All three local college soccer programs suffered painful outcomes in the NCAA Division III tournament on Saturday.

The Connecticut College men's and women's teams, as well as the Mitchell College men, battled down to the wire in their respective first round games before all dropping tough one-goal decisions.

Coach Norm Riker, who guided the Conn women to their third NCAA appearance in four years, summed up the day:

"Such a bummer," Riker said. "Tough day for the Camels. Great run for Mitchell. Obviously, we're all disappointed. Whaling City didn't get any love today."

Here's a wrap-up of the three games:

Talk about bad luck.

• Conn College (12-4-1) hit the post twice, missed a penalty kick and saw an apparent own goal waived off in a 1-0 loss to Wilkes University (14-3-1), which won its women's program's first NCAA game. The Camels also couldn't capitalize on playing up one player in the final 21 minutes after a Wilkes defender received a red card.

The Camels won a first-round game in their previous two NCAA trips.

"It was just really a tough day," Riker said. "We were upset by a good Wilkes team that hung in there and did what they needed to do and scored a great goal. When those things start to happen — hit the post (twice), have a goal called back — we've been playing long enough to know it was going to be one of those games."

Senior Michelle Medina nearly handed the Camels a 1-0 lead in the first half but her hard shot banged off the far post. They thought they had scored about 11 minutes into the second half when a Wilkes defender's clearance of a loose ball in the goal mouth appeared to go in. Instead, the officials called a corner kick.

Three minutes later, Wilkes senior Micaela Oliverio scored the game-winning goal on a spectacular bicycle kick.

The Camels, who finished with a 15-5 edge in shots, pressed for the tying goal. They were awarded a penalty kick in the 69th minute, but goalie Courtney Stanley perfectly read senior Alex Bukovac's low shot to the corner and made the save. Later, Bukovac's close range blast hit the post.

The game marked the end of a career of nine seniors. The veteran Camels leave behind quite a legacy, becoming the first class to qualify for the NCAA tournament three times.

"They set the bar very high," Riker said. "They have a lot to be proud of. They accomplished an incredible amount in four years."

• Mitchell College did something that no other team has managed to accomplish this season — score against an undefeated St. Joseph's (Maine) team that had shut out all 19 opponents this season.

The Mariners also had a potential game-tying goal negated on an offside call in a 2-1 loss at Tufts University in Medford, Mass. St. Joseph's improved to 19-0-1.

It was a strong showing by the Mariners (9-9-1) in their first NCAA appearance.

"The boys are very, very happy despite the fact we lost," coach Damian Houlden said. "We deserved more than a loss."

Both St. Joseph's goals came off of set pieces. Brett Mattos headed home a corner kick in the 25th minute for his 20th goal of the season. Then Quinn Hewitt flicked home a cross for a 2-0 edge in the 69th minute.

The deficit would have been greater if not for goalie Seth Strader, a Norwich Free Academy graduate. Strader made a couple terrific saves to keep the Mariners, who were outshot 21-3, in contention. He finished with 10 saves.

"Seth was phenomenal," Houlden said.

A change in formation helped jumpstart the Mitchell attack in the second half. Freshman Quinn Outerbridge, who moved forward from his defender's spot, pounced on a loose ball and buried a low shot into the far corner to cut the gap to 2-1 at the 72:54 mark. It was his first collegiate goal and ended St. Joseph's NCAA record shutout streak.

The goal injected some life in the Mariners, who spent most of the day on their heels. With five minutes left, they celebrated what they thought was a game-tying goal. But officials called offside, waving off the goal. Houlden disagreed with the ruling.

"We absolutely deserved to be there," Houlden said. "We were the first team to score against this team. The fact we could have tied the game says a lot about our future."

• Clinging to a 1-0 lead late in the second half, the Conn College men were closing in on an NCAA first round win in the program's first appearance since 1995.

But the Camels stumbled down the stretch against Rochester (12-3-3) in a game played at SUNY Oneonta. Rochester's Zach Lawlor scored the game-tying goal with just over 10 minutes left and teammate Josh Cooley knocked in the game-winner about two and a half minutes into overtime for a stunning 2-1 victory.

"The kids played well," coach Kenny Murphy said. "It's a tournament game, it's tight. We deserved to get the lead. We had more of the game. Then we didn't close it out. That's all it was. We made too many mistakes defensively."

The Camels jumped in front early in the second half when junior Chris Lockwood's well-placed header off a corner kick sailed under just the crossbar for a 1-0 edge. Senior Graham Koval had the assist.

The loss ended a terrific season for the Camels, who contended for the New England Small College Athletic Conference regular season title and finished 9-4-4. The NCAA experience can serve as a valuable building block for the future.

"This team exceeded the coaching staff's expectations," Murphy said. "They've done well. We played half the season without our all-conference forward. Mentally and the culture here is next man up. A lot of people filled in. I'm extremely proud of them. There's plenty to look forward to."

g.keefe@theday.com