It has been a tough week for Oberlin College women’s lacrosse. Coming off of four straight losses the team was looking for a win to build some momentum that would hopefully carry them for the rest of the season. Unfortunately the opposition this week was incredibly tough as the Yeowomen squared off at home against Wittenberg on Sunday, April 23 and on the road at Allegheny on Wednesday, April 27.

The Wittenberg game was a nail biter to the very end. The Yeowomen, however, fell short, losing 5-4. The Yeowomen’s offense was fueled by an inspired performance by first-year midfielder Kaitlin Barrer, who scored two goals. Junior Meg Reitz and senior Alice Powen each chipped in with a goal of her own. Sadly it was not enough as the Yeowomen picked up their fifth straight loss.

The team knew that Wednesday’s game against Allegheny was going to be a challenge, as it came on the road against a very tough team. Prior to the game Allegheny sported a 7-3 record, with a 3-1 conference mark. A win against this tough team would have proven huge for the Yeowomen’s confidence.

Allegheny, however, proved too much to handle. The Yeowomen were already behind 13-0 before they put a single goal on the board against the skilled Allegheny squad. Allegheny was driven by the performance of senior midfielder Ashley Lemmon, who had a monster game, scoring three goals and racking up two assists. Junior Emily Deering also chipped in with two goals and two assists of her own.

The Yeowomen, on the other hand, only scored two goals, coming from the aforementioned Reitz and from sophomore Annie Chow. The Yeowomen ended up losing the game 14-2 in what had to be an incredibly demoralizing defeat.

The Yeowomen have only one game left this season, which is a conference match-up at home on Saturday, April 30 against the College of Wooster. After the Wooster game the Yeowomen are competing in the NCAC tournament where they hope to make an impressive showing.

The team feels they are capable of performing better than they have, but something seems to be holding them down. “In general we have been steadily improving, elements of our game have been coming together, but we haven’t been able to put it all together into a complete 60 minute game. A lot of games were closer than the score indicated,” said first-year Beth Goula.

The Yeowomen now stand at 2-10 overall, with a 0-4 conference record. A win in the upcoming game against Wooster would do a lot for the team, as they could head into the NCAC tournament with some confidence. Hopefully they will be able to put together an impressive outing for a full 60 minutes, and reap the reward for their efforts, a much needed win.

Wooster currently sits in second place in the NCAC. They have a 3-1 in conference record and are 6-3 overall.