Women’s Soccer falls to nationally-ranked Tufts
This past Saturday, Colby Women’s Soccer faced off against Tufts soccer in an action-packed, tough, and physical game. Under thick humidity and a sea of grey clouds, everyone played through the whistle and fought for 50-50 balls.
Although the Mules showed grit and passion in this fight, they were unable to contain the Jumbos’ relentless attack, losing 6-0.
The game started off on the wrong foot for the Mules, who conceded two goals within the first ten minutes. Captain Mannon Frykholm `22 spoke on the early deficit:
“It’s tough going down early like that because we dug ourselves a hole,” which put the team on the backfoot from the get-go, Frykholm said.
These conditions forced the Mules to play aggressively, but left them vulnerable to counterattacks. The Jumbos once again penetrated Colby’s back line and buried their third goal of the half from close range in the 29th minute.
For the rest of the first half, the Mules continued to face an onslaught of shots, but made multiple goal line stops to keep the deficit at only three. Tufts controlled possession for the entirety of play and led attacks through patient, organized ball movement.
Any offensive attempts the Mules threw at Tufts were countered and adjusted for. Colby elected not to make many changes until the half ended.
Coming out of the break, a long halftime speech by Frykholm created a sense of urgency for the Mules and the players came together to make it a priority to work more as one unit unlike their sloppy first half. The Mules honed down on some mistakes and raised the intensity level a few notches.
Specifically, Corrigan Rayhill `24 energized the team with her speed and flashy ball skills. The best chance of the game for the Mules resulted from an impressive move by Rayhill to create space down the right-hand side, to set up her teammate seven yards out from the goal. Her passionate performance was noted by spectators.
However, for the most part, the same defensive miscues continued to plague the Mules. In the 52nd minute, a cross found its way onto a Tufts player’s foot for a shot on target. In the 55th minute, defenders did not react quickly enough to a rebound, leaving goalie Emily McMaster `25 with no chance to stop a tap-in from 5 yards out.
McMaster had a strong outing, in spite of the final score, providing eight quality saves, and maintaining her composure in the loss. In the 62nd minute, she saved a tough shot from in tight, and minutes later she made a highlight-reel save, diving out for a ball heading for the top left corner. Both saves prompted enormous cheers from the crowd who all applauded her determined effort.
The Jumbos continued to pepper the Mules, who were still struggling to maintain consistent possession. McMaster, the only first-year in the starting lineup, made numerous saves and had a strong performance in spite of the final score.
The last goal of the game came in the 70th minute by way of an unlucky bounce off a cross, with the ball finding itself on the foot of a Tufts player who smashed home her third goal of the game.
Despite the score, the Mules played all the way to the final whistle. In the closing minutes, Kaleigh Quinn `25 hit the post from 6 yards out off a great pass from the left hand side, an all-too-familiar script of poor bounces in the team’s play.
After the game, Frykholm reflected on the state of the Mules and areas for improvement for future games.
“We’re definitely a capable team and we know that, [we’re] just focusing on fixing the little things: attacking in numbers and upping our communication,” Frykholm said.
The little things did stack up against the Mules, with small errors leading to large consequences. However, the team is young and their mistakes will be fixed over time. Their maturity and experience will grow as they continue to play and gel together.
~ Eric Holm `25
