While losing is never pleasant, it often teaches lessons that ultimately lead to more success in the future. Following their loss to Tufts University in the NESCAC semifinals on Saturday, November 8, the Colby women’s soccer team recognizes their strengths and feels confident in their ability to attack their weaknesses.
About 10 minutes in, the Tufts University Jumbos scored, and they found further success a couple of minutes later. Soon after, Abigail Jarvi `27 scored for the Mules, bringing the score up to 1-2, which lasted through halftime. Minutes after resuming play, Ella Caraluzzi `28 scored, tying the game until Tufts scored a third time, ultimately winning the game and getting set to play in the NESCAC finals on Sunday, November 9, against Williams College. Williams won with a score of 1-0.
Back in Waterville, days before the game even took place, Colby’s team, including Kaya Singh `29, knew that it would not be easy and worked to prepare ahead of time. “Tufts is an amazing team, so I think for us, [a challenge was] playing with that chip on our shoulder, knowing who we [were] going against, and [wanting to prove] something to everyone. So I think it [was] more of an internal challenge,” Singh said. “I mean, obviously there’s nerves…[but] I wouldn’t want to do it with anyone else.”
Once the group was out on the field, the players were able to see their training in practice, and to then further dissect the team’s overall strengths and weaknesses. “We move the ball really well. There’s no selfishness on the field, and we all trust each other, so we all feel comfortable playing it to each other,” Singh said. “There’s just positivity, everyone’s rooting for everybody, and just knowing that you have everyone behind you gives you the extra confidence to take that shot or take that player one on one, or make that hard pass.”
First-year Maya Ouramdane `29 noticed this sense of team-wide confidence and resilience on Saturday. “When Tufts scored two goals, I think 20 minutes into the first half, they were pretty happy because they thought it was over…But [everyone] really put their body on the line, doing it all game and never stopped breaking,” Ouramdane said.
Singh agrees, noting how this has led to team-wide improvement that could be seen, even within the season itself. “Each practice, everybody comes and they give it 100% of what they have. You could see the growth week by week,” Singh said.
Despite the group’s strong performance, they drove back to Colby on Sunday with new ideas on how they can improve over the next couple of months. “We learned that no matter what team we have in front of us, and no matter how high they’re ranked, it all comes down to who believes more and who wants it more,” Ouramdane said. “Because at this point, for semifinals, finals, or [a] national tournament, every team has the ability to beat every team. It really doesn’t matter what strength each team has, or what strength we have, it is really much more in the head. It’s more than just their body on the line.”
Keeping these lessons in mind, the athletes are looking forward to playing in the upcoming NCAA tournament. “Last year, we made it far and we lost to the team that ended up winning the whole tournament. So I think our goal this year is to continue forward and hopefully win the tournament,” Singh said.
After the NCAA’s completion, the team will begin to focus on physical training, such as lifting in the gym, with their practices being led by team captains.
~ Isabella Boggs `29
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