Field Hockey Triumphs

The last week was a hectic one for the Oberlin field hockey squad. The Yeowomen played in a three game tournament on Saturday and didn't let up until Wednesday. The team now has an overall record of 4-6, and 3-5 in the North Coast Athletic Conference. However, these numbers do little justice to the team's recent hot streak.

Oberlin hosted Ohio Wesleyan on Saturday, who defeated the Yeomen in their previous meeting. The first 20 minutes of the game showed a strong effort by the team. The defense worked well together and did an excellent job of making sure the ball got through to the offensive side.

However, Ohio Weslyan was able to score the first two goals of the game. These first two goals acted as a wakeup call for Oberlin and sophomore Chaney Stewman. She tore effortlessly through Wesleyan defenders and set the game back on track with an unstoppable laser into the back of the net. Going into halftime the game was in reach for Oberlin, as they were only down 2-1.

The second half started off with a bang as junior Emily lofted a bullet into the net just eight minutes into play. The rest of the half was a clash in which both teams tried to get the final edge. The Oberlin defense denied all second half Wesleyan scoring attempts, and held the score at 2-2 until the end of regulation play.

Again the Yeowomen found themselves in overtime, but couldn't score before Ohio Wesleyan, as the Battling Bishops topped Oberlin.

A day later Oberlin was back out on the field taking on the powerful Hood college. Oberlin displayed their offensive capabililties from the beginning. The festivities began when senior Annabeth Macy received a picturesque pass from Chaney Stewman, and winged the ball into the Hood goal.

"We were excellent at capatalizing on several of our corner opportunities, which is something we have been looking to do all season." goalkeeper Pamela Walker said.

About ten minutes later, Stewman scored a goal for herself by powering through the stunned Hood defense and punching one in. The scoring continued, and Oberlin playing dominantly. The next goal was supplied by Walker, who entered the game in an offensive position and had scored before you could even blink.

"I guess I was just in the right place in the right time." Walker said.

Oberlin took the rest of the game on with form and finesse, and proved to be uncatchable by Hood.

On Wednesday, the Yewomen made another trip to the playing field on only three days rest.

In playing host to Denison, the match started in somewhat of a tired fashion. Oberlin was obviously still feeling the effects of their previous tough games and fell short in the end, 4-0.

"That wasn't our team out there. We broke down defensively and Denison was able to capitalize on the open opportunities. We just have to forget about it and move on. We must adopt a real killer instinct in our upcoming games because we really want to win!" exclaimed Walker after the game.

It was apparent that if the Yeowomen would have been afforded more rest that they would have turned the game around on Denison, but with such a packed schedule, rest becomes a rare and precious commodity.

Denison scored twice in the first and second halves, all being unanswered goals. The key to the rest of the season and of the season thus far was summed up perfectly after the Denison game by sophomore Christina Congleton.

"On a good day our team is unbeatable in the conference. The conference is a level playing field this year, and we're confident that we can win the rest of our games."