Rebecca Dann, Sports Editor

The Kenyon field hockey team had another successful set of games this past weekend, racking up two wins against fellow North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) members Wittenberg University and Ohio Wesleyan University (OWU). The Ladies now hold an overall record of 7-1, a start the team hasn’t achieved in several years.

“It was good to take away two more conference wins to boost us to outright first place for the conference,” goalkeeper Sarah Speroff ’18 said. “After beating Wittenberg, we have the best record in the conference.”

On Saturday, the team faced Wittenberg University on McBride Field and won 5-2. The game began with three consecutive goals from Kenyon, all coming within seven minutes of each other. Christine Bloom ’16 opened with the first goal of the game. Maddie Breschi ’16, assisted by Rachel Hall ’15, scored just a minute later to bring the score to 2-0. The Ladies continued to play effective offense and Hall scored their third goal, assisted by Shannon Hart ’18.

“Wittenberg gave us a competitive game, but as soon as we notched the first goal, it all kind of rolled from there,” Bloom said. “We had great movement collectively on the field and we kept scoring.”

Wittenberg managed to score, but Kenyon responded quickly with a goal by Hart, assisted by Bloom, upping the score to 4-1. Less than nine seconds later, Kenyon pulled ahead even further as Breschi scored the winning goal. Wittenberg scored a second time, but the Ladies had gained too great a lead.

The following day, Kenyon shut out OWU 2-0. Again, Bloom scored the first goal, assisted by Hall. Kenyon’s winning goal, courtesy of Julie Freedman ’15, came just seconds before the end of the first half.

“OWU definitely fought really hard against us,” DeMarco said. “So it was a good fight for Kenyon, and I’m really glad we came out on top. Really nice job by the whole team.” These past two games have further motivated the team, as they strive to keep their first-place standing.

“Because of the leadership and support of our coaches, as well as our team’s hard work, we are seriously dominating in the conference this season so far,” Bloom said. “I love knowing that we’re the team to beat.”

Kenyon continues NCAC play this weekend and is preparing to face Denison University and Oberlin College.

“I think Denison is going to be a different kind of challenge for us,” DeMarco said. “I do think that we can come out on top again, but we just have to make sure that we continue to fight as a team and play good defense.”

Their game against Denison will be this Saturday on McBride Field.