Sticks up, Ball down

Field Hockey Bashes Earlham and Kenyon

Last Friday the Oberlin women's field hockey team met with Wittenberg, marking their second meeting this season. The seemingly flawless Wittenberg team that is undefeated in conference play this year took the field with poise and power, winning 0-3. The Yeowomen came back winning a 2-1 victory against Earlham and a 4-0 victory over Kenyon.

"They were an extremely offensive team," Oberlin goalkeeper Pam Walker said. This was evident considering that Wittenberg fired 15 shots on goal from inside the circle during the first period alone. The dominating offense produced by Wittenberg prevented the Yeowomen from mounting any offensive attacks of result during the first period.

Goalkeeper Pam Walker expressed disappointment regarding the loss, saying, "We weren't really prepared to play on Wittenberg's field, the turf that we train on is much longer and more forgiving than Witt's field. Their offense was really, really strong ‹ it was hard to keep up with their level of play when we only had two subs."

The team has been playing minus a few players due to injury and sickness. Outstanding defense and goalkeeping prevented the overpowering Wittenberg team from scoring in the first half. Going into halftime the game stood at 0-0.

Midway through the second half Wittenberg was able to sneak a shot by Walker. Eight minutes after the first goal, Wittenberg again penetrated the Yeowomen's defense and put one in the net. After another four minutes they managed to score again. Despite the loss, Walker was able to rack up 24 saves on the day, excellent considering that only three were allowed past.

Coming off the tough loss just one day previous, Oberlin traveled to Earlham ready for redemption. The Yeowomen blew two smoking shots into the back of Earlham's net during the first ten minutes of play.

"It was beautiful" said Walker.

Sophomore Chaney Stewman took the honor of scoring the first goal resulting from a precise assist from senior B Chatfield.

Between Oberlin's first and second goal Earlham experienced some success and scored a goal for themselves. Chatfield secured Oberlin's lead by scoring a powerful and crucial goal off of an assist from senior Emily Johnson. The rest of the first half consisted of OC passing around the field but not scoring. The Yeowomen went into halftime leading by one.

The second half brought nothing but a bit of practice for the Yeowomen, as they continued to dominate the struggling Earlham team by displaying their fluid passing skills. The Yeowomen held possession for the rest of the game and enjoyed their second victory of the season.

"We dominated every aspect of the game. All of the goals were executed with grace and finesse. What more could you ask for?" said Walker.

The Yeowomen really showed their stuff against Kenyon controlling most of the play. Junior Emily Johnson trampled on the Kenyon defense by scoring two goals, one in each half.

"Defensively we kept on top. We only allowed about ten shots on goal!" exclaimed Walker. Compare that to the twenty-five or so shots Wittenberg took and it's evident that the Yeowomen certainly overcame the competition.