Going into Saturday, Oct. 13 the Oberlin College women’s soccer team had not yet won a conference game. It was a hard fought 101 minutes, but the Yeowomen defeated Hiram in overtime 1-0 to notch their first conference win. Senior Julie Noyes started the game in goal for the Yeowomen and she still found herself there when the final goal was scored. She faced seven shots, making two saves en route to her second shutout of the year.
“We’ve been mixing things up a little bit. I’m playing in a new spot and some other girls are too. It’s a tough adjustment, but it seemed to have worked,” sophomore Chelsea Wallis said.

“What we really need right now is team unity,” first-year Elvie Miller said. By moving some players to other spots on the field the team was able to get their first conference win. The Yeowomen practically dominated the Terriers of Hiram College. The Yeowomen took 18 shots on goal compared to the Terriers seven. The Yeowomen took eight corner kicks as opposed to two taken by the Terriers.

The lone goal was scored 10 minutes into overtime. Junior Courtney Stackhouse passed the ball to senior Becky Kanuch and she put the ball in the back of the net for her team-leading 12th goal. Kanuch leads the team in goals (12), assists (8), and points (32), while Stackhouse is second behind Kanuch with 11 goals, five assists, and 27 points.
This win ended the Yeowomen’s two game losing streak. They then had a record of 6-7-1 overall and stood with their lone win at 1-4-1 in North Coast Athletic Conference play.
After the emotional conference victory on Saturday Oct. 13, the Yeowomen had to follow that up with another make-up game from the Sept. 11 week against Baldwin-Wallace. “We saw them play earlier in the year. Then, we could have beat them, I hope, and think we still can,” Wallis said.

After playing well at goal against Hiram, Noyes was put in goal again. She did not disappoint. The Yeowomen went into B.W. territory and came out with a decisive 3-1 win. Noyes, who made two saves, was in net for 70 minutes of shutout ball. First-year Katie Crosta relieved Noyes for the last 20 minutes allowing one goal.

The Yeowomen were led to victory by the same two girls that have been doing it all year. Stackhouse scored the first goal of the game. Sophomore Sarah Kipp assisted sophomore Tessa Stevens for the second goal. Then, Stackhouse fed Kanuch for the final goal. Those three goals put the Yeowomen up 3-0 at halftime. Baldwin-Wallace did not score until the 74th minute of play.

The Yeowomen had then won two straight games giving them a record of 7-7-1 overall while Baldwin-Wallace dropped to 2-11-3. The Yeowomen still find themselves with a conference record of 1-4-1.

The Yeowomen, unfortunately, fell to 7-8-1 on Wednesday, Oct. 15 with a 2-0 loss to the Fighting Scots of Wooster. “This was probably one of the best games we’ve played all year. They just played better that day,” said first-year Holly Rousmaniere. First-year Alison Palmer returned to net for the Yeowomen allowing only two goals and tallying six saves. Both of Wooster’s goals came in the first half as the second half was a well-played half of scoreless soccer.

The Yeowomen had a better shot-on-goal percentage than the Fighting Scots. They forced Wooster goalie Roman to make seven saves on 12 shots, while Palmer had made a save on eight of the Fighting Scots 19 shots on goal. Wooster did have a great advantage when it came to corner kicks. The Fighting Scots took nine corner kicks as opposed to the Yeowomen’s one.

Saturday Oct. 20 brought an end to the Yeowomen’s season as they traveled to Richmond, Ind. to face the Quakers of Earlham College. With a tough 1-0 loss the Yeowomen finished the season with an overall record of 7-9-1 and a conference record of 1-6-1. The only goal Earlham was able to score was put in the back of the net in the first half. Of the season, first-year Rachel Auerbach said, “I think we had a good season, and it was great to play with this bunch of girls. We had a lot of fun.”

The Yeowomen were led on offense all season by Kanuch and Stackhouse. Kanuch lead the team in goals (13), assists (8), and points per game (2.00). Trailing her in second place on the team in each of those categories was Stackhouse with 12 goals, 6 assists, and 1.76 points per game.

The defense was lead by sophomore Mara Brecht and Wallis. Also making significant contributions to the team was the consistent play of seniors Lissa Green-Stark, Nicole Falk, and Kate Leddington; junior Vicki Alla; sophomores Sarah Kipp and Tessa Stevens; first-years Ellie Fitzpatrick, and Leah Frederickson. The team will come back strong next year since they will lose only six players to graduation.