During the 2010-11 academic year, a lot was made of how Colby didn’t have any victories over Bowdoin in any sport until an overtime victory in men’s lacrosse during the spring.

So when Colby men’s soccer defeated Bowdoin 2-0 on Saturday — on the road, no less — it was a pretty sweet win for the Mules, especially after Bowdoin’s 4-0 victory over Colby last fall.

Additional Photos

Thomas College’s Michael Hand, center, battles for the ball with Colby’s Cory Hendrickson, left, and Andrew Meisel during the Elm City Bowl on Tuesday in Waterville. Meisel scored with 1 minutes, 51 seconds left in the first overtime to lift the Mules to a 1-0 win. Staff photo by David Leaming

“They spanked us last year,” Colby coach Mark Serdjenian said.

Serdjenian said that game probably was Colby’s best performance of the season.

“We brought a great spirit to the game,” he said. “Everyone who stepped on the field did well, and we were relentless.”

Colby followed up the Bowdoin victory with a 1-0 overtime win over Thomas on Tuesday to take the Elm City Bowl. The Mules now stand at 6-4.

“I like the way we’re playing, but there was a big ‘but’ that was coming after that in several games — which was, ‘but we’re not scoring goals,’ ” Serdjenian said. “It was really good to put it all together in a big game like (Bowdoin).”

Serdjenian, Colby’s coach since 1976, said he usually had two or three freshmen who come in and contribute during their first season. This year, he has four: midfielders Jon Stronach, Andrew Woonton and Keith Chernin and forward Charlie Dupee. Two other freshmen also are seeing action, as Noah Randall has played seven games in the backfield and Peter Quayle has played four games in goal.

“We do have times where we have four or five freshmen on the field,” Serdjenian said.
Colby closes out its schedule with New England Small College Athletic Conference games against Amherst, Hamilton, Williams and Bates. Eight of the 11 teams qualify for the NESCAC playoffs.

“But the bad news is, everyone is pretty good,” Serdjenian said. “We need a couple more NESCAC wins to solidify our position in the tournament. They’re all going to be battles.”

•••

Thomas men’s soccer didn’t have its goalkeeper for that game against Colby, but it was hard to blame him for that. Mikkail Crockwell, who has a 0.97 goals-against average, was picked to be on the Bermuda national team’s roster when Bermuda faced Guyana in a FIFA World Cup Qualifier on Tuesday night.

“I got the call after our game on Saturday from the Bermuda national team coach,” Thomas coach Chris Parsons said. “(Mikkail) was really excited about the opportunity.”

Parsons said Crockwell should be back in plenty of time for the Terriers’ next game, which is Sunday at home against UMaine-Presque Isle. The Terriers are 7-5, but they have had a bit of an up-and-down season. Thomas won three straight, lost four out of five, and then won three straight before Tuesday’s loss to Colby.

Part of the second wave of wins came from getting defender Paul Rechichi back from an injury and adding a second forward to the alignment. The new forward is freshman Dakota Duplissie, a Maranacook graduate.

“When we switched to two forwards, it really encompassed the way that he plays,” Parsons said.
Another part of the roller coaster nature, Parsons said, came from early overconfidence on the part of the Terriers, who won the North Atlantic Conference title last year.

“We went from being overconfident to really being put in our place,” Parsons said. “The team was more realistic after a couple of losses. I think, now, we’re in a good place.”

Thomas’ third win in a row was a 3-1 victory over NAC rival Castleton State on Sunday. It was the first time Castleton had lost a regular season NAC game since 2009, when the Spartans lost to UMaine-Farmington. UMF’s coach at the time? The same Chris Parsons.

Matt DiFilippo — 861-9243
mdifilippo@centralmaine.com

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