The women's soccer team battled hard this week and earned two solid results, first crushing the University of Maine at Farmington 6-0 on Wednesday, September 23, then falling to Williams College on Saturday in a closely contested match. The Mules will use the games as positive building blocks going forward, as they have over half of their New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) schedule left to play.

After a tough loss at Wesleyan University the previous weekend, the Mules had revenge on their minds when they traveled to Farmington. Unfortunately for the hapless Beavers, they were in the way of the Mules' potent offensive attack, which broke down their famed Beaver Dam Defense and humbled the home side. Julie Dennison '11 got the scoring parade started just under five minutes into the game, with Leah Turino '11 slotting a ball into the Beaver box toward an onrushing Dennison, who subsequently slammed it home past the hapless goalkeeper. With about a half hour gone by, Sam Merriweather '12 tallied her first collegiate goal off of an assist from midfield play-making specialist Emily Moos '12.

Unfortunately for Farmington, the Mules decided to come out and play the second half, too. As a result, the Mules' scoring blitz only increased when, just over a minute into the half, Turino added her first collegiate goal. Another member was added to the first time goal-scoring posse just before the hour mark, as Katie Palano '12 got into the act off of a feed from co-captain Meg Guay '10. A second Merriweather, this time Alex '12, got her name onto the score sheet with just under seven minutes to play, with Kate Pistel '13 grabbing the assist (and with it her first collegiate point). The final goal would have done Whoopi Goldberg proud, as the sister act of Alex (assisting) and Sam (scoring) Merriweather put the final exclamation point on the absolute drubbing.

The Mules carried the positive momentum of their demolition of Farmington into a Saturday clash with New England #1 and nationally ranked #3 Williams. The Mules hung tough in fighting off constant pressure from the Ephs forwards, but in the end fell 0-3. Colby goalkeeper Loni Pisani '11 was outstanding as usual, making 16 saves to vault her to near the top of the NESCAC leader board. The Mules applied significant pressure on the offensive end, forcing the Williams goalkeeper to make eight saves herself. The 66 minutes Williams went without scoring is their longest such stretch of the season, a testament to the great work of the experienced Colby back line.

The Mules will look to rebound this week as they travel to Castine on Wednesday to take on the Lady Mariners of Maine Maritime. Earlier this year, Maritime fell to Farmington 1-0, so the Mules will hope for a result similar to last week. Things pick up this weekend, when the women will travel to Vermont to take on Middlebury College, who are yet to be defeated in three NESCAC and four total matches this season.