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By Philip Kreniske

The Oberlin College women’s soccer team lost the fight for sixth place in the NCAC on Saturday, closing out their season with a tough 3-1 loss to Wittenberg University.

The Yeowomen finished seventh in the conference for the second straight season with a 2-6 NCAC record. Oberlin was 5-12-1 overall.

The game concluded the Oberlin careers of four senior starters, captain Mara Brecht, Sarah Kipp, Chelsea Wallis and Tessa Stevens.

“More than anything Saturday was sad because I can’t imagine not playing with the seniors anymore,” junior Magdalen Dale said. “It’s hard to imagine the team without them.”

On Saturday the Yeowomen were delayed and distracted by unpredictable circumstances, one of which donned a white hat and rode a bicycle.

On the way to the game, “the bus was late and then it broke down on the side of the road where a cowboy on a Huffy entertained us,” first-year Meghan Schott said.

The cowboy and the delay weren’t the only unusual parts of Saturday’s road trip. Stevens and first-year Emily Palmer played in goal in place of junior keeper Alison Palmer, who was injured in last Wednesday’s game against Kenyon College.

“They fearlessly and selflessly stepped into the goal when we needed them most,” junior Leah Fredrickson said. “Emily Palmer and Tessa Stevens were absolute heroes.”

Stevens made history, becoming “one of the first in Oberlin history to make a keeper save and then score a goal in the same game,” Schott proclaimed.

The Yeowoman offense came out flat in the first half, unable to string together many passes as Wittenberg went up 2-0.

In the second half of the game, however, the Yeowomen “fought hard and ended the season with a valiant effort,” Fredrickson said.

Oberlin closed the lead to 2-1 on Stevens’ goal. Stevens put in a cross from Brecht after she and Kipp combined on a trick corner kick play that stymied the Tigers’ defense.

Wittenberg put the game out of reach later in the half, though, as a well-placed free kick from the top of the box got past Emily Palmer.

The Yeowomen’s trio of forwards led the team in scoring this season. First-year Sam Schongalla paced Oberlin with 11 goals and three assists for 25 points. Kipp had five goals and one assist and Dale added four goals and one assist.

Despite the loss of the four key seniors, the Yeowomen remain optimistic about their opportunity to improve next season.

“We have a really strong freshman class that really stepped in where they were needed and it will be good to have them back next year,” Dale said.