By Staff
This past weekend, Kenyon field hockey began conference play with a victory over Earlham College and an impressive defensive showing against no. 16 nationally-ranked DePauw University in a 1-0 defeat.
The Ladies went on to improve their conference record to 2-1 with a 2-0 home victory over Ohio Wesleyan University (OWU) on Wednesday night.
Co-Captain Sammy Johnston ’15 put the Ladies on the board with her first goal of the season ten minutes before halftime, and Rachel Hall ’15 launched her eighth goal of the season 10 minutes before the game’s end.
All in all, the Ladies threw nine shots the Battling Bishops’ way, with six going on goal.
Kenyon’s defense also continued its strong play, holding OWU to three total shots and none on goal.
In the win against Earlham on Friday, Sept. 13, Cecilia Depman ’15 opened up the scoring 11 minutes into the first half off a pass from Hannah Drake ’16.
Just over two minutes later, Hall slammed a shot into the net off an assist from Co-Captain Maddie Breschi ’16.
Not five minutes into the second half, Julie Freedman ’15 put one past the Earlham goalkeeper, pushing the Ladies’ lead to three.
Kenyon’s offense kept the Earlham goalkeeper busy throughout the match, logging 22 shots on goal. Breschi added a goal at the end of the game, securing Kenyon’s 4-1 victory.
Despite the win, Breschi, who tallied three points in each of the Ladies’ past three games, was unhappy with the overall offensive performance.
“[It was] not our best showing,” she wrote in an email to the Collegian. “It shows that our team can score a good amount of goals despite not playing our best.”
With their first conference win under their belt, the Ladies then drove 122 miles west to face defending North Coast Athletic Conference champion DePauw University on Saturday, Sept. 14.
The Tigers, coming off a dominant 21-2 record and national semifinal appearance the previous season, were riding a three-game losing streak going into the match. Kenyon, on the other hand, entered the match with a three-game winning streak.
Kenyon’s defense held strong for all 70 minutes, allowing only one goal from DePauw’s Paige Henry, who averaged over three and a half goals per game last season.
“Our defensive performance against DePauw was fantastic,” Breschi said. “Our defensive unit has become really strong.”
Unfortunately, an unassisted strike at 5:23 was all the Tigers needed to solidify a 1-0 victory. Goalie Sydney Carney-Knisely ’14 stopped eight of nine shots, keeping the game well within reach for the Ladies.
Head Coach Jacque DeMarco was impressed with the team’s weekend showing as a whole.
“We performed well,” DeMarco wrote in an email. “It was great to see the competitiveness the team showed playing back-to-back games.”
The Ladies continue their conference play this Saturday, Sept. 21 when they head to Wittenberg University to take on the Tigers at noon.
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