On a windy Saturday afternoon at Blackstock Stadium, the DePauw field hockey team earned its second consecutive North Coast Athletic Conference title with a 2-1 victory over Kenyon College.
The victory ensured an automatic berth for the Tigers in the NCAA tournament, where, last year, the Tigers advanced to the semi-finals.
Kenyon proved a difficult challenge, but the red hot Tigers could not be quelled. Sophomore midfielder Grace Goodbarn got the scoring started in the second minute, and DePauw looked to be in business as they had been so many times during the season. Kenyon held on for most of the game, especially in the second half, and threatened the lead on many occasions in the first half as well.
DePauw scored its second goal of the game with 6:04 remaining in the first half on a goal by senior forward Micheline Figel. Goodbarn found herself involved in both DePauw goals, providing the assist.
The first half ended 2-0, and Kenyon came out ready to fight in the second half. Kenyon earned a string of corners followed by a number of goal scoring opportunities. The game took on a free flowing, back-and-forth sort of style with chances being created at both ends.
Kenyon pulled back within one goal less than five minutes into the second half on a well-executed corner play. From then on, both sides began to play with more physicality and frustration. Fouling began due to the physical and emotional nature of the final. Goodbarn and the Tigers expected such a game, however.
“Kenyon is a little more scrappy than other teams like Denison [University], and we could not let ourselves get really emotionally into it,” Goodbarn said.
 The scrappiness did end up being detrimental for the Tigers, however, as two yellow cards were shown to DePauw players within minutes of each other, causing the Tigers to play eleven versus nine for about three minutes. Kenyon could not capitalize on the two-player advantage though, and DePauw held out for the 2-1 victory. Junior forward Paige Henry commented on the yellow card situation.
“Obviously it was an adjustment playing two down for so long,” she said. “Coach called a timeout and reworked our formation, but we just had to remain defensive for a few more minutes.”
This year, the Tigers look to build on last year’s NCAA run and contend for the national title.
“We have a really good seeding, and we feel like we’ve been placed with really competitive teams, but teams we can compete with,” Goodbarn said.
On a team filled with talent, leaders have emerged that look to further solidify their already strong full-team-effort approach to each and every game. These leaders received recognition from the NCAC, as Goodbarn, Henry, Figel and senior Chelsea Cutler were named to the All-NCAC tournament team with Cutler earning the tournaments most valuable player award.
“It’s a great honor, and kudos to Goody [Goodbarn] and Chelsea [Cutler]. They played a big part on offense and on defense,” Henry said. “Micheline [Figel] has also really stepped up and has been on fire the last few games.”
DePauw will take on either Messiah College or Catholic University on Saturday in Newport News, Va. The Tigers begin their NCAA title search with this game, and look to earn a national title.