The Oberlin Review
<< Front page News October 1, 2004

Women’s soccer travels to capital

The Oberlin women’s soccer team left Oberlin Thursday afternoon for a double-header weekend in Washington, D.C. They returned with a win and a loss under their belt and, as first-year Meghan Jones put it, “the D.C. trip served as a bonding experience for the team both on and off the field.”

The first game took place against Marymount University on Friday. The Yeowomen came out strong that night under the lights of the stadium. However, the first half of the game proved more difficult than expected.

The team simply could not keep up with Marymount’s offense. With well-planned offensive attacks, Marymount scored three goals in the first half. “We played really great even though we lost. We simply never gave up, and that’s the most important part of playing really well as a team,” said sophomore Meghan Schott.

True to these words, the Yeowomen came out incredibly strong in the second half. Both offense and defense stepped up a notch and even though Oberlin did not manage to score, they did keep Marymount down to one goal. Head Coach Andy Nelson saw this as a victory in and of itself: “I know a lot of teams that would not have continued to play as tough as these players. I am so impressed by the strength this team exhibited.”

Although the final score was 4-0, the entire team felt pretty happy with the spirit they brought to the game. “We played really hard despite the score and that’s what really matters,” sophomore Leah Bellow-Handleman said.

Oberlin played their second game at Trinity College on Sunday. The team certainly kept up the power they played with in the second half of the Marymount game. Every player came to the game ready to give her all and that’s exactly what this team did as they routed Trinity 7-0.

“We really dominated this game. We kept up the intensity that we brought to the first game; however, this time we came through,” said Nelson.

First-year Leslie Mills scored three goals, securing her position as the most valuable player of the game. Bellow-Handleman scored two goals herself, along with an assist. Sophomore Sam Schongalla contributed one goal and two assists. “Basically, everyone on the team was goal hungry,” Schott said.

The defensive line managed to keep the number of shots down and both Oberlin goalkeepers sealed the game as a shut out. Most players agreed that this was the best game up to this point of the season. “It was a really great game for the team. I mean, we had more fans than our opponent,” Schott said.
 
 

   

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