Women's Soccer Blasts Past Williams in Overtime, Advances to Semifinals
After concluding the regular season Wednesday night with a come-from-behind victory over Bates 2-1 (Abigail Jarvi scored both the tying and go ahead goals in the second half), the Mules entered the NESCAC playoffs for the first time since 2018 set on reaching several more benchmarks.
Williams got on the board first midway through the opening frame, but Annie Liebich connected on a free kick into the upper left corner to beat the Eph keeper minutes later tying the match at one. A scoreless second half sent the game to overtime where the Mules wasted little time to score the decider, another tally off the foot of Jarvi.
With the win, Colby advances to the semifinal round for the first time since 2006, and their 10th win of the season ties a program record with the 1995 team who went 10-4-3.
This was a great result for our team. The athletes continue to show how good they really are, with a long road trip and short rest leading up to Saturday, and then they just battled all game. It's a reflection of the character of this team to go down twenty minutes into the first half in a really big game, but then come right back to tie it up. When the pressure was the highest, the team was composed and executed the game plan, and got a great playoff win!
- Seth Benjamin, Head Women's Soccer Coach
By defeating Bates in the regular season finale, the 2024 campaign marked the first time Colby beat both the Bobcats and Polar Bears in the same season for their second outright CBB title. Colby also won the CBB in 2011 with a win over Bates and a tie against Bowdoin (Bowdoin and Bates tied their matchup that year).
The Mules (10-4-2) will travel to Wesleyan Saturday, game time is set for 11:00am. The winner will play Sunday for the conference championship.
Volleyball Sweeps Trinity and Conn. to Finish Undefeated in NESCAC, Claims Top-Seed
Entering the weekend the Colby Volleyball team needed one more conference win to earn the top seed in the NESCAC playoffs, but why take one when you can take two? Defeating Trinity (25-22, 27-25, 25-19) and Conn. (25-19, 25-13, 25-15) in 3-0 sweeps, the Mules earned a perfect 10-0 NESCAC record to claim the top seed in the conference playoffs. The perfect record marks only the 13th time a team has finished the regular season undefeated since NESCAC began championship play in 2000, and it is Colby's first time as the 1-seed since they won the conference tournament in 2005.
Brady Moseley continued her stellar play, collecting double-doubles (kills, digs) in both matches. The sophomore now has 11 double-double games on the season and has tallied double-digit kills in 15 of her 20 matches played.
Cyanne Jones continues to be a force at the net, recording nine total blocks across the two matches. Issuing Trinity just their fourth loss of the season, LJ Grant connected for 11 kills Friday night against the Bantams. Jordan Lee continues to be stellar from the service line, collecting three aces in each match.
Colby will welcome the Camels back to town on Saturday for the second time in eight days for the NESCAC quarterfinal round. Game time is set for 3:00pm.
Mongan & Gould Lead the Way for the Mules in NESCAC Championship
The Colby Men's and Women's Cross Country teams competed in the NESCAC Championship Saturday at Bowdoin College in Brunswick. The meet marked the first time since 2012 that the Polar Bears have hosted the conference championship races. As a team the men placed 8th while the women grabbed 10th of the 11 competing schools.
The women took the course first in their 6,000 meter race with a field of 157 individual athletes. In the end Catherine Mongan was the top performer for the Mules securing an 18th place finish with a time of 21:35.73. In last years conference championship race at Amherst, Mongan was the 23rd finisher with a time of 23:15.8. Maria DiBari was the next to finish in 62nd followed by Ada Grant and Claire Beebe in 70th and 71st.
An hour later, 162 men's competitors lined up at the start for their 8k race. Chris Gould had the most impressive time for Colby placing 15th with a time of 25:09.31, making a huge jump over his 46th place finish (26:48.9) in last years NESCAC championship. Henry Reichle finished next for the Mules in 43rd, Danny Reyes placed 63rd, and Steve White crossed the line in 66th.
The Mules will now look ahead to the NCAA East Regional on November 16th taking place in Contoocock, N.H.
Men's Soccer Concludes 2024 Campaign with 3-3 Draw Against Bates
In a Tuesday night battle with the Bobcats, Bates needed a victory for a spot in the NESCAC Tournament. Colby, unfortunately already eliminated from postseason play, looked to play the spoiler and end their season on a high note.
The Mules got off to a hot start scoring the opening goal in the 11th minute of play as Oliver Daboo found Mario Simoes for his 10th goal of the season. Just three minutes later, Daboo got on the scoresheet himself for his first ever collegiate goal as Colby held onto the 2-0 lead into the halftime break.
The two teams traded back to back goals in the 52nd and 54th minute of play, including Simoes' NESCAC leading 11th goal of the season. Bates, although down two goals, turned up their offensive intensity for the rest of the match as they desperately needed the win. The Bobcats cut the lead to one in the 64th minute and later found the equalizer with just two minutes left resulting in the 3-3 tie.
The Colby Men's Soccer team ends the year with a 6-8-1 record and looks towards a bright future ahead with all but three starters returning next season.
Football Falls in Tight Battle with Tufts
Despite falling behind 14-0 midway through the second quarter, the Colby Football team showed plenty of grit to claw their way back and take one of the NESCAC's strongest programs to the wire.
The Mules settled in to convert on their second possession, a 15-play 75-yard drive that ended in a two-yard scoring strike from Miles Drake to Jack Sawyer. On Tufts' ensuing drive, Jack Mullen forced a fumble in Colby's red zone and when Wellington Perreira recovered, it started Colby's second scoring drive of the afternoon. The Mules converted four first downs to cover 86 yards on 12 plays as Drake found the end zone again, this time via a nine-yard rush. The visitors jumped back in front on the next drive, taking a 21-14 lead into the break.
Tufts owned the lone score in the third quarter, taking a two-score lead 28-14 with less than a minute to play in the frame. With a few drives stalling in the final quarter, the Mules remained in the game with stiff defensive play and two missed field goals by the Jumbos. Finishing off a 14-play, 80-yard drive with three minutes to play, Drake tallied his second rushing score of the game to make the score 28-21. The Jumbos executed two first downs on their final drive to run out the clock and seal their sixth victory of the season.
Drake collected his fifth 200-yard passing game of the season, throwing for 215 and a touchdown while rushing for 39 yards and two scores. Keon Smart was excellent out of the backfield, falling just shy of a 100-yard game, and Jack Nye was the leading target for the Mules hauling in six passes for 82 yards. Nye was targeted 10 times and five of his six catches went for first downs. Trevor Smith collected his first double-digit tackle performance of his career to lead Colby with 11 tackles. Dennis Dougherty was close behind with nine.
Colby's final game of the season is slated for Saturday night in Brunsick. As both the Mules and Polar Bears defeated Bates in their matchups this season, the victor this weekend will hoist the CBB trophy.
Fighting all the Way to the End, Colby Comes up Short to #14 Bates in Season Finale
In a late Tuesday night game against the 14th-ranked Bobcats, the Mules looked for the victory to be crowned CBB champs. Colby opened the season by knocking off Bowdoin 5-4 in a double overtime thriller.
Bates came out of the gate strong netting three unanswered goals, however, Bridget Everett was able to narrow the lead to two just before the end of the opening quarter. The Bobcats pushed back by padding on two more goals in the second frame resulting in a 5-1 halftime advantage.
Colby's defense stiffened in the second half as Bates scored just once more in the third quarter, while Everett found her second goal of the game (team leading 9th of the season) as the lone goal in the final frame. The game finished with a 6-2 final in favor of the Bobcats.
Locked in a four-way tie for 7th place in the conference, the Mules held the advantage over Bowdoin and Amherst but lost the tiebreaker to Conn. and Hamilton to narrowly miss the conference playoffs. The team recorded their most conference wins in a season since 2019.
Special thank you to the photographers who helped make this production possible: Bonnie Baker Photography, Steve Cheney P25, Stephen R. Clouthier, Ashley Conti, Traigh DeMasi '28, Jamie Fiedorek '25, Colin Flood '26, Steve Fuller @flyingpoint, Peter Li '26, Michael Maher, Reese Robinson '27, Ellie Sawyer P25, Isadora Wells '26, Ansley White '26, and the Colby Communications team.