The women’s lacrosse team took an eventful Spring Break trip out west to California and Washington this past week to take on four west coast teams. What was originally thought to have been a routine tune-up before the main part of the season turned out to be a handful of minor setbacks and adventures. From first-year Faye Hipsman’s torn ACL and numerous team members coming down with pink eye to a broken hotel television set and senior captain Beth Sebian’s inspirational pregame huddle chicken dance, the Yeowomen were able to come together despite the lack of depth on the bench and put in their best effort under the circumstances.

The Yeowomen came out strong in their first game at Puget Sound in Washington with a goal in the first minute of play by first-year Dana Rich. Puget Sound answered back in what turned out to be a highly offensive game, with Oberlin losing 17-12.

“We were well matched against Puget Sound,” said sophomore Kaitlin Barrer. “We probably would have been more successful playing them later in the week. Faye tore her ACL and we felt really unsure of ourselves.”

In Oberlin’s second game on Tuesday, March 28, the Yeowomen came out with fierce intensity in a 16-7 victory against Linfield, a university in Oregon. First-year Lela Hull had a strong showing with four goals while Barrer and Sebian each scored three apiece against Linfield.

Barrer was especially excited about the victory, saying, “We came out hard from the start with more intensity and confidence, and it showed through our utter domination.”

For the second half of the Yeowomen’s trip the team traveled to Redlands, Calif., just outside of LA. On Thursday they played the University of Redlands, whose defensive line was too much to handle for the Yeowomen, who eventually lost 21-13.

“We played really well; however, we had trouble adjusting to their defense,” said sophomore goalie Ashley Allen. “I saw some really strong midfield transitions, and we were able to score.”

Barrer and Hull led the team in scoring, netting three goals each in the game and totaling ten goals each for the season.

The week concluded on Friday with the Yeowomen’s worst defeat of the trip in a 21-8 loss against Claremont-McKenna-Scripps in California. Allen contributes the loss to Claremont’s national ranking and strong offensive and defensive lines.

Overall, the trip was a success for Oberlin’s budding lacrosse team, who gained valuable experience playing together on the West Coast against larger, stronger teams.

“We improved a lot and saw how much potential we have. Hopefully we will keep building on that during our conference games,” concluded Allen.