With the leaves beginning to turn and temperate late-summer temperatures abating, the Colby women's soccer team looked to keep up its recent hot-streak and stave off the nippy chill of a Maine October. The team came out firing last Wednesday in a 5-0 thrashing of Maine Maritime before falling to Middlebury in a difficult away contest.

Wednesday marked the second consecutive week the women were able to take out their frustrations of a Saturday defeat on a non-conference opponent. The Mules overwhelmed the Lady Mariners right from the start, with Katherine McCarrick '13 bulging the old onion bag from 20-yards out less than two minutes into the game for her first career goal. Nikki Pickering '12 got on the score sheet about 15 minutes later, finishing a cross from Leah Turino '11 for her first goal of the season. Turino again played maestro on the Mules' next goal, this time sending in a cross expertly finished off by Marissa Simmons '12. It was the first career goal for Simmons, and she was joined shortly after in the first time scoring parade by Kate Laxson '13, who slotted home a corner in the box just two minutes from halftime.

With a four goal lead, the result was academic from there. Emily Moos '12 finished the scoring for Colby in the 79th minute, and the Mules coasted to an easy 5-0 victory. The win was the team's second victory of the season, with both victories coming via shutout. Loni Pisani '11 was relatively inactive for the Mules, only being forced to make one save to earn her eighth career shutout.

The journey to Vermont offered another challenge for the Mules. In addition to the intense action of New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) matches, the women were forced to contend with a #5 in New England and #20 nationally ranked Middlebury team who had boosted fan support, as the game coincided with its homecoming weekend. Though Colby hung tough, two first-half goals in a six minute period by the Panthers proved to be too much for the team to overcome, as it ultimately fell by a 3-0 margin. Pisani was her typical self in goal, making 14 saves to help keep the team in the game. The Mules pressed the Middlebury goalkeeper into making three saves herself, showing the improved defensive pressure they have been seeking.

The Mules next travel to Bowdoin College on Wednesday, October 7, for a big mid-week NESCAC clash. In addition to the intensity of this rivalry game, the Polar Bears sit at 2-2 in the conference and are a ripe target for the Mules to take down as they begin to eye potential playoff match-ups.