Senior Grace Fisher advances down the field
in the Tigers' game against The College of Wooster.
ABBY MARGULIS / THE DEPAUW
With each game the field hockey team seems to keep getting stronger. The DePauw Tigers can now add two more wins to their tally this season, moving to 7-1 overall and 3-1 in the NCAC.
After conquering Oberlin College, 9-0 and The College of Wooster, 5-0 the women finished the weekend with grins on their faces.
“It feels great to come out of the weekend with two wins,” center defenseman, Kylie Maloney, senior, said. “It gives us the momentum we need to look to our next game.”
Going into Saturday’s game against the Oberlin Yeowomen the Tigers prepared with the mindset that anything could happen and that they needed to be on their toes.
“Everyone on the team knew we couldn't underestimate either of these teams, so we went out playing with the intensity that we would with any other game,” first-year Paige Berliner, who scored two goals in the Tiger’s game against Oberlin and one goal in Sunday’s match, said.
The Tigers came out hot, scoring two goals within the first two minutes of the game.
Senior Paige Henry knocked the first shot in on an assist from junior Grace Goodbarn. Thirty-eight seconds later Goodbarn tallied a score giving the Tigers a 2-0 lead.
By the end of the first half the women were leading 4-0 with two more goals scored by first-year Maddy Burds and Berliner.
After the buzzer blew to start the second half the Tigers were clearly not done, as Henry found the back of the goal in less than two minutes. The women continued dominating and pushing forward to the 16-yard circle to knock in a total of five goals in the second half to make the final score 9-0.
By the time the final buzzer blew, the Tigers had 48 shots on the Yeowomen’s goalie while only two shots were attempted on both DePauw goalies Maggie Steele, senior, and Sarah Guendert, a first-year.
In both games the women worked together as a strong, communicative unit to come out on top of Oberlin and the College of Wooster.
“It was a collaborative effort,” Maloney said. “We utilized each other’s strengths to dominate each half of the game and made sure to keep up the positive energy through the entire game.”
Continuing into Sunday’s game, the Tigers came out on the field with the same energy as Saturday’s contest. Henry rattled the cage in the first four minutes and senior Maggie Campbell followed 20 minutes later in the first half.
The team focused in on the little things to help them in the big picture. By sending accurate passes and excelling in individual defense across the field, the women were able to walk away with their second win of the weekend, according to Berliner.
Staying on the Tiger’s offensive end, the ball rarely crossed into their defensive side and the women ended the day scoring three more goals in the second half by Campbell, and senior Grace Fisher.
Coming off the weekend with two conference wins is exciting for the team, Berliner said.
“Any win gives the team a lot of confidence and helps motivate us for future games,” she said.
The women have two days to celebrate and refocus for their next game hosting Earlham College Wednesday evening at 6:30 p.m.
Showing up to the field, the Tiger’s are already preparing to expect the unexpected.
“We never take a team for granted and know that we have to give 100 percent during every game,” Maloney said. “We have a lot of things to work o at practice to continue to be successful this season.”