Women's lacrosse nets first victory

Yeowomen tussle with top ranked Division III opponents

Over Spring Break, the women's lacrosse team packed their bags and headed south to Panama City, Florida for a spring fling with several of the highest ranking lacrosse teams in Division III.

The Yeowomen competed with two of the top teams in Division III and lost. With a loss to Denison University before break, the team started off their season with four losses before finally getting their first win of the season against Allegheny College on Wednesday.

The Yeowomen played hard but fell to Division III top five team William Smith College and a team in the top 15, Connecticut College, 14-7 on March 26.

Last Sunday, the team fell to fellow powerhouse Denison University 19-9. Denison and Oberlin have combined for the last 13 NCAC women's lacrosse Championships, Oberlin has won two of the last three.

Tuesday the team fell hard to Gannon College 14-10. The score at the half was a competitive 7-6, but after half-time the Yeowomen lost a lot of intensity and couldn't hold off Gannon.

On Wednesday, the team clobbered Allegheny College 16-2. The Yeowomen were ahead 12-0 in the second half before they lost their shutout. Senior Amy Kremen led the way with six goals and four assists.

According to Coach Mindy Manolovich, throughout the toughest part of the season, the team weakened with only two subs has kept up a positive attitude and continued to improve.

Against the weaker Allegheny Gators, the Yeowomen worked on beating double and triple teams with quick passes; a skill that was inadequate during their earlier losses.

"It was definitely a win we needed in boosting our confidence," junior Cecily Beane said. "We had a rough start in terms of wins-losses."

Beane added three goals and one assist. According to Beane it was an up-and-down game. At times the Yeowomen struggled to keep up their intensity.

Senior Katherine Roberts added three goals and two assists. Roberts has been the team's most consistent scorer with four or five goals every game. Against Gannon College, Tuesday, Roberts added five goals and one assist. Roberts had a shot accuracy of 88 percent (eight of nine) in the last week and 18 goals total.

According to Manolovich, Roberts has really stepped it up on critical situations, crucial to keeping the team in their first three games.

With a small squad of 12 and a lot of inexperienced players, the team has a lot of work ahead of it to repeat as Conference Champions. The team lost three first team All-NCAC seniors from last year's squad, Bepi Berry, Kaelyn Stiles and Kate Williams and junior Kim Allen, an NCAC second teamer, is abroad.

Point blank: Senior Anne Ewens sets up for score on the doorstep of Allegheny's goal. Oberlin returned to its winning form, drubbing the Gators 16-2 on Wednesday.(photo by Mike Kabakoff)