Volleyball
The women seem to be back on track. After going through a tough skid at the end of September and into October in which they went 2-5, the Camels have gone 4-1 since October 7. More importantly, three of those wins came against NESCAC rivals Wesleyan, Trinity and Middlebury, who until Conn pulled out a tight 3-2 victory on Saturday had been undefeated. That leaves no NESCAC team undefeated this season, making the conference tournament in November look like even more of a toss-up.
The lone loss from last weekend came against Amherst in a fairly controversial situation. The way NESCAC volleyball works is that a few teams travel to another school at once, all playing each other over the weekend at that one school. This past weekend Conn, Trinity, Wesleyan, Middlebury and Amherst all played at Amherst (Conn played Middlebury and the hosts). After Conn battled back to beat Middlebury in five grueling games 23-25, 23-25, 25-23, 25-23 and 15-10, the Camels only had twenty minutes to rest before taking on Amherst. The Lord Jeffs, on the other hand, had played much earlier in the day, allowing them to rest for over an hour. Although the Camels managed to win one game, it would be a little much to expect them to win the match under such conditions.
Despite the sketchy nature of the loss, the Camels are in no way disappointed with the weekend. The win against Middlebury was huge, proving once again that Conn is one of the elite teams in the conference. With only two NESCAC matches remaining against Bates and Colby (one conference win combined this season), the Camels should head into the tournament on a roll. And that’s never a bad thing.
Field Hockey
The Camels have fallen into a four game losing streak after starting the season 5-1. With losses to Bowdoin, Trinity and Tufts already this month, the Camels fell once again to Middlebury on Saturday. Conn is now 5-5 on the season, but 2-5 in the NESCAC conference.
The losses, however, have come at an exciting time for the field hockey program. On October 9, senior captain Abby Hine became the college’s all-time leading scorer with a goal against Trinity. The score earned Hine the 91st and 92nd points of her career, passing three-time All-American Emily Huffman ’04 who finished her time at Conn with 90 career points. Hine has 36 goals and 20 assists in her college career.
Men’s Soccer
The soccer team lost to Middlebury 1-0 over Fall Weekend in front of hundreds of home fans. The loss is the Camels’ fourth conference loss in a row after they began the season with a win against Bates and a tie against Williams.
The Camels have struggled to create offense aside from their star forward Trevor Prophet ’11. As of October 11, Prophet led the NESCAC in goals (8), points (18), goals per game (1.00) and points per game (2.25). He also leads the Camels in assists (3). Although Prophet has gotten some help from junior Oscar Brown, who has three goals on the season, the Camels’ offense is essentially stagnant without Prophet involved. To start winning in the conference, Conn will need to find ways to get more players included on the offensive stat sheet. Although Prophet will inevitably carry the majority of the Camels’ attacking load, it is unclear whether Conn can win consistently in the NESCAC while being completely dependent on him for their offense.
Women’s Soccer
Since their 3-1 loss to Bowdoin on October 2, the women’s side has gone 2-0-2, lifting their record to 4-3-3. Conn beat Rhode Island College 3-1 and Mt. Holyoke 2-1. The Camels still have not managed to win in conference this season, but Conn has tied three times (against Amherst, Trinity and Middlebury this past weekend). Although the women are consistently playing well enough to win, they have yet to secure a NESCAC victory. Considering their three ties have come against three of the better teams in the conference, a win may be just around the corner.
After taking on second place Tufts on Wednesday, the Camels will travel to last place Colby over the weekend.
Rugby
The Camels are heading to the playoffs. After falling in their first game of the season, Conn has not lost since, finishing 4-1 and in second place in their division. On Sunday, the Camels solidified their playoff birth with a 32-12 victory against Framingham State. Both squads had come into the match with 3-1 records, making the win that much more crucial for Conn’s playoff hopes.
In the first round of the tournament, Conn will take on the first place team from another conference in their division. With four conferences within the division, each conference sends its top two teams to the tournament where they face off in a classic playoff bracket. The two teams that make the finals will be promoted to Division 3 next season. Conn has made the playoffs twice before, but has lost in the first round both times.
