Connecticut College Sports Roundup

Connecticut College took on Colby College in several games on Saturday, and competed in a variety of invitationals as well. The following information was provided by William Tomasian, sports information director at Connecticut College:

Men's Soccer: Conn College 2, Colby 1

Kevin O'Brien (Wellesley, Mass.) scored two goals in his first collegiate game as the Connecticut College men's soccer team pulled away for a 2-0 win over Colby College in the New England Small College Athletic Conference opener for both teams Saturday.

O'Brien scored the eventual game-winning goal at 68:40 when junior back Winslow Murdoch (Croseyville, N.Y.) pushed a ball through to him. O'Brien added the insurance goal just 2:23 later at 71:03, this time off an assist from sophomore Billy Hawkey (Pennington, N.J.).

Casey Marini (Hampden, Mass.) earned the shutout for the Camels and was credited with no saves on Colby's nine shots. Ben Joslin (Chicago, Ill.) stopped six shots for the Mules.

Women's Soccer: Colby 1, Conn College 0

Nikki Pickering (Keene, N.H.) scored one of the biggest goals of her career at Colby College and first-year goalkeeper Emily Brook (Duxbury, Mass.) had a shutout in her first collegiate game as the Mules took a 1-0 win over Connecticut College in New England Small College Athletic Conference play Saturday. The Mules open the year at 1-0 overall and 1-0 in the conference, while the Camels fall to 0-1.

Pickering scored with just 6:40 left in the game when Lowitt managed to make a save on a shot from the left side by Colby's Alex Yorke (Chicago, Illl.). The ball came to Pickering in front of the goal and she calmly scored the game winner. On the other end of the field, Brook stopped six shots in her debut.

Colby defenders Kate Pistel (Amherst, Mass.) and Emily Moos (Wayzata, Minn.) were in their first games in back after playing midfield positions in previous years. With limited numbers on defense, the two made the switch to join regular backs Kat McCarrick (Wellesley, Mass.) and Grace Dickinson (Northfield, Ill.). Lowitt finished with four saves for the Camels.

Men's Cross Country

Michael Joyce (Wallingford, Conn.) finished 16th with a time of 17:23 on the 5k course at Wickham Park to lead the Connecticut College men's cross country team to a sixth place finish in the Trinity College Invitational Saturday.

The Camels scored 128 points, finishing just one point behind American International and Trinity who scored 127 points each in a fourth place tie.

The University of Hartford scored 46 points to win the invitational. Adelphi University was the runner up with 58 points) and the University of Rhode Island scored 104 points to finish third.

Connecticut College's top three runners Saturday were all members of the Class of 2015.

Patrick Dermody (Erieville, N.Y.) posted a time of 17:23 to place 21st in the field of 92 competitors. William Barnes (New York, N.Y.) was 22nd overall with a time of 17:39. Andrew Majkut (Upton, Mass.) completed the course in 18:11 to place 32nd in the field.

Senior Brenner Green (Lisbon, Conn.) checked in with a 37th place finish in 18:19. Aaron Davis (New London, Conn.) was 38th in 18:23 and junior Matt Boudreau (Bridgewater, Mass.) rounded out the top seven, posting a time of 18:47 in a 42nd place showing for the Camels.

Women's Cross Country

Connecticut College senior Ally Bonito (Guilford, Conn.) posted a time of 18:07 en route to a 12th place finish on the 4k course in the Trinity College Invitational that was held at Wickham Park Saturday.

The Camels placed fifth in the seven team field, outlasting Manhattanville and Mitchell College with a score of 85 points. The Hartford Hawks topped the seven team field with a winning score of 47 points.

Senior Kerry Dermody (Erieville, N.Y.) finished 14th in the field of 77 competitors with a time of 18:10. Junior Michelle Wesley (Millwood, N.Y.) chipped in with a time of 18:39 in an 18th place showing for the Camels. Libby Maret (Sandy Hook, Conn.) started the season strong by placing 19th in 18:43.

Senior Lianne Swanson (Franklin, Mass.) posted a time of 18:46 as the fifth Camel scorer in 22nd place. Anne Kearney (Westbrook, Conn.) placed 32nd with a time of 19:08 and first year runner Nicky Jasbon (Greenacres, Fla.) posted a time of 19:16 in a 35th place finish for Connecticut College.

The Camels will return to action next Saturday to compete in the UMass-Dartmouth Invitational in North Dartmouth, Mass.

Field Hockey: Conn College 3, Colby 2

Laura Sanderson (Hanover, N.H.) scored off a wild scramble in front of the net after a penalty corner with no time left as Connecticut College pulled out a 3-2 win over Colby College in New England Small College Athletic Conference play Saturday at Bill Alfond Field.

Connecticut College (2-0) had a big advantage in shots (24-11) and penalty corners (14-5) in the game. The game appeared to be headed to overtime until the Camels secured their 14th corner.

Colby goaltender Michelle Burt (Woodbridge, Conn.) made two fine stops on shots by Paige Murray (Andover, Mass.) and Kelsey Nickerson (Weston, Mass.) before Sanderson finally pushed home the game-winning shot.

The Camels had a fine start to the game, taking the first 10 shots of the game and going ahead 1-0 on a goal by Brittany Fitzgerald (Ridgefield, Conn.) with 14:50 left to halftime. Kat Barker (Dedham, Mass.) had the assist.

Colby's first shot of the game was 39 seconds after the Camel goal and the Mules made it count when Courtney Erskine (Turner, Maine) scored unassisted.

Despite a 14-5 lead in shots and a 9-2 edge in penalty corners at halftime, the Camels went into intermission down 2-1. Sarah Falkof (Wilmette, Ill.) tallied off a penalty stroke with 9:40 left to halftime to put Colby up for the first time.

The Camels scored off a penalty corner about seven minutes into the second half off a blast by Murray (Andover, Mass.). Liz Rosenfeld (Leola, Pa.) had the assist.

Becca Napolitano (Hamden, Conn.) had three saves for the Camels, while Burton stopped six shots.

Women's Volleyball

Connecticut College posted a 3-1 record to finish third in the seven team Johnson & Wales University Invitational Tournament this weekend. Senior outside hitter Amy Newman buried the 1000th kill of her career and was honored on the All-Tournament team for the Camels.

The Camels earned a 3-0 victory against Wheaton College in their opening match of the weekend. Game scores were 25-14, 25-21 and 25-17. Newman tallied 10 kills and seven digs in the triumph. Junior setter Katie Ketcham (San Francisco, Calif.) dished out 29 assists to go with six digs for the winning side.

Saturday morning, the Camels dropped a 3-0 decision to the champions of the JWU Invitational, Springfield. The Pride posted 25-17, 25-12 and 25-18 wins. Junior Rachel Schroff (Palos Verdes, Calif.) had four kills and four service aces. Ketcham doled out 10 assists in the setback.

Later on in the afternoon, the Camels grounded the Owls of Keene State College in a 3-0 blanking. Game scores were 25-21, 25-16 and 25-10. Newman buried 14 kills, including the 1000th of her career while Ketcham added 34 set assists.

The Camels closed out the weekend's action with a 3-0 victory against Johnson & Wales University. Game scores were 25-15, 25-17 and 25-21. Newman finished with 12 kills and a pair of aces while Ketcham accounted for 29 helpers and six digs.

The Camels will play their fifth consecutive contest in the Ocean State Tuesday night when they visit Roger Williams University for a 7:00 p.m. match in Bristol, R.I.