Field
Hockey Falls to NCAC Power Denison
Yeowomen Lose to Big Red in 3-2 Overtime Thriller
by Liz Logan
The field hockey season that started off with a bang
two victories over Transylvania and Earlham seems
to have finally hit a bump in the road. On Tuesday, Sept. 18, the
Yeowomen suffered a remarkably close loss to Denison College, a
long-time rival. By half-time, the score was tied 2-2.
Marked by continuous movement of the ball back and forth on the
field, the game was deadlocked for the second half and the first
overtime.
The tie was finally broken in the second overtime, when a scuffle
in the circle left two players on the ground, including the Oberlin
goalkeeper, and knocked the ball into the Oberlin cage. There was
such chaos on the field that scorekeepers could not even attribute
the goal to any one player. The Yeowomen came off the field confused
over the loss and hurt that a close game came to such a frustrating
end.
The fact that the two teams were so evenly matched shows how far
the Yeowomen have come this season, and makes their future look
very bright. Denison has won the NCAC championship for the past
two years, last year tying with Wittenberg to share the championship.
Denisons reputation for being a dominating force in the NCAC
caused a lot of hype before the game that affected the Yeowomens
performance.
Junior Chaney Stewman said, I wish we hadnt been as
nervous. It was a very emotionally draining game because we really
wanted to win. I wish that we had kept our cool a little bit more.
Though they suffered a loss, the Yeowomen put up a fight filled
with many small triumphs.
[We] played consistently well in the game, Coach Liz
Graham said, which is different from previous games, because
a lot of times we have our moments when we play well, then our moments
when we play poorly. Also overtime is tough its seven on
a side instead of 11, and still full field so the game becomes a
foot race.
The two Oberlin goals were scored by some of the teams senior
leadership, right wing Vanessa Wirth and mid-fielder Jenny Lusk-Yablick.
[Wirth] is a real strong player who keeps getting better and
better shell be a regular scorer in the future,
first-year Jamie Johnson said.
Recalled Johnson, Jenny Lusk-Yablick scored on a penalty stroke
that was so beautiful the goalie wasnt even close.
She hits the most gorgeous strokes Ive ever seen; she always
puts the ball in the right spot, so there was never any doubt in
my mind that she would get it in.
Two players had defensive saves that Graham called spectacular.
One of these defensive feats was the work of junior Briana Quinn.
Bris save was unbelievable, Johnson said. My
heart sank because I saw the ball about to go in, but she came out
of nowhere and hit it away it was really sweet.
Said Graham, Our ball movement was good for most of the game
and defensively we were stronger than the past two games. Both goalkeepers
played, and both had great saves. There were a couple one on one
breakaways those were some tricky shots that they did a nice
job with.
We worked really well together and were off to a good
start, Stewman said. This game was really good considering
we had only had two games beforehand, both of which were against
teams that are below us in the conference. We worked well with transitions
in particular retrieving the ball, speeding up, taking the
ball up the field we were an effective offensive unit. The
loss is hard to take, but everyones proud of how we did. Were
excited about where were going to go this year.
[This was] not a surprising loss, Graham said, Denison
has strong players who tend to be very athletic. They have a couple
of good midfielders, and they are very fast with the ball. Theyre
also strong in traffic within the circle which gives them lots of
opportunities to put the ball in the goal cage. They lost some good
players last year but have gained some strong first-years. Theyre
a little bit weaker than in the past, but not much different.
Said Stewman, This was the weakest Denison team Ive
ever seen, though they had some midfielders that were really strong
and held everything together. We totally could have beaten them.
They arent good at double-teaming at all. They move all the
players to where the ball is, so we had to get our shots through
a massive pack of opponents. Also, normally we are good at getting
the ball in the circle and creating lots of chances to score, but
in this game it was a real struggle to corner the other team offensively.
We werent able to do that once during the entire first half.
Being the number one team in the conference, the Big Red has always
been a big rival for Oberlin, but this close defeat has made the
Yeowomen more confident about contesting them for the championship.
Denison had a shoving phenomenon that really frustrated us
and we crumble a little bit when things like that happen,
Lusk-Yablick said. We had short, little breakdowns which cost
us the game, but were not afraid of them. They piss us off.
We have lots of strong moving and shifting players, whereas they
just hit the ball as far as they can and run onto it. They dont
play good hockey. We play good hockey. At no time in the game did
we feel outmatched.
The teams seniors were particularly disappointed by the defeat
because in the past fours years Oberlin has beaten all the teams
in the NCAC conference at least once with only Denison as
the exception. After this tight contest, the Yeowomen are passionate
about coming back to conquer their old rival.
Well play them again on our turf, Johnson said.
We have a lot more to show them and theyre in for a
surprise.
Overall,
the tough competition proved to be a rewarding, positive experience
for the Yeowomen. It was exciting to see every season
we just get better and better, and Im confident that there
are successes on the horizon for every player. Lusk-Yablick
said, this was one of our best team efforts overall. Everyone
gave tremendous energy. Its really satisfying to feel like
I was a part of something like that. There were bits and pieces
where we stopped communicating, and the end was very confusing,
possibly a bad call. The game did not come down to that one play;
we lost because of little flukes here and there that shouldnt
have happened. The loss really hurt because we came in with such
gusto and such a good attitude.
In my three years of playing, this has been the hardest loss
for the team. We tried so hard and we wanted it so bad we
had so much more heart than they did, Stewmen said.
Said
Lusk-Yablick, Before the game, we were talking them up because
we hadnt ever beaten them, so when it was all over, Johnson
came off the field and said, If theyre the best, then
weve got the championship, because I am not impressed.
And I said, Right on! When Denison comes here theyre
going to eat grass!
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