The Oberlin College field hockey team had a busy and fruitful week. With two wins and a loss, they boosted their record to 3-2 overall and 2-2 in the conference.
Their only loss came against conference powerhouse Wittenberg last Saturday in a bitterly fought contest that ended in a 1-0 loss for the yeowomen.
“Even though we had a loss we still played well in that game,” senior Briana Quinn said.
The team bounced back immediately to defeat Washington and Jefferson, 5-0, on Sunday and Ohio Wesleyan University, 3-0, on Wednesday.
Saturday’s game against Wittenberg could possibly be the toughest challenge Oberlin will face all season. Wittenberg finished second in the North Coast Athletic Conference last year and tied for first the year before. They also have the conference-scoring leader, senior Emily Duh, who has racked up eight goals and five assists already this season. Her nearest challenger only has three goals.
Despite the challenge, the Yeowomen stepped up to play an excellent game and held Wittenberg to a single first-half goal. Out of eight games total, Oberlin is the only team to hold Wittenberg to a single goal.
“I was impressed we were able to keep Wittenberg to a score of 1-0,” Quinn said.
“It was a pretty even game in regards to skill level. We just didn’t capitalize on opportunities we had in the second half,” head coach Deb Ranieri said. “In the second half, we pretty much dominated, especially late in the half.”
Oberlin had lots of chances in the second half, including four or five corners, but unfortunately Wittenberg had a very good goalkeeper who managed to shut Oberlin down.
Part of Oberlin’s success came from their ability to shut down Duh. Quinn marked her throughout the game and prevented her from scoring although she did get an assist.
“I always like the challenge of marking up on someone,” Quinn said. “Especially when they’re a top scorer or a good player like she is.”
The very next day the Yeowomen came out and routed Washington and Jefferson, tallying five goals despite having problems earlier in the season with fatigue and coming off a loss.
First-year Meg Reitz had a hat-trick and seniors Chaney Stewman and Nana Uemura both added goals. Stewman and Junior Shannon Houlihan each had an assist and sophomore Jaime Johnson had two.
“We were by far the better team,” Ranieri said.
The Yeowomen stood out against Ohio Wesleyan University as well, scoring three goals. Stewman had two goals and first-year Monica Gangon had the other. Johnson and Stewman both had assists. All of the goals resulted from penalty corners that came from defensive fouls on the part of Ohio Wesleyan.
The Yeowomen had a strong showing even in their loss, and the score lines of the back-to-back wins speak for themselves. Looking at the roster, one might not expect them to be doing as well as they are.
“Even though there is a core of returning players back, there’s a larger group of first-year players, so we’re still trying to figure each other out,” Ranieri said.
Ranieri noted that the team still has some areas to work out before they are really solid.
“We’re playing with inconsistency,” Ranieri said. “That’s our key word for the week. We’re working on our consistency.”
In addition to having a young team, Oberlin has played four or five fewer games than most competitors.
“It’s taking us a little longer because we started the season late,” Ranieri said.
Despite definite room for improvement, the Yeowomen are already making a strong showing this season.
“We definitely have the mindset now that we are going out to beat everyone else in the conference,” Quinn said.
The Yeowomen will get a shot at another conference opponent tomorrow when they host Kenyon at 12 p.m.