Women’s soccer snaps four game losing streak

The Mules women’s soccer team secured a 2–0 victory over the UMaine Fort Kent Bengals this past Saturday at home on the Bill Alfond Field. After a tough set of recent games as well as struggles against their NESCAC opponents, Colby Women’s Soccer displayed an excellent effort as they decidedly defeated UMFK and broke their losing streak. 

The Mules are 5–9 on the season while having some struggles on the road, just 1–5 at away venues. The home crowd has been a factor in the Mules’ victories this season, and the team immediately demonstrated their confidence and talent in front of the Colby supporters. 

The Mules opened the first half on a positive note, with a series of early opportunities. Colby was able to capitalize on their early pressure early in the game as Kaleigh Quinn `25 trickled a pass across the face of goal, assisting Sophie Webb `23, who found the top right corner. This gave the Mules an early 1–0 lead. 

Colby managed to keep their foot on the gas through the majority of the first half. Many of the opportunities on the offensive end came from team scoring leader, Sophie DiGrande `26, who sent a couple shots just wide of the Fort Kent goal. However, despite pinning their opponents in their own half for nearly the entire half, UMFK had a few excellent openings that they were just unable to convert; most notably, a Fort Kent striker saw her shot hit the post — a massive break for the Mules to conclude the first half. 

Colby came out of the halftime break with additional pressure. The Mules had several chances to add to their lead, but the Bengals defense managed to weather the storm and keep the Mules out of striking distance. Despite Fort Kent’s rigid defense, the Mules displayed excellent ball control and had the vast majority of possessions. 

Colby’s attack was finally rewarded with another goal in the 85th minute, as Kerrie Verbeek `23 played a gorgeous pass to Webb, whoas she found the bottom corner and grabbed her second goal of the game. This doubled Colby’s lead to 2–0. 

Webb’s two goals were enough to secure a Colby victory, boosting their non-conference record to 5–0. After the game, Webb spoke about the team’s performance:

“It was definitely good to get back in the win column yesterday. We started the game out pretty well, had a bit of a lull in the middle, but then came back to finish the game strong.”

The Mules victory snapped a four game losing streak and has bolstered the team’s confidence heading into their final game of the season against the Bates Bobcats.

“We are hoping to bring this momentum into Tuesday’s game against Bates, and finish off our season with a NESCAC victory,” Webb said.

The Mules will host the Bobcats at Bill Alfond Field at 3pm this Tuesday. The Bobcats have a 5-6-3 record and also struggled playing on the road. If the Mules are able to control the ball and play with the confidence they displayed this past Saturday, they could  secure their first victory of the season in the conference.

 

~ Mason Groves `23