Losing has not been something that the Oberlin field hockey team has dealt with much this season. With a six-game winning streak heading into this past week of league play, losing 1-0 to Wittenberg on Saturday, Oct. 1 was somewhat of a shocker as it showed that their high-powered offense could be stopped. The attitude around the field hockey camp suggested there was a crisis on hand, as their overall league lead fell to only half a game.

At a crucial time in the season where it would have been easy to break down, the Yeowomen responded in the most dramatic and effective way possible: digging down deep and squeezing out a crucial victory on Tuesday, Oct. 4, when they defeated Wooster 4-3 (4-2 in strokes).

The Wittenberg match was one of the more evenly-matched games in which Oberlin has participated. Each keeper produced a total of nine saves, with Oberlin topping the home team in shots 16-15. Oberlin lost it on a goal by the opposing team with 2:08 left in regulation.

Sophomore goalie Lauren Malinowski, who played a very big role in both games, was as stunned as her teammates by the loss.

“We were defeated,” she said. “It was almost surreal. People were pissed and were in shock.”

Although they could have dwelled on the loss, the team had an in-depth meeting the following day. According to Malinowski, it “reminded people why they played the game and what their goals were,” which included to “refocus and mentally prepare” themselves for the new week ahead.

Heading into the Wooster game, first-year Holly Sloofman added, “Basically we just wanted to be positive and not let any mind-blocks mess with our playing performance.”

A sharp and focused Oberlin team drew blood first on Wednesday with sophomore Christine Politis’s unassisted goal. Two unanswered Wooster goals left the Yeowomen behind 2-1 at half.

However Oberlin left their mark late with goals by seniors Christine Castilla and Meg Reitz in the final ten minutes. Before all was said and done, Wooster added a second goal in the final 20 seconds, sending the game into overtime. After remaining deadlocked after two 15-minute overtimes, it came down to strokes (penalties).

Some lethal goals, along with two outstanding saves by Malinowski, helped secure the win, sending the team to an overall record of 9-2 and maintaining sole possession of first place. Oberlin had been knocking on Wooster’s door all day long as they out-shot them 17-9, but it took some excellent individual performances to finish off the Fighting Scots. Malinowski refused to be beaten in such a crucial stage of the game. “I had watched my team run for 100 minutes and they worked so hard and were so tired. I knew I had to stop those balls, and even though it was a lot of pressure, I did it for my team. We deserved to win.”

Oberlin takes their new winning streak to Denison on Saturday afternoon.