In the first round of the NCAC players, the Oberlin field hockey team played a hard fought game against the Kenyon College Ladies on Wednesday, Nov. third. Keyon, who was the number two seed, had previously defeated the third seeded Yeowomen earlier in the season. The Ladies came out strong midway through the first half with the first goal. They scored again later in the first half and also in the last five minutes of the game, winning with a 3-0 score, ending the Yeowomen’s season.

For the most part Kenyon dominated the game offensively, out-shooting Oberlin 12-5. The team is obviously not happy with the outcome of the game and cites a lack of focus as a reason for the loss. “We didn’t play with a sense of urgency that we should have in a playoff game,” says first-year Kaitlin Barrer. Barrer’s disappointment was shared throughout the team. “Ultimately Kenyon just played a better playoff game,” said senior captain Jamie Johnson. There were many good performances by Oberlin players though, and Johnson cites first-year goalie Sheera Bornstein as “a standout player” thoughout the game. Kenyon now advances on to the championship round against Wittenberg.

Although their last game was a tough loss, the field hockey team is proud of what they accomplished over the season. “We had a lot of good comebacks,” says Johnson. “Learning how to score when we were a few goals down was a big mental break through.” Next season the team hopes to improve their consistency offensively by coming out strong early on in the game rather than having to fight for it at the end. “We had high highs and low lows throughout the season,” said junior Rosemary Mudry. “We want to play better games that aren’t so random.”

The team can agree that their favorite game of the season was their 2-1 win against long time rival Wooster that went into double overtime. “That game really showed what we can accomplish as a team,” says Mudry.

The team will be graduating three players next year, attacker Dianne Hurvitz, defender Elaine Hill and attacker Johnson. Head coach Deb Ranieri says that she is proud of what the team has accomplished this year. “The seniors have given a lot to the program and we will miss them.”

The teams ends their 2004 season with an overall record of 10-9 and NCAC record of 8-4. First-year Kate Cook has a positive outlook on the entire season, “The coaches and the team not only taught me a lot about field hockey, but also about myself and life.”