DePauw collected its sixth straight win and remained perfect in North Coast Athletic Conference play this weekend improving to 6-1 overall and 5-0 in the conference.
"We are definitely excited about how we are doing," said junior Caroline Torie. "We know we can't let up this week and this weekend because we have three conference games."
On Friday, the Tigers beat Oberlin College (4-5, 2-4 NCAC) 6-0. Junior forward Margaret Ellis scored three goals for her second hat trick of the season and assisted on two others. Ellis scored the game's first goal in minutes.
"The passing game is still really strong," said head coach Gina Preston. "We have players who have good individual skills and just recognizing when we need to pass over the field over taking someone on one-on-one."
Ellis, who now leads the team with 13 goals, is not only performing well up front in the scoring circle, but also is tracking back on defense to win possession.
"Our forwards are doing a nice job tracking back," Preston said. "They are forcing our opponents in transition to make a mistake in dribbling or make a bad pass. So then our defenders are looking to intercept that pass instead of matching up with people."
Torie said DePauw had an advantage playing on a turf field against Oberlin rather than at home.
The Tigers took on the College of Wooster (4-5, 2-3 NCAC) on Saturday, beating them 4-0. DePauw jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the first half, but still made some defensive adjustments at halftime.
"Our coach was telling us that we need to mark the other players and stay really close to them to make sure they don't get the ball," Torie said.
Ellis pushed DePauw's lead to 4-0 for her fifth goal of the weekend. As the Tigers spoke of defensive changes at halftime, the offense was, according to Preston, affected inadvertently.
"Against Wooster, we made some adjustments in the second half defensively, but we need to make sure we transition well to offense off of that," Preston said. "We learned a lot about ourselves last week, and we can work on that this week."
DePauw held a 19-2 advantage in shots and led in corners 17-2. Freshman goalkeeper Maggie Steele totaled two saves in goal for the Tigers and collected her third shutout of the season.
"Everyone's really stepping up," Torie said. "The seniors are really doing their part to keep us motivated, but I feel like everyone is really supportive."
The game against Wooster was a good preview for the team as they ready to face the defending conference champion Wednesday in Wittenberg College. Preston said the teams play similar styles and is excited to see how her team can compete against the best of the NCAC.
"We love home games," Torie said. "We are so excited. I can't stress enough how much this field has been so fun to play on and it has made us a better team."