The Colby men’s soccer team came out with a 2-1-1 record after games against Bowdoin College, Thomas College, Amherst College and Hamilton College, chronologically. The wins came against Bowdoin and Thomas, the tie against Hamilton and the loss to Amherst. The successful fortnight ran Colby’s overall record to 6-5-1 and its New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) record to 2-5-1.

The 2-0 win against Bowdoin was a long-awaited victory against a NESCAC opponent, marking the Mules’ first in nearly a month. After almost 80 minutes of scoreless play, junior forward Nick Aubin ripped a shot to the lower right corner of the net on a long crossing pass from midfielder Andrew Meisel ’13. The tally was Aubin’s 10th career goal for the Mules. Colby wasted no time in adding an insurance goal to secure the victory, as Meisel assisted on yet another goal, this time centering the ball to the feet of senior midfielder Eric Barthold, who put in the second goal in the 84th minute of play. Meisel’s stellar play in this game earned him NESCAC player of the week honors, and his excellence continued into Colby’s next game.

Colby’s annual match against Thomas, named the Elm City bowl in reference to the nickname of the city of Waterville, ended in a gritty 1-0 overtime victory for the Mules. Colby was especially determined to take home the win after losing to the Terriers last season for the first time in 17 years. Regulation was a defensive battle highlighted by the play of both teams’ goalkeepers (Ben Joslin ’11 for Colby and Shaquille Trott ’11 for Thomas). The teams recorded a combined 38 shots on goal. The first and only goal came courtesy of some last minute heroics from Meisel, who netted a goal via a header from Noah Randall ’15 in the second-to-last minute to secure victory.

The next two games didn’t go quite as smoothly for the Mules. Saturday brought a matchup with an Amherst squad that is not only a NESCAC powerhouse­—the Lord Jeffs are in first place at 6-0-1, but also a national contender; Amherst is 10-0-1 overall and ranked fourth in the country. The first half brought success for Colby, as the Mules were able to keep up with Amherst and fight to a 0-0 tie. The second half was a very different contest, as the Lord Jeffs buried three unanswered goals to deliver Colby its fourth conference loss. Amherst’s first goal, which came in the 51st minute of the foot of Max Fikke, broke Joslin’s impressive shutout streak of 348 minutes and 32 seconds.

Sunday brought more NESCAC frustration for Colby, as the Mules fought hard to tie the game against Hamilton but couldn’t crack the Camels’ defense and register a victory. Things looked bleak for Colby when Hamilton’s Hennie Bosman scored in the 77th minute to put his team up 1-0. However, Colby came back to tie it in the 86th minute thanks to more clutch play from Meisel, whose corner kick was headed by junior defender Nick Nowak past Hamilton keeper Eric Boole. In overtime, both teams had plenty of scoring opportunities, but the defenses held firm, and the two teams played to a 1-1 draw.

Colby’s final two games of the season are this week at Williams and at home against Bates as the Mules attempt to make the NESCAC playoffs.