After dominating Oberlin College 7-0 over a month ago, the Ladies’ field hockey team produced a nearly identical result this past Saturday, shutting out the Yeowomen 6-0 in an impressive display of offense and defense.
Saturday’s victory was the 11th straight victory versus the Yeowomen for the Ladies, who have not lost to Oberlin since the fall 2012 season. Although the final score indicated a blowout, the Yeowomen actually kept the score close for the first half.
The Ladies jumped out to the lead early in the game, when Katelyn Hutchinson ’18 fired a goal past Oberlin keeper Kennedy Kline off of a rebound at the 3:54 mark. The goal, Hutchinson’s ninth of the season, ties her for sixth on the Ladies’ all-time goal list.
Hutchinson’s was the only goal of the first half, despite the 17 shots the Ladies fired off.
The second half was a different story, however, and the Oberlin goalkeeper was not up to the task. The Ladies scored five goals in a span of 28 minutes, including goals from Shannon Hart ’18, Weezie Foster ’18, Gigi Guenther ’21, Hannah Sklar ’20 and Tara Shetty ’21.
With the victory, the Ladies improved their season record to 10-2 and their North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) record to 7-1. That record puts them in first place in the conference, clinging to a slim half-game lead in the standings over second place Denison University (7-2). The Ladies’ only loss of the NCAC season came from Denison’s team.
The final showdown between the Ladies and the Big Red will come on Oct. 28 at Denison. It will be the last game of the regular season for both teams. But with both playing well, there is potential for a postseason matchup between these two teams, especially if the standings remain the same at the end of the season. With the 6-0 loss, the Yeowomen fell to 0-8 in the NCAC and 1-13 overall.
The Ladies will enter the final stretch of their season on Saturday, when they will host Earlham College (2-6 NCAC) as they look for their eighth NCAC victory of the season. The game will start at 11 a.m. and the team will host DePauw University (5-3 NCAC) on Sunday.