This week, the Colby men's soccer team found their scoring touch and nearly pulled off a tie with the top-ranked team in New England. Colby earned a decisive 6-2 victory over Husson and fell 2-1 in overtime to powerhouse Williams. Colby stands at 3-2-0 overall and 1-2-0 in New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) play.
The midweek game against Husson went well for the Mules, who tripled their season goal count in just one game. Co-captain Benjamin Desmond '11 started off the scoring for the Mules in the 15th minute with a header that found its way into the net by way of a Husson defender.
Less than two minutes later, Petey Randall '12 made an impressive pass to Nick Aubin '13, who creamed the ball by the Eagle goalie to put the Mules up 2-0. Nate Tolman '14 scored the first of his two goals on the day with just under two minutes to play in the first half. Andrew Meisel '13 found Tolman with one of his team high three assists on the day.
In the second half, Colby netted three more goals, but also let up two. The Eagles scored after a series of clean, crisp passes to pull within two in the 65th minute.
The Mules responded right away when Matias Rodlauer '14 scored off of a pass by Donny MacMaster '13. Ten minutes later, the Eagles found the net and Colby responded again within two minutes. After trading goals, Colby extended their lead to 6-2 on a Chris Roccotagliata '14 goal.
Juniors John Gardner and Ben Joslin split time in net. Gardner held the Eagles scoreless in his 56 minutes wearing the gloves.
Overall, Colby vastly outshot Husson, 35-11, and was pleased to find their finishing touch with a tough game against Williams on the horizon.
The Ephs entered Saturday's game ranked first in New England and fourth in the nation. Colby played extremely well, and the defense worked well together. Although Colby was outshot 30-5, the defense only forced Gardner to make eight saves.
The goals were concentrated at the end of the game. Williams tallied the first goal of the game with only nine and a half minutes to play. Not discouraged, the Mules fought back and responded with a goal via Desmond five minutes later, sending the game into overtime.
Williams converted in the 98th minute of play off of a corner kick. Sophomore defender Matt Ratajczak had the winning header for the Ephs.
The Mules have a game Wednesday away against the University of Southern Maine. The weekend game will be another huge NESCAC match at home against Middlebury.