Brunswick, Maine - The Colby College Field Hockey team played their first game of the 2024 season against the Bowdoin Polar Bears on the road on Saturday. This game marked the first NESCAC match up of the season for both teams. The Mules are entering this season looking for their first conference win since the 2022 season, as they ended the 2023 season with an overall record of 4-11 and 0-10 in the NESCAC. The Polar Bears are coming off a successful season after making the NESCAC playoffs in 2023 and finishing the season with an overall record of 10-6 and 5-5 in the NESCAC. These two teams played a relatively high-scoring game, and the winner couldn't be decided after 60 minutes. They played two ten-minute overtime periods, with the Mules coming away with a 5-4 win with only three minutes left in the second overtime. Colby now stands 1-0 overall in the NESCAC.

Colby started off the first quarter down 2-0 after two quick goals from Bowdoin's Emily Ferguson and Mackay Bommer. The Mules came out strong in the second quarter with a quick goal by senior captain Casey Winslow only 30 seconds into the quarter, assisted by first year Hadley Swenson. Later into the second quarter, returning junior Molly Mitchell hammered the ball into the back of the net on a penalty corner, which was quickly followed by a second goal from Winslow to set Colby ahead 3-2 at the end of the half. The Mules tallied four penalty corners and five shots after 30 minutes, compared to the Polar Bear's three penalty corners and eight shots.

Bowdoin tied the game in the third quarter with another goal from Emily Ferguson, and took the lead with a goal late into the fourth quarter from Maya Malenfant. With less than three minutes to play in regulation, senior captain Pernilla Shaw set up junior Catherine McNulty to tie the score 4-4, sending the game into overtime.

Colby and Bowdoin battled hard for 10 minutes, each recording one penalty corner, but the game was still tied after one overtime. The Polar Bears didn't give up on the Mules in the second overtime, as they earned six penalty corners in a row with three shots. With just under three minutes left in the second overtime, Winslow dangled around Bowdoin's defense and fired the ball past the goalie, ending the game and giving Colby a 5-4 win. Winslow reflects that "I felt a rush of relief and couldn't help but just smile. I was happy that the overtime was over and slightly in shock that we had actually won, let alone contributing my first career hat trick. It was our first win over Bowdoin in my tenure and the perfect way to start off my senior season!" First year goaltender Opal O'Rourke made a total of ten saves in her collegiate debut, facing 11 penalty corners throughout the match. 

This victory marks the first time since the 2004 season that the Colby Field Hockey team has defeated Bowdoin. Third-year Head Coach Allison Whittemore comments that "after facing them in a preseason scrimmage and suffering a loss, it was incredibly rewarding to see how the team applied what we had worked on in practice to achieve success in the regular season. This victory was a strong way to kick off the season, proving to the athletes that they have the skill, determination, and resilience to compete and win against top-tier opponents."

The Mules collected their first NESCAC win since the 2022 season, and now stand a chance to win the Colby Bates Bowdoin competition, as they take on Bates College in their last game of the regular season in October.

Colby is back in action on Tuesday at University of New England at 6pm.