Yeowomen fight valiantly, suffer disappointing loss

Along with a new school year comes a new sports season, and Oberlin's women's soccer team is ready to take the field.

The team has undergone quite a facelift since last year, and hopes to improve upon its .500 record. Gone is head coach Blake New, now in charge of the men's soccer team. Also gone are seven seniors, including a number of the club's key players. New has been replaced by Jane Wildman, and the departed athletes' positions have been filled by a talented first-year group. Having lost several of last year's team leaders, the squad is working hard to develop the cohesion and spirit needed to win games.

"We have been working very hard this preseason," said Wildman. "We're putting together the best team we can."

Wildman emphasized that Oberlin's strength lies not in the ability of a few stars, but in the team's depth and determination.

"I think every player on the team plays an important role. Every year we come out, and we work hard," she said.

The players know they have their work cut out for them.

"It's going to be a rebuilding season," said sophomore Lissa Green-Stark. "We're going to have a lot of new players. We lost a few important players, but the team seems pretty good. We're trying hard. I think we should be in good shape both physically and mentally."

Said senior Katie Durham-Hammer, "Our team looks a lot different than last year. We're trying out new things on offense and on defense."

She too lauded the squad's ability to regroup and mature, "We have to figure out who is going to fall into the roles [of the departed players]. I don't think it is going to be a problem. We never let down," she said.

After losing their first game 1-0 to Baldwin-Wallace College, coach and players alike agreed that it is too early to predict how the team will fare this year.

"We're going to do the best we can. I can't say how we'll do, because we don't have scouting reports on every team," said Wildman.

"I think we'll have a decent season. Everybody's trying hard," said Green-Stark.

Durham Hammer's projection was similar to those of her coach and teammate. "In terms of our record, it hard to say [how we will do]. Our first game symbolized the heart we put into every game and practice. Everybody came out with a positive attitude. We could have won the game."

The game's lone goal couldn't have come from worse circumstances. An Oberlin defender, in trying to stop a shot with her body, accidentally struck the ball with her hands. Not only did Baldwin-Wallace convert the subsequent penalty kick, but the defender was red-carded and tossed from the game. Oberlin was short a player for the entire second half of the game and the defender will have to sit out the team's game against Case Western this weekend.

The women remain undeterred however. "It doesn't matter who you're playing, you have to have heart," Durham-Hammer said. "We'll be able to win games throughout the season. I think whoever we play, we'll give them a run for their money."

The team's season features matches with Case Western Reserve, Wittenberg, and Kenyon. Their next match is Saturday at 11:00, against Wooster.