After having ten days off from their last game, the Oberlin Yeowomen soccer team took the field on gloomy Tuesday Sept. 18 afternoon to face the ladies of Heidelberg College.
“The 10 day layoff did not help us. There are just some things that you can’t work on in practice; you need to play games to get better,” Head Coach Jane Wildman said.

Move Out of the Way Blondie: Sophomore Mara Brecht weaves through the opposition. (photo by David Sinden)

The Yeowomen have been playing excellent defense all year and this trend continued in the game at hand. First-year goalie Alison Palmer continues to play beyond her years. “We have three really good goalies on this team. It’s day to day on who’s going to start but we know whoever plays will do well,” Wildman said.
At halftime the two teams took a break with a 0-0 tie. It was not until late in the second half with 4:53 remaining that the Heidelberg women were able to get the ball past Palmer. Time kept going by with no other goals scored. Palmer was fantastic, but Heidelberg goalie Julia Rose was playing a pretty good game herself.
As the clock was winding down, senior Becky Kanuch, who did not start, came through in the clutch. With 33 seconds left in regulation, Kanuch got the ball by Rose and tied up the game 1-1. Sophomore Sarah Kipp assisted Kanuch on the play.
“Becky’s an amazing player. She’s done the last second game winning or tying goal before in her Oberlin career. When she flicks on the switch she can do anything,” Wildman said. The Yeowomen were not about to let an excellent defensive performance by Palmer be ruined in regulation. When the final seconds of regulation ticked off the clock, the ladies were still knotted at one apiece. That meant overtime.
Overtime in college soccer is a sudden death 15-minute period. Basically, the first person to score wins. The overtime period was going by just like the rest of the game. After the first nine minutes, a winner still had not been determined. With 5:44 left in overtime, Heidelbeg’s Anna Ducey left the Yeowomen with a bad feeling in their stomachs. On a corner kick, Molly Thorton assisted her for the game-winning goal.
The Yeowomen played a great game only to suffer a tough loss. Palmer, unfortunately, ended the game with the loss, but that does not take away her great effort. She made 11 saves on the day, doubling her season average of 5 saves per game. Her season total is up to 31 saves.
The Yeowomen fought hard—Mara Brecht and Courtney Stackhouse both broke through the Heidelberg defense to each take 4 shots on goal, but Stackhouse had a rough game. Wildman said, “They [Heidelberg] knew she was our goal scorer, and they marked her.” Being signaled out like that is certainly a signal of respect that Stackhouse can take away from a tough loss — Stackhouse said of the loss, “It’s definately harder than losing in regulation.”
Kipp, Tessa Stevens, and Ellie Fitzpatrick all added two shots on goal of their own. One of the stars of the defense for the Yeowoman all year has been Leah Frederickson. Frederickson played her heart out on Tuesday and in the end had to leave the game with an ankle sprain.

The girls will regroup and now prepare for their first conference match-up of the season as they host the Ladies of Kenyon College on Saturday, Sept. 22. at 1 p.m. They also play on Sunday, Sept. 23 at 1pm against La Roche College. “When we play as a team, and everybody’s focused, we can play with anybody,” Wildman said.