The Colby field hockey team shut out Thomas College on Tuesday night when co-captain Meryl Poulin ’11 recorded her 50th career point. Poulin, a two-time all-NESCAC (New England Small College Athletic Conference) selection, lead the Mules to a 6-0 victory, scoring three goals. The senior midfielder has recorded 17 goals and 16 assists in her career at Colby, with five goals and three assists this year.
The other three goals against Thomas came from Caitlyn Lancaster ’12, Olivia Lattanzi ’11 and Lucy Gerrity ’13. The Mules’ offense outshot Thomas 37-1. Goalkeepers Casey Atwater ’12 and Michelle Burt ’14 earned the shutout, each playing a half in goal for Colby.
Though the Mules outshot, out-possessed and outscored Middlebury in the first half of Saturday’s game, the Panthers owe their eventual 2-1 victory to a drastic shift in play in the second half. While the result wasn’t what the Mules wanted, “the whole game was really good field hockey,” said midfielder Gerrity.
During the week leading up to the match, Colby practiced a new defense to use against the 13th-ranked Middlebury attack, and it showed. Last year’s competition against Middlebury ended in a 7-0 loss for the Mules while this year the Panthers barely managed a one-goal win. Gerrity noted, “Last year we didn’t belong on the same field as that team. This year we gave them a run and they got pretty lucky.”
In the first half of play the Mules outshot their opponents 13-5 and had five penalty corners compared to the Panthers’ one. With just under 11 minutes remaining in the half, Heather Quadir ’11 was able to push the ball through in a scramble in front of the net, earning her fourth goal of the season. The Mules continued to outplay the Panthers and finished the first half leading 1-0.
During halftime, Middlebury made major adjustments in offensive strategy and coverage, limiting Colby’s options in the middle of the field. The second half marked a turnaround in scoring opportunities in which Middlebury outshot Colby 14-4 and had a 7-2 advantage in penalty corners. 1:10 into the second half, the Panthers converted on a loose ball in front of the Mules’ net to tie the score. The second goal for the Panthers came from a corner and proved to be the game-winning tally with 11:11 left to play. Colby goalkeeper Liz Fontaine ’11 had another impressive game for the Mules with eight saves in the second half and eleven in the game. The Mules move to 3-4 overall and 0-4 in the NESCAC, losing three of their league games by only one goal.
The Mules will travel to St. Joseph’s for a game on Wednesday night and will play host to the Tufts Jumbos on Saturday.