.

Then everything changed.

Bard controlled the rest of the first half, producing four shots and a corner kick to nothing for Sage. It was a precursor of things to come.

Bard cranked up the intensity in the second half and chased the ball all over the field, putting pressure on the Gators everywhere. It produced a result in the 63rd minute, when the pressure produced a turnover just outside the box, where Nick Shenberger collected the ball and faced a one-on-one with Sage keeper TJ Zehner (Beacon, N.Y.) Shenberger hit a quick shot that beat Zehner but hit the left post and bounced right to Brendan Byrne, who volleyed it in, setting off a celebration in the Bard student section.

There was no lull. Bard kept the pressure on, substituted liberally, and tried to create another opportunity just like the last one.

Shenberger almost did it again. In the 87th minute, a through ball toward the top right side of the Sage box looked like it would be collected by Zehner, but Shenberger turned on the speed and got a foot on the ball just as Zehner arrived. The resulting thud forced the ball high in the air and toward the Sage goal.

Zehner looked back helplessly as the ball floated toward the goal line, but a Sage defender, with his back to the field, was able to volley the ball off the line and out of danger.

In the end, Sage came away with a victory, and Bard came away knowing the kind of effort and intensity it will take to play with teams in the Liberty League - if it didn't know already.

Zehner made four saves for Sage, 3-2-1. Gagne made five saves for Bard, 3-1-1.

Up next for the Raptors is a non-league game against Green Mountain College on Saturday at 3. If you can't attend, follow the game via Live Stats or Live Video right here.