Heading into the week clinging onto the 8th seed, Colby traveled to Bates on Tuesday for their final regular season game. A win or tie secured a postseason berth for the Mules, while a Bobcat victory would knock Colby from the postseason in favor of Bates.
With rain pouring down for the duration, Colby's Josh Rubin scored late in the second half. Bates responded minutes later, sending the battle to overtime. Continuing pressure on the offensive end, the Mules forced Bates into a mistake within the goalie box, and a Bobcat defender notched an own goal while trying to clear. The 2-1 win secured Colby's entrance into the NESCAC tournament, sliding up to the 7th seed.
Heading to Amherst Saturday for a NESCAC Quarterfinal match, shades of 2018 lingered in the air. In 2018, Colby entered the tournament as the 8th seed and traveled to Tufts for an opening round match. Committing to a stout defense and taking two conference tournament games by penalty kicks, the Mules captured their first NESCAC title with wins over Tufts, Amherst, and Williams.
On Saturday, Colby once again committed to a stout defense and took a 0-0 tie through two overtimes, setting the stage for the shootout. Ethan Franco, Josh Rubin, Nick Lemire, and Mario Simoes all connected on their shots, and Goaltender Noah Jackson turned away two Mammoth attempts, advancing the Mules to the semifinals.
Colby is 7-7-2 on the season and travels to Conn. College Saturday for the NESCAC Semifinal match. The Camels won the first matchup this season in September, 1-0.
The winner advances to the Conference Finals Sunday, also hosted by Conn.
Men's and Women's Cross Country Compete at NESCAC Championships
The Men's and Women's Cross Country teams returned to the NESCAC Championship meet Sunday, hosted by Trinity College. The last time the meet was held (2019), Sophia Gorman raced her way to the NESCAC crown, and then-first-year Tyler Morris snuck his way into the top-10 and earned himself the title of NESCAC Rookie of the Year.
Morris has been blazing his own path this season, setting course records at each of his last two stops. While the course record at Wickham Park was safe on this day, the rest of the men's field (154 competitors) were not. Morris ran away from the field with the victory, topping the next closest competitor by nearly half a minute.
Behind a stellar team effort, the Men's team placed 3rd in the 11-team field.
- 1. Tyler Morris (24:28)
- 16. Ewan Frick (25:52)
- 17. Ben Mellor (25:59)
- 20. James Boyle (26:02)
- 24. Liam Carcich (26:07)
Despite having the event winner two years ago, the Mules finished 8th in 2018. This year, behind the strong running of upperclassmen and first-years alike, the women improved their place to 6th in the 2021 meet.
- 10. Lindsay Michels (24:01)
- 31. Claire Beebe (24:56)
- 36. Meghan Garrett (25:06)
- 45. Meredith Griffin (25:34)
- 62. Julia Hopley (26:05)
Colby will target the NCAA Div III Regional Championships in two weeks hosted at Franklin Park, Mass.
Defense Stellar, Mules Top Bobcats 10-2
Two of Colby's three victories this season have come behind only 10 points on the board. The youthful defense of the Mules once again stepped up to guide Colby to a 10-2 victory on the road in Lewiston.
Quarterback Matt Hersch has quietly had himself a nice year. The senior is ranked fifth in the NESCAC in completion percentage and third in yards, accumulating almost 200 yards/game through the air. On Colby's two scoring drives, both in the first half, Hersch went 10-11 for 134 yards, and added 17 yards on the ground. He would finish the contest 23-31 for 226 yards and one touchdown.
Colby's defense was once again led by Nick Donatio, recording a team-high seven tackles. Some new faces also stepped up as sophomores Rome Banaitis (four tackles, one sack, one pass breakup) and Payton Reid (three tackles, one sack, two forced fumbles) made incredible impacts at key moments.
Colby is now 3-4, ranked 5th in NESCAC. Next week the Mules travel to Medford, Mass. to face the Tufts Jumbos (2-5). Tufts has the 4th-ranked offense in the league, putting up over 25 points/game. Colby's defense ranks 5th in points allowed.
Volleyball Celebrates Senior Day, Closes Out 2021
Despite three losses on the week (MMA 3-1, Bowdoin 3-1, Tufts 3-0), the Colby Volleyball team ended their season in celebration. Natalie Simonton and Julia Hutchings played their last games as Mules.
In my first year at Colby, I could not have asked for a better senior duo than Natalie Simonton and Julia Hutchings. Leading the charge from the start, both Natalie and Julia have taken the team under their wing, implementing a culture that will foster success for Colby Volleyball in the years to come. These two have created a legacy of what hard work and dedication means and we will always be grateful for their commitment to their teammates and the vision they have for this program. Natalie and Julia will be missed dearly.
- Lindsay Johnson, Head Volleyball Coach
Colby's 10 wins (10-12 overall) marked the highest tally since 2015. They end the season ranked 9th in the NESCAC.
Women's Soccer Even at Half, Falls to Bates
Playing in a downpour Tuesday night in Lewiston, the Colby Women's Soccer Team went toe to toe with the Bobcats. Sophomore Corrigan Rayhill scored her first goal of her college career late in the first half to tie the game 1-1. The Bobcats countered in the second half to pull away for a 4-1 win.
Colby ends its 2021 campaign with a 4-8-2 record, 11th in NESCAC.
Field Hockey Tight at the Half, Falls to Bates
Battling Bates in a 1-goal match headed into halftime (1-0 Bates lead), the Bobcats came out in the second half firing for their season. A win, and they would clinch a place in the NESCAC tournament. Colby eventually fell to the Bobcats by a score of 5-1. Hig Sevigny scored her first goal of the season in the third quarter, assisted by Lillian Kistner.
Colby ends its 2021 campaign with a 5-9 record, 10th in NESCAC.
Men's and Women's Crew Compete in CBB
Colby hosted Bates and Bowdoin for the traditional CBB race to end the fall season. Bates won the event, and Bowdoin narrowly edged Colby's Women's Varsity 8 by a mere three seconds, pushing the Mules to 3rd.
- Bates 20:00
- Bowdoin 20:29
- Colby 20:32
The Men's race was just as tight, with Bowdoin once again outpacing the Mules for third place by three seconds.
- Bates 17:57
- Bowdoin 18:22
- Colby 18:25
Special thank you to the photographers who helped make this production possible: Cole Burkhart '24, Steve Cheney P25, Nancy Dauphinais '25, Paula Dauphinais '25, Michael Garrett P23, Anna Patten '23, Ellie Sawyer P25, Aicha Thiero '24