The women’s lacrosse team battled through rainy conditions on their way to a 19-8 loss to Oberlin College to end their DePauw’s first season with a winning record in program history.
Oberlin drew first blood as they scored 29 seconds into the game, however first-year Kate Flynn evened the score with a goal with 25:13 remaining in the half.
The Yeowomen took little time to respond as they scored four additional goals in the next five minutes to make the score 5-1. Junior Emma Flynn finally ended Oberlin’s run as she scored with 16 minutes left.
After Oberlin and DePauw went back and forth with two goals apiece, the women found themselves in a position to make a run, only down 7-4. However, Oberlin had different plans as they rattled off five straight goals to go up 12-4.
The team did not give up as they scored two of the final three goals of the half to head into the locker room down 13-6.
The second half was highlighted by defense, as only eight goals were scored in total compared to 19 in the first half. Out of those eight goals, Oberlin netted six of them to secure the victory. Senior Emilye Denny and first-year Rachel Hufnagel scored DePauw’s only two second-half goals off of assists by seniors Nicole Gibson and Emily Scinta.
The loss was upsetting, but sophomore Olivia Miller was proud of what the team accomplished this year. However, she and the rest of them have already set their focus on to next year.
“It was pretty special to get our first winning season this year,” Miller said. “That's an accomplishment really great for the program, and there's only room for improvement in the future.”
Kate Flynn led DePauw in scoring with two goals as seven different Tigers got in the score’s book with scores. Gibson and Scinta led the team with two assists apiece. Sophomore Maddie Allen recorded 12 saves at goalie.
Oberlin’s Maggie Mullard led the game with five goals, and Sara Phister and Eliza Amber each scored four times. Amber also had three assists.
The Yeowomen outshot DePauw 38-22 and also held a 22-18 advantage in ground balls. Sophomore Erica Rapelje paced the team with three ground balls. The biggest disparity came in draw controls as Oberlin held a 24-4 advantage giving them control of the ball for the majority of the contest.
Rapelje saw more focus on winning this year than last year, despite having a just as talented team last year.
“This season, I think we all were ready for a change,” Rapelje said. “We put a huge emphasis on winning, losing, and fighting for everything as a team rather than as individuals, and I think that was a huge contributing factor to our success.”
The women finished the year with a 7-6 overall record and a 3-5 record in the North Coast Athletic Conference. The Yeowomen finished 13-1 overall and 7-1 in the NCAC.