Waterville, Maine - The wait is over on Mayflower Hill. The 24th ranked Colby Women's Soccer team will officially kick off the 2026-27 Colby Athletics calendar on Friday night, heading down to Brunswick, Maine, for an under the lights NESCAC rivalry matchup against Bowdoin College. Kickoff is slated for 7:30pm. The matchup marks a familiar beginning for both programs, as Colby and Bowdoin also squared off in last year's season opener, where the Mules earned a hard-fought 1-0 victory in Waterville.

Coming off back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances, the Mules enter the fall with high expectations, earning a national pre-season ranking of #24 in the United Soccer Coaches Preseason Poll. Colby is coming off a strong 2025 campaign that saw the program finish 11-5-3 overall. The Mules navigated a relentless conference schedule to reach the NESCAC Semifinals before making noise on the national stage, advancing to the Second Round of the NCAA Division III Tournament.

With postseason success now firmly established as the program standard under head coach Seth Benjamin who enters his third season with the Mules, Colby heads into 2026 laser-focused on locking up an NCAA Tournament bid for the third consecutive season. Benjamin is joined on the sidelines once again by assistant coaches Chad Sisson, Kaylyn Krul and Yuri Nascimento. 

"We're very excited for the upcoming season," stated Benjamin. "We feel that, along with the talented group of returners we have, our first-year group can come in and make big contributions to the team. We've started pre-season really well and can't wait to get the regular season underway!"

The foundation for another deep postseason run relies heavily on a decorated group of upperclassmen, led by four returning seniors who all earned All-NESCAC honors a season ago; Samantha DeWitt, Abigail Jarvi, Annie Liebich, and Madison Genser. Nine first-years have joined the program and will look to make an impact from the jump.

With a strong veteran core returning and high national standing, the Mules have all the pieces in place to make another statement starting Friday night.

Fans can follow alongside the action using the live video and live stats links for all home games as well as check out the schedule tab to catch the Mules when they come to a location near you. After their three game road-trip to begin the season, Colby will host their home opener Sunday September 13th at 3:00pm against Husson.