Field
Hockey Earns Spot in NCAC Tournament
By Blake Wilder
A
team that had to resort to postering to fill its roster at the beginning
of the season is now on its way to the NCAC tournament. The Oberlin
College field hockey team finished fourth in the conference with
a record of 8-5 and 11-5 overall led by first year head coach Deb
Ranieri.
“We have a great team. Everybody on the team is on the same
page,” Ranieri said. “They know when to work hard and
they also know when to have a good time. They all want to play well.
They want to win. They’re a great group. It’s easy when
they’re all on the same page.”
The Yeowomen may be blessed with near-magical chemistry, but their
success is also due in part to a lot of hard work. Over the past
three weeks they have played seven games racking up five wins against
Ohio Wesleyan University, Depauw University, Hanover College, Earlham
College and Transylvania University and falling only to the College
of Wooster and Wittenberg Unversity.
The team ended the regular season on a high note with a four game
winning streak. Three of those games were shutouts by first-year
goalie Siv Tang who, despite being in goal for the first time this
year, has been a consistent strong point in Oberlin’s defensive
game. Tang, who has not missed a single minute of play, has registered
nine shutouts in 16 games.
“Siv’s advantage is that she uses her stick well because
she used to be a field player,” Ranieri said. “Most
goalies don’t know how to use their stick and it just winds
up being part of their equipment where as Siv really understands
how to use her stick and it just becomes natural for her.”
The Yeowomen have their share of offensive weapons as well. Senior
Chaney Stewman is leading the team with 10 goals and nine assists
which ranks her second in the conference behind only Wittenberg’s
Emily Duh. Oberlin’s offense is also benefited by the prowess
of first-year Meg Reitz who has racked up nine goals and one assist
placing her fifth in the ranking.
The team will look to continue their winning streak as they travel
to Wittenberg for the semi-final game of the first ever conference
tournament. Wittenberg finished in first place with a conference
record of 10-2. Denison and Wooster finished second and third respectively
with identical conference records of 9-3 and will play the other
semi-final games as they finished second and third, respectively.
Oberlin has met Wittenberg twice this season losing both games by
a margin of one goal: 1-0 at home and then 3-2 in overtime at Wittenberg.
“We have
to score goals. We have to get into the attacking end,” Ranieri
said. “The last time when we played Wittenberg away on turf
we got into the attacking end for only for five shots and in those
five shots we scored two goals. As long we get into the attacking
25, and get into the circle and get corners I’m really confident
we can score goals.”
The Yeowomen
may be running strong, but there are several factors that make Wittenberg
a formidable challenge. They won both the meetings this season.
They not only have the leading scorer in the conference but their
goalie also has the highest save percentage. Oberlin will have to
travel Wittenberg and play on turf, which has caused them problems
in the past.
“From my experience playing on turf, the important thing to
do is have a strong passing game. That’s what we need to do,
and if we can do that we can beat any other team on turf,”
first-year Becky Schugar said.
If the Yeowomen can overcome Wittenberg, they will have a week off
before they will play the winner of the other semi-final.
“We’re shooting for three more games, that’s our
goal,” Ranieri said. “Three games will get us to the
NCAA tournament.” |