Mule Weekly Recap October 17, 2022

Weston, O'Donnell Celebrated at 119th Annual C Club Awards

Friday night kicked off Homecoming Weekend as Colby celebrated their 119th Annual C Club Awards. Tim Weston (above) was presented with the Carl E. Nelson Sports Achievement Award while Tim O'Donnell (below with David A. Greene) was recognized as the 2022 C Club Person of the Year.

Football Downs Amherst 17-12

Behind a dominant 3rd quarter, the Colby Football team jumped out to a 17-3 lead en route to a 17-12 win over the visiting Amherst Mammoths. The victory marks back to back wins against Amherst for the first time since the early-1990's, and it marks the first time since NESCAC's inception that Colby defeated Amherst and Williams in the same year.

Coming out of halftime down by three, quarterback Matt Hersch led Colby to three straight scoring drives to put the Mules ahead 17-3. On those three drives he went 16-20 passing for 132 yards and a score, and also ran the ball six times for 58 yards, collecting 11 first downs along the way. The defense held Amherst to nine total yards in the quarter, and Nick Donatio intercepted the Mammoth signal caller on the first drive of the fourth.

The Mules were able to hold off a late surge by the visitors behind a stiff defense and tremendous field position established off the foot of punter Lowell Carr and the legs of punt returner Will Nipon. Carr sent three punts over 50 yards, including a 66-yarder that would have shattered the school record (71 yards) if not for an unfriendly bounce. Nipon averaged 13.5 yards across four punts, with a long of 37 yards, and also collected seven tackles from the safety position and had two pass breakups.

Colby is now 3-2 on the season, ranked 4th in the NESCAC.

Men's Soccer Tops 2022 National Champion Conn. College

The Men's Soccer team took on the 2022 National Champion Camels of Conn. College Saturday. Colby has tied a remarkable seven opponents on the year, but the Mules were focused on earning the win and giving themselves a shot at post season play.

After a scoreless first half where Conn. outpaced the Mules in shots (10) and corner attempts (five), Ethan Fabricant tallied his fourth goal of the year to put the Mules in front in the 59th minute. With stellar play in net by Matt Morin (seven saves, first conference shutout of 2022), Colby held off the Camels for a 1-0 victory. Fabricant is now tied with Ethan Franco and Mario Simoes with four goals apiece on the season, good for 7th in the NESCAC rankings.

12 seniors were celebrated before the game for their contributions to the Men's Soccer program over the course of their careers: Jack Donahue, Ethan Fabricant, Max Farner, Nick Lemire, Matt Morin, Graham Pugh, Josh Rubin (below), Ryan Seaman, Colin Sullivan, Aboubacar Traore, Sam Wilson, Jared Wood.

The Mules are 4-2-7, and currently hold the 8th and final spot in the NESCAC playoff rankings.

Women's Soccer Keeps Camels Close, Celebrate Senior Day

Prior to their Homecoming matchup against the Camels of Conn. College, the Mules celebrated their eight seniors and their contributions to the program over the course of their careers: Ashley Boardman, Maddie Fisher, Sophie Webb, Caitlin Parks, Kerrie Verbeek, Ellie Hankin, Abby Thorndike, and Chloe Schiff.

The Camels scored first 30 minutes into play and were able to add a second tally midway through the second half to outpace Colby 2-0. First year MK Marshall recorded her third consecutive conference start in net for the Mules, recording three saves.

The Mules are now 4-8, 11th in the NESCAC.

Field Hockey Takes it to the Final Quarter, Falls to Conn. College

Conn. College jumped out to a 2-0 lead at the end of the third quarter Saturday, looking to spoil Homecoming for Colby's Field Hockey team. The Mules bounced back early in the fourth quarter when Casey Winslow scored her 4th goal of season, bringing Colby within one, but the Camels added two more down the stretch to outpace the Mules. Emily Loeb tallied four saves in the cage, bringing her total to 33 saves on the season.

Following the match, Colby honored six seniors for their contributions to the Colby Field Hockey program over the course of their careers: Lauryn Nelson, Mia Kaldenbaugh, Maddy Perfetti, Jackie Hill, Hig Sevigny, and Kaitlyn Smith.

The Mules sit at 5-7, good for 9th in the NESCAC.

Mules Compete at Conn. College Invitational, Set Sights on NESCAC Championship

The Men’s and Women’s Cross Country teams traveled to Waterford, Conn. Saturday for the Conn. College Invitational. The Men’s team finished 6th out of the 23 competing schools while the Women’s team finished 20th out of 22 competing schools.

Individually, Tyler Morris (above) paced the Mules, securing the second step of the podium (out of 394 contestants) with a time of 23:50. Three other Mules finished in the top-60 with Ben Mellor in 31st, Liam Carcich in 57th, and Chris Gould right behind in 58th.

On the women’s side, Claire Beebe finished in 58th place (out of 322 competitors) to lead Colby. First-year Abby Steffler finished just outside the top 100 in 103rd.

The Cross Country teams will next compete at Hamilton College on October 29th for the NESCAC Championship.

Volleyball 2-1 on the Week, Tops Hamilton

Colby started their week on Tuesday sweeping Elms College in straight sets (25-21, 25-22, 25-12). Hannah Wyllie led the Mules with 11 kills on only 16 attempts while also grabbing five blocks on the night. Susie Mueller and Sydney Sick (photo above) split the setter position, tallying 14 assists apiece.

On weekend play, the Mules hit the road for their longest trip of the season, facing off at Middlebury Friday night before going to Hamilton for a Saturday afternoon matchup. Despite losing to the Panthers 3-0, Colby was able to bounce back against the Continentals for a 3-1 victory.

LJ Grant continues to push the league leaders, ranking 2nd in the NESCAC for total kills (182), with Emma Davis close behind in 7th (160). Sick sits in 4th in total assist with 435 and Bella Schumacher (photo below) ranks 5th in digs per game, averaging 4.44.

The Mules now have a 12-5 record (most wins in a season since going 14-12 in 2015), good for 6th in the NESCAC.

Crew Opens Fall Season at Quinsigamond Snake Regatta

The Men's and Women's Crew teams opened their fall season in Shrewsbury at the Quinsigamond Snake Regatta. The women's varsity and second varsity crews finished 10th and 13th respectively out of 23 crews, with the V8 boat just 10 seconds out of 6th place. The men's varsity and 2nd varsity crews finished 11th and 26th of 29 crews, with the varsity finishing ahead of boats from Middlebury, Conn. College, UMass and BC.

The women's team also raced in the collegiate fours event and finished 9th of 18 boats, ahead of crews from Conn. College, WPI and Vassar. The women's novice 8 finished 6th in their event.

Colby excitedly looks ahead to the annual Head of the Charles event next weekend before returning to Maine for the fall CBB race on October 29.