Women's Lacrosse: one down, two to go for final

The women's lacrosse team creamed Wittenberg University 20-1 in the quarterfinals of the North Coast Athletic Conference championships on Tuesday. The stands teemed with fans, including President Nancy Dye and Dean of the College Clayton Koppes who canceled the General Faculty meeting specifically for the event.

The Wittenberg game was the first step on the Yeowomen's path to the conference championships. They play Kenyon College away in the semifinals on Friday and then play in the finals at Kenyon on Saturday.

The game opened in typical Yeowomen fashion with a few quick goals to establish that Oberlin was going to dominate the game. The only goal allowed came right before the half, but the team was already up by 12. There was a remarkable scoring distribution. Senior Bepi Barry had six goals but the remaining 14 were evenly spread out at one a piece to 14 different players.

"We did a good job at keeping our level high," Coach Mindy Manolovich said. "It's not fun to beat a team like that. We stayed with our focus and came out knowing we had practiced hard. It was nice to get everyone scoring. It may not have been fun for the starters but it was exciting for people who don't usually get to play as much. They'll be starters someday."

The team basically used the game as a practice for their next competition. "We made sure that we held possession for a minute before each shot, we switched positions around, we had defenders scoring, and only certain people were allowed to shoot," Manolovich said.

Manolovich thinks they will probably be playing Ohio Wesleyan University on Saturday. "You never know though," Manolovich said. "Teams come out of the blue and step up their level during tournament play. It will probably be Ohio Wesleyan but Denison [University] has a lot of pure athletic talent." Denison is the other likely finalist as they are third in the conference while Ohio Wesleyan is second.

The Yeowomen beat Ohio Wesleyan 10-7 in the regular season, Denison 16-5, and Kenyon 12-4.

"We're looking forward to the games we're going into," Manolovich said. "I hope the team thinks they've all worked hard and been successful. I hope they don't take it for granted and know they still have to work hard. It's in their hands now and I wish them the best of luck. It's exciting because the last two games that we've prepared for are coming around the corner."

The team's recent practices have been spent adapting to the specific styles of the three possible Oberlin opponents. "We've been trying to mimic other team's defense," defensive senior Nicole Miller said. "Ohio Wesleyan, Denison and Kenyon all play a zone and so we've been playing a zone and letting the attack get more used to it. We also worked on slowing their fast breaks. Today [Thursday] we worked on how to break through weak spots."

The team also worked on some basic things that would help them against Ohio Wesleyan specifically. "We worked on not losing the ball under pressure," Manolovich said. "We worked on our transition game. Fundamental passing is key."

Manolovich is pleased with her 11-3 season record and thinks the team has done well. She also wanted to recognize the efforts and careers of her graduating seniors. Seniors Kaelyn Stiles, Kate Williams, Jessica Resnick, Barry and Miller have all had careers to be proud of. "We're graduating a lot of people this year," Manolovich said. "It's their last time on the lacrosse field playing collegiate lacrosse and I hope they all think they've been successful."

"I'd never seen a women's lacrosse before I came here," Miller said. "It's been great to develop my lacrosse skills and my communication skills. Everyone has been great to work with. [Katherine Perry, the lacrosse coach two years ago] and Mindy have both been great to work with. We're very lucky in terms of the coaches we get."

Miller compared this season to others she's played in. "I think this has been my favorite season," she said. "The team is smaller and it's easy to know everyone, even the first-years. I think the team changes dramatically every year. It's neat to see. Every year we just get better and better but in different ways. Our only weakness this year might be that we only have five people on the bench but anyone of those can go in and play any position. That's what makes this team the best."

The senior also looked at what she was personally proud of accomplishing. "My personal goals have always been to have no fouls and no turn-overs. I think I had two games this season where I had no fouls or turn-overs. It's been very good for my overall skill."

Whatever happens this Friday and Saturday, the Yeowomen have still had a season that will go into the record books. The first Oberlin lacrosse team to sweep the conference and the first team to rack up impressive scores like the 20-1 destruction of Wittenberg or the 22-1 annihilation of Eahrlam College on Apr. 20.

Miller said, "I've just had a great time. I'm going to miss it."