The women’s soccer team dropped a close match to the nationally-ranked Williams College squad this past Saturday, Oct. 22, in Williamstown, Mass. Although the Mules led the match heading into the second half of play, the Ephs were able to rebound with two goals to win the game by a tally of 2-1. This tough loss brought the Mules’ record to 6-6-1 overall and 2-6-1 in the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) with one game—against Bates College—remaining in the regular season schedule.

Throughout the match against Williams, Colby’s defense, and goalkeeper Emily Brook ’15, kept the Mules alive despite the Ephs’ 19-5 shot advantage. The Mules’ offense played solidly as well, and four minutes and 30 seconds into the second half, Colby recorded the first goal of the match. Following a corner kick from Grace Dickinson ’14 and a scramble in front of the net, Kate Laxson ’13 capitalized off of a deflection from the Ephs’ goalkeeper Laura Wann to tally a point.

Unfortunately, the Ephs refused to go down without a fight, and Williams evened the score with a diving header goal from Brett Eisenhart and an assist from Allison Magruder. Then, with 10 minutes remaining, Williams put the game away with a final goal from Lilly Wellenbach off of a through-ball from Nicole Stenquist.

Although the Mules lost the game, the strength the women displayed against Williams demonstrates their ability to compete at a high level. Aiming for a win against Bates in the last regular season matchup on Wednesday, Oct. 26, the women look to finish out their season on a high note and hope to secure a spot in the NESCAC playoffs.