WATERVILLE -- Entering this season, the Colby College women's soccer team hadn't had a winning season since 2012, and hadn't won 10 or more games since 1995.
The Mules reached both of those milestones this season, taking a 13-4-3 record into the third round of the NCAA Division III tournament. Colby faces Washington University, the runner-up in 2023, at noon Saturday in St. Louis. This is the best season in team history, and the furthest the Mules have advanced in the tournament.
NCAA Division III WOMEN'S SOCCER TOURNAMENT
SWEET 16
COLBY (13-4-3) vs. WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY (19-0-2)
When: Noon, Saturday
Where: Francis Olympic Field, St. Louis, Missouri
So what changed? In a word, belief.
"The belief that we have this season is something I don't think we've had the past two years that I've been here," said junior goalkeeper and captain MK Marshall. "We truly believe that we can do something special and we bring that into every game. I think that stems from the team culture we have. We trust each other so much."
Added junior forward and captain Sophie DiGrande: "Honestly, we just switched our mentality this year, from being the underdog in every game, to coming out on the front foot. We've set much higher standards for ourselves, and we have stuck to those standards. In the past, (the goal was), 'Win a few (New England Small College Athletic Conference) games here and there.' But every game is a chance to win now and extend our season."
Part of that belief stemmed from first-year coach Seth Benjamin. Hired in April, Benjamin came to Colby - which had a record of 5-6-4 last season - from the University of Southern Maine, where he led the Huskies to a 67-25-9 record from 2018-2023, including Little East Conference titles in 2022 and 2023, and the first two DIII tournament berths in program history.
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Benjamin was inheriting a young roster, with just three seniors and eight juniors, but he saw potential.
"(Belief) was an easy thing for us to instill," Benjamin said. "We just decided that we were going to speak it into existence. We were going to talk about believing and talk about how good we were as a team all the time. They've embraced that, so it's on them, and they've achieved that because they started talking about it and started believing in themselves."
Colby's success was almost immediate. The Mules matched their 2023 win total in their first six matches, and reached eight wins by early October. Offensively, the Mules have scored 49 goals (2.45 goals per game). Sophomore forward Abigail Jarvi leads the team with 11 goals, followed by freshman forward Catherine Watrous (7), DiGrande (6) and sophomore midfielder Madison Genser (6).
"Along with our technical ability, we have speed, we have grit, good passing and good shooting," DiGrande said. "The quality of our touches has been better. We've been more purposeful with every play on the field, which has turned into more goal-scoring opportunities, and we have been capitalizing on those."
Defensively, the Mules have allowed 16 goals (0.8 per game), with Marshall earning six shutouts. Backup Talia Thompson, a sophomore, has three shutouts in five appearances. The Mules have been nearly perfect in the DIII tournament so far, picking up a 1-0 win over Claremont-Mudd-Scripps College in the first round and beating Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2-0, in the second round.
"We've been knocking on the door (against top teams in the past), and now we're opening them," Marshall said. "All season, (Benjamin) has talked about having a chip on our shoulder. 'Nobody expects us to be good, so let's prove them wrong.' But these past few games, he's been, 'No, let's prove to ourselves what we can do.' That was the shift in mindset that we needed. We're worthy of being here, we deserved it because we earned it."
Colby will face its biggest challenge of the year in Washington University (19-0-2), which lost 1-0 to California Lutheran University in the national championship game last season. Freshman forward Olivia Clemons leads the Bears with 19 goals, followed by junior midfielder Grace Ehlert, who has 13 goals. The game will also be played at Francis Olympic Field, Washington's home turf.
"(The pregame message is) just do the same thing we've been doing," Benjamin said. "Play with joy, play with excitement, playing with excitement in these games. We're seeing it as an opportunity to extend our season, which means we get to keep hanging out with each other. We get to keep practicing with each other, we get to keep taking trips with each other. They've embraced that... If they just go out and play the way they know how, you're going to be successful against anyone."
"(Washington University) has all the pressure," Marshall added. "We can dictate how we go in, based on our intensity and our mindset... Who knows when we'll ever be here again, let's show them what we can do."
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Volleyball: Colby carries swagger entering NCAA Division III tournament