Waterville, ME- The Colby College Field Hockey team played their first match of the 2021 season today against the University of Maine Farmington Beavers. With a young team, the Mules were able to fight off the Beavers with a 5-1 win. 

Heading into the game with 10 underclassmen in the starting lineup, the Mules were eager to get off to a strong start. First-year Sandrine Brien started the scoring for the Mules two minutes and fifty-six seconds into the match with a scrappy rebound in the mouth of the cage. Less than four minutes later, sophomore Megan Rittenhouse would tip in a shot on a penalty corner shot by Lillian Kistner. Kistner would then go on to score two goals herself in the second quarter of the match, totaling a match high of six shots on goal. 

The Beavers were able to put a shot past sophomore goalie Emily Loeb who had two saves on the night. The Mules kept the majority of ball possession through the match, with a total of 71 circle entries, 23 of which were in the fourth quarter. First-year Pernilla Shaw scored her first collegiate goal to put the Mules up 5-1, the final score. 

Coach Kelly Terwilliger said about finally being back on the pitch, "It's fun to play somebody else.  It's been a long year, and I think our kids have prepared really well.  There was an excellent team effort tonight.  I'm proud of the intensity of which we played and am excited for our four Mules who notched their first collegiate goal tonight.  We have a quick turnaround for our opening conference match this Saturday.  We'll go back to the drawing board, back to the practice field and look to make more progress."

The Mules look to Thomas College next Tuesday, September 14th, in another non-conference matchup this season at 7:00 p.m. Go Mules!