Beyond winning games, the mark of a great team is being able to bounce back quickly. The Colby women’s lacrosse team demonstrated that they can do just that when they defeated Wesleyan University after suffering a tough loss at the hands of Trinity College.

Colby, then ranked seventh in the nation, was matched up against the fifth-ranked Trinity on Friday. The Mules fell behind 6-2 early, but fought back into the game with two goals before the half. Lindsey McKenna ’14 added her second goal of the game to start the second half to bring the Mules within one, but the women were unable to close the gap.

Colby continuously fought back but couldn’t quite even it up. Down 6-5, the Mules gave up two quick goals to fall back three goals again. Colby showed its resiliency by scoring twice in a matter of minutes through Kate Pistel ’13 and McKenna. When Trinity scored two more times in the following two minutes, the Mules were able to come back once more. Pistel added her third goal of the game, and McKenna scored her fourth with only nine minutes left in the game to make the score 10-9. However, when Trinity scored again it proved to be one comeback too many. Colby was never out of the game, but ultimately fell short.

Following their first loss of the season, the Mules would need to bounce back quickly to stay on Trinity’s heals in the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) standings. They did just that by traveling to Wesleyan and coming home with a 12-9 win. The win did not come easy, however, as Colby had difficulty getting into the game. They trailed 3-1 early, but fought back to trail 4-3 before finally exploding offensively. Lucy Gerrity ’13 scored to give the Mules a 6-4 lead before McKenna continued her great weekend by scoring three consecutive goals to increase the lead to 9-5. Wesleyan attempted a comeback by scoring twice, but tri-captain Claire Donegan ’12 scored twice to put the game out of reach. Hilary Barr ’13 clinched the game with a final goal with under four minutes to go for the 12-9 win. Claire Dickson ’15 continued her outstanding first season by improving to 4-0 behind nine saves.

Despite the tough loss to Trinity, this remains an outstanding opening to a season for Colby. Colby currently stands at 9-1 overall and 5-1 in New England Small College Althletic Conference (NESCAC) play. Reigning NESCAC Rookie of the Year McKenna is fifth in the NESCAC with 25 goals, and All-American Pistel has been superb. Colby has four games left in the season, all against NESCAC opponents, and hopes to continue the hot streak going into the NESCAC playoffs. If Friday’s game was any indication, a rematch of last year’s championship game against Trinity could be in the cards.

The Mules will host Williams College this Saturday, April 14 at noon.