Box Score WATERVILLE, Maine – The Mules hosted the 15th ranked Trinity Bantams for their second conference game of the young season. Colby came in 1-0 in conference play, having beaten the Connecticut College Camels last weekend, while the highly touted Bantams were untested. Rain threatened throughout play but mostly held off and the Mules used a second half surge to secure a 3-1 victory.
The Mules started off fast, earning the only shot of the first quarter, but neither team scored as both teams worked to gain control of the game. It looked as though Trinity had in the second. The Bantams took an early lead with the game's first goal when Nicole Quinlan finally scored after a slew of Trinity penalty corners, and the Bantams outshot the Mules 5-1 in the quarter. Colby's senior goalie, Emily Buckman, kept the team in the game, though, making four saves to help the Mules go into half down only 1-0.
Colby showed their resilience in the second half of the game. The Mules earned four penalty corners in the third quarter and put constant pressure on the Bantam's defense. The relentless attack paid off. Junior midfielder Lauren Walter found the back of the net off of a feed from first year forward Kaitlyn Smith to tie the game at one goal apiece. Only five minutes later, junior forward Emily Hogan buried a pass from senior midfielder Eliza Mell to give the Mules a 2-1 lead.
Colby never looked back. Smith added a goal to her assist early in the fourth quarter to pad the Mules' lead and the team controlled play as the Bantams attack became more frantic. Time expired as Mell held the ball in the corner, and the Mules earned a 3-1 victory over the nationally ranked Bantams.
Senior captain Georgia Cassidy looks to keep up the team's momentum as they move forward in conference play. "We couldn't be more excited to start our season 3-0 and to see our hard work paying off. We definitely have things to work on as we prepare for two more big NESCAC games next weekend and the team is excited to get after it this week at practice."
Head Coach Kelly Terwilliger echoed Cassidy's sentiment. "[I was] excited to see the mental strength in NESCAC play. Great overall team effort and play. We will enjoy this one, but get right back at it for a big weekend coming up."
The Mules move to 3-0 on the season and 2-0 in conference games. They play next on the road at Tufts on Saturday, September 21st at 12:00 PM (EST) before continuing their road trip the following day at Wesleyan.
