Yeowomen Kickers Notch a Win, Loss and Draw
by Rob Smith

They had five games to get ready, but they knew it would come. On Saturday, Sept. 22, it came. The North Coast Athletic Conference season started last Saturday for the Oberlin women’s soccer team when the Ladies of Kenyon College visited lovely Oberlin, Ohio.
The sun was out, there wasn’t a cloud in the sky and by daytime the temperature was just perfect. The women put on their jerseys, strapped on their spikes and got ready to rumble. In what was a well-played physical first half, the Yeowomen and the Ladies were tied up at zero apiece. First-year Alison Palmer was at goal for the Yeowomen coming off her great performance against Heidelberg. Despite a scoreless first half, Oberlin was unaffected and took charge as the second half began. With 38:26 remaining in the second half, Kathryn Slater of Kenyon got the ball past Palmer to give the Ladies a 1-0 lead. The score remained that way until junior Courtney Stackhouse decided to change things by taking the ball unassisted and putting it by Kenyon’s goalie. The score was knotted up at 1-1 and for the second time this week the Yeowomen took a game into overtime.
Oberlin played too hard and too well to let this game get away. They played two overtime periods, each being 15 minutes long, and with college rules only allowing two overtime periods to be played, the Yeowomen had to settle for a tie. Coming off a game where they weren’t as focused as they could have been, this well-played game showed that the Yeowomen are heading in the right direction. “This was one of the best performances we’ve had against Kenyon in years,” Head Coach Jane Wildman said.
One of the team’s best defensive players, first-year Leah Frederickson, was sidelined for the game with split tendons in her ankle. Even though she wanted desperately to play, she felt her team played as well as they were capable of. Said Frederickson, “It was hard to see them play and not be out there, but they functioned as a unit and looked very impressive. I can’t wait to get back out there again!”
The Yeowomen took Saturday’s performance for what it was worth and were determined to build upon it when they hosted LaRoche (Pa.) College on Sunday afternoon. Oberlin started early in this one with a first half goal by Stackhouse and an assist from senior Becky Kanuch. In the second half, the Yeowomen weren’t satisfied with only one goal on the scoreboard, and so they decided to step up their intensity and add two more scores before it was all over. Stackhouse scored again, this time assisted by first-year Mara Brecht, and then sophomore Sarah Kipp added her third goal of the season with an assist coming by way of Kanuch’s foot.
Kanuch not only leads the team in assists, with six, but she also is the team points leader with 20. Stackhouse leads the team in goals scored with nine and is a close second to Kanuch with 19 overall points (number of goals plus number of assists).

Along with two solid performances, the Yeowomen had another great sign this weekend. Junior Vicki Alla, who is one of the top-returning players from last season, made her return from injury. She had been nursing an ankle injury all season long and is now ready to chip in and make an already solid defense even better.
After a long and hard-fought game on Saturday, Palmer got the day off from tending goal. Senior Julie Noyes and sophomore Katie Crosta split time evenly and the Yeowomen did not skip a beat, with the both of them refusing to allow a goal all game.
Wednesday, Sept. 26 was a big test for the Yeowomen. That day found the Oberlin women in Granville, Ohio ready to play The Big Red of Denison, who are a traditional conference powerhouse.
Despite all of their preparation, Wednesday was a chilly day that yielded even colder results for Oberlin. Denison jumped on the Yeowomen, scoring three goals in each half.
The one bright spot for the Yeowomen was that their offense shot perfect in the game. First-year Ellie Fitzpatrick took the only shot of the day for the Yeowomen put it in the back of the net, but the women fell
6-1.
“It was a rough game; I got beat up. But now it’s time to get ready for another tough game against Ohio Wesleyan on Sunday. We can’t look back,” sophomore Chelsea Wallis said.
The busy week of soccer continues for the Yeowomen tomorrow at 1 p.m. when they host conference opponent Ohio Wesleyan.

September 28
October 5

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