Coming off a seven-day resting period after their loss to Bowdoin, the Middlebury women’s soccer team collected the win against Colby College in an away game in Waterville, Maine on Saturday, Sept. 27. The Panthers broke the ice 29:48 minutes into the first half when midfielder Hannah Robinson ’16 scored unassisted. Despite solid attempts from both contenders during the rest of the game, the score would remain 1-0 in favor of Middlebury through the final whistle.
Once again, Middlebury dominated the offensive game, outshooting the White Mules 11-4 in the first half, and 10-3 in the second half. Of Middlebury’s 21 shots, 12 were on goal, while only two of Colby’s seven shots fell on target. Despite a smattering of losses for the Panthers this season, the team has managed to match or outshoot their opponents in every contest.
Both teams continued to pressure each other throughout the second half. Middlebury’s Jamie Soroka ’16 was denied by a diving save from Colby’s goalkeeper with five minutes left in the game. Middlebury goalie Emily Eslinger ’18 came up big in her first career start, robbing Colby’s Emma Marjollet of a goal after she made a diving save on Marjollet’s direct shot 26 minutes into the second half. Despite the loss, Colby’s goalie Emily Brook also had a stellar day in net, saving 11 of Middlebury’s 12 shots on goal.
Panther players Claire Nishioka ’15, Molly Parizeau ’15, Robinson, Katherine Hobbs ’17, Krystina Reynolds ’17 and Soroka all tallied three shots on the day. Adrianna Gildner ’17 added two shots to round out the Middlebury offensive effort. Colby’s Marjollet led the White Mules in shooting with two shots.
Middlebury and Colby each had six corner kicks in the contest. Middlebury’s Sophie Kligler ’15 was given a yellow card with nine minutes remaining in the game. Despite the yellow card against the Panthers, the team finished strong, rounding out the second half with their lead intact.
On how this game affects the team’s momentum, Carter Talgo ’15 noted, “We feel as though this win over Colby will help move us to an upswing. It shows a significant amount about our character that we pushed ourselves to persevere through a couple of setbacks in previous games. We made a few changes, went back to our old formation and we should see progress from here.”
Middlebury now sits 4-3 overall and 1-3 in the NESCAC, while Colby sits 2-4-1 overall and 0-3-1 in the NESCAC. Middlebury will move on to play Skidmore in a midweek, under-the-lights away game at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, followed by a home game against Tufts on Saturday at 1:30 p.m.
Talgo commented on the team’s prospects against Skidmore.
“Skidmore is a great team so we’ll have to rise to the occasion if we want to achieve the season we set our sights on in August,” she said.
Meanwhile, Colby will move on to play University of Maine-Farmington on Tuesday followed by Wesleyan on Saturday.
