WATERVILLE, Maine --- The Colby College soccer programs have mirrored each other in many ways over the past few weeks as each made the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) playoffs.
 
The seventh-seeded Colby women will play at second-seeded Middlebury College in a league quarterfinal game Saturday at noon. Meanwhile, the eighth-seeded Colby men visit top-seeded Amherst College for a 2:30 p.m. quarterfinal game Saturday. The men's game will be Webcast at https://www.amherst.edu/athletics/jeffcast/jeffcast2, but the women's game will not be Webcast by Middlebury.
 
The two Colby teams each finished the regular season with 7-6-1 overall records, 3-6-1 league marks, and each team went 4-0 in non-conference play. Even the home and away records were nearly identical. The Colby women went 5-2 at home and the men were 4-3-1, while the women were 2-4-1 on the road and the men were slightly better at 3-3.
 
The other similarity was Wednesday's big wins over Bates College. Each Colby team needed a victory to make the conference playoffs.
 
Here's a look at each quarterfinal game:
 
WOMEN
 
Emily Brook picked up her seventh shutout of the season in goal and Alex Yorke scored the biggest goal of her career at Colby in the Mules' 1-0 win at Bates to clinch the seventh seed in the tournament.
 
Nikki Pickering leads the Mules with four goals and one assist for nine points, while Cami Notaro has three goals. Maddie Tight (2 goals, 1 assist), Kate Laxson (1 goal, team-high 3 assists), and Yorke (1 goal, 2 assists) are other leading scorers.
 
Colby's defense of Emily Moos, Grace Dickinson, Kat McCarrick, and Kate Pistel has allowed just two goals in the past three games. The Mules have 1-0 league shutout wins against Hamilton and Bates. The other game was a tough 2-1 setback at Williams.
 
Brook has played every minute in net for the Mules and owns a 1.47 goals against average and an .807 save percentage.
 
Middlebury (10-3-1 overall, 7-2-1 NESCAC), ranked fourth in New England, took a 4-0 home win over the Mules in the third game of the season for Colby. The Panthers dropped back-to-back 1-0 games to Rensselaer and Hamilton, but have run off four straight 1-0 wins over Skidmore, Trinity, Bates, and Williams. Middlebury has allowed just five goals in its last eight games.
 
Scarlett Kirk leads the Panther offense with 11 goals and four game-winning scores. Amy Schlueter (5 goals, 1 assist) and Rachel Madding (4 goals, 2 assists) are other top scorers.
 
Jocelyn Remmert plays in goal for Middlebury and owns a 0.82 goals against average and an .855 save percentage. The Panthers are 6-1 on their home field.
 
2011 WOMEN’S SOCCER CHAMPIONSHIP
Saturday, October 29
at Higher Seeds
Quarterfinal Games
No. 8 Bowdoin at No. 1 Amherst – 2:00 pm
No. 7 Colby at No. 2 Middlebury – 12:00 pm
No. 6 Hamilton at No. 3 Williams – 11:00 am
No. 5 Wesleyan at No. 4 Tufts - 12:00 pm
 
Saturday, November 5
at Highest Remaining Seed
Semifinals
Games at 11:00 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. Highest remaining seed vs. lowest remaining seedRemaining first round winners
 
Sunday, November 6
Final – 12:00 pm
Semifinal winners
 
MEN
 
Colby advanced to the league playoffs for a third straight year after Wednesday's thrilling 3-2 win over Bates in a game where all the scoring happened in the second half.
 
The Mules also have played well over the past three games, earning a 1-1 tie against Hamilton in a league game and losing a tough 1-0 match at Williams. The Mules are 3-3 in road games this season and 2-3 in conference play away from home.
 
Eric Barthold leads the Mules in scoring with five goals and one assist for 11 points. He has the five scores on just 18 shots for a solid .278 shot percentage. Meanwhile, junior midfielder Andrew Meisel has a team-best four assists along with three goals for 10 points. Nick Aubin (2 goals, 3 assists) and Jon Stronach (2 goals, 2 assists are other leading scorers.
 
Colby's defense of Matt Boyes-Watson, Cory Hendrickson, Nick Nowak, and Jonathan Sommer will have to be stingy against a team with four players at 11 points or better. Ben Joslin has a 1.09 goals against average.
 
Amherst (11-1-2 overall, 7-1-2 NESCAC), ranked fifth nationally and first in New England, was 11-0-1 before last Saturday. However, the Lord Jeffs settled for a 0-0 home tie with Wesleyan and then fell 3-2 at home to Connecticut College.
 
Amherst, which has allowed just two goals in the first half of games this season, has key scorers in Spencer Noon (9 goals, 3 assists), Jae Heo (7 goals, 3 assists), Alejandro Sucre (4 goals, 3 assists), and Casey McNamara (4 goals, 3 assists).
 
The Lord Jeffs' defense has given up just 10 goals all season.
 
2011 MEN’S SOCCER CHAMPIONSHIP
Saturday, October 29
at Higher Seeds
Quarterfinal Games
No. 8 Colby at No. 1 Amherst – 2:30 pm
No. 7 Middlebury at No. 2 Wesleyan – 12:30 pm
No. 6 Connecticut College at No. 3 Trinity – 12:30 pm
No. 5 Tufts at No. 4 Williams – 1:30 pm
 
Saturday, November 5
at Highest Remaining Seed
Semifinals – games at 11:00 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.
Highest remaining seed vs. lowest remaining seedRemaining first round winners
 
Sunday, November 6
Final - 12:00 noon
Semifinal winners