On Saturday Apr. 27, the women’s lacrosse team continued their recent run of NESCAC tournament success with an opening-round victory over the fifth-seeded Hamilton Continentals. The Mules, who hold the fourth seed in the tournament, opened the game quickly with a free-position goal from Julia Jardina ’25. Jardina has been an offensive fixture for Colby this season, and the score marked her 37th of the season, a career high.
Hamilton’s Abby Smith looked to respond, but her shot on Colby’s Sarah Hearns ’24 hit the post and was picked up by Jardina, who went coast-to-coast for the goal. With the score sitting at 2–0, the Continentals successfully defended a free-position attempt before Hamilton’s Maddigan Leifer scored to cut the deficit to one.
The Mules won the ensuing draw, and Cami McDonald ’24 added another goal, her 12th of the season. Jardina won the draw but Hamilton forced a turnover, launching an offensive attack for the first time. Hearns met the challenge for the Mules, recording two saves in close succession.
A third Colby shot by Stella Regan ’26 hit the pipe, but McDonald broke through to score seconds later. Lydia Carr ’26 forced a Hamilton turnover as play restarted, and Ally Franz ’24 beat Hamilton goalie Fiore to make the score 5–1 as the first quarter ended..
Franz opened the second with another goal, but a foul committed by the Mules gave the Continentals a free-position opportunity on the next possession. Hearns continued her dominant game with yet another save, and the offense gave her further support with another Franz goal.
Ainsley Dion ’25 was shown a yellow card following a foul on the next draw, giving Hamilton their first player-up opportunity of the game. Hamilton’s Alana King took advantage of the chance and got her side back on track, beating Hearns with an assist from Marin Ciardello. The momentum continued to swing for the Continentals, as Fiore stifled a Colby free-position shot before Alex Orlando scored to make the game 6–3.
Franz put a stop to the comeback shortly thereafter with a goal from a free-position shot before Kins Helmer ’25 added a score of her own. Kristin Vosswinkel had the final goal of the half for Hamilton, leaving the Mules with a commanding 8-4 lead.
The second half commenced with great defense on both sides, until Jardina picked up the loose ball following the save and beat Fiore from close range to complete her hat trick. Abby Smith responded with a goal for Hamilton, but Gennie Littlejohn ’25 and Franz scored for the Mules to further expand the lead.
As the third quarter progressed, defense became the prevalent theme of the game. Hamilton managed to score twice in the closing minutes, while a lone Franz goal was the only offensive stat for the Mules. Taking a five-goal lead into the final quarter of play, Colby assumed a more defensive footing, but the Continentals broke through twice to cut their deficit to three.
Hearns was crucial for the Mules down the stretch, making multiple big saves. Dion scored for the Mules to bring the lead back to four, but the Continentals refused to quit.
Hamilton’s Leifer and Orlando scored within seconds of each other, but a late yellow card on Abby Smith gave the Mules the breathing room they needed to run the clock out and finish on top, 13–11.
Following their win, the Mules are set to travel to Vermont to face top-seeded, undefeated Middlebury in the NESCAC semifinals next weekend. The Panthers are a familiar foe for Colby, as their season has come to an end at Middlebury in each of the past two seasons. Colby will look to change things around this time.
~ Matt Quealy `26
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