Game of the week: Colby men's lacrosse
This past Sunday, Colby Men’s Lacrosse journeyed to Lewiston, Maine to face off against their longtime rival, the Bates Bobcats. Following a high-scoring, back-against-the-wall game, the Colby Mules came away with a striking 17-10 victory over Bates, their first win against the Bobcats since 2014. To top it off, two first-years, face-off specialist Rafa Bru `24 and midfielder Noah Brooks `24, scored the first goals of their college lacrosse careers.
The game began with a bit of a rocky start, with the Bobcats putting away two goals in the first couple minutes. However, this didn’t kill the spirit of the Mules — far from it in fact. Junior midfielder Noah Froio `22 scored the first goal of the game for Colby, following a flurry of goals from both sides. Using their superb ball movement and careful trigger fingers on offense, the Mules were able to keep pace with the Bobcats, ending the half just one point behind Bates (6-7).
Heading into the second half, the Mules realized they had to up the ante in their gameplay and start giving the Bates Bobcats the works. Colby scored three goals right off the bat, giving them energy and motivation to continue to put pressure on Bates.
Unfortunately, the Bobcats weren’t ready to back down just yet and put away two more goals to tie the game 9-9 as the third quarter wrapped up. After another goal from Froio, Colby was able to bury 7 shots in the net, unanswered by Bates for the entirety of the run. Although Bates was able to score one more goal to bring their final score to 10, this was not nearly enough to counter the onslaught of goals the Mules scored in the second half and Colby was able to achieve a 17-10 victory.
Various factors allowed the Colby Mules to prevail over the Bates Bobcats during Sunday’s game. Among these were first-year Bru’s domination in the face-off; Bru won 23 out of 31 face-offs, giving the Mules crucial momentum following each goal scored. Additionally, junior midfielder Jack Rickards `22 put away six goals, showing impressive heart and dexterity on the field. Rickards went on to receive this week’s NESCAC player of the week award. Sophomore midfielder Matt Savage `23 remarked, “our goalie, Matt Rocha `23, stepped up big time—he had ten saves in the game. Our defensive midfielders, Brooks and Aidan McCleary `21, both scored three goals combined and our clearing was a lot better.” On general takeaways from Sunday’s match, Savage also noted that “it built up a lot of the younger guys’ confidence; we’re just trying to build back up for our game against Tufts in two weeks.”
The Colby Echo congratulates Colby Men’s Lacrosse on their enormous victory against Bates on Sunday—the Mules are slated to play Connecticut College at home this Saturday, April 24. Members of the Colby community are permitted to attend the game as long as masks are worn and social distancing is maintained.
~ Will Korsh `23
