After winning all four games of their first varsity season, the DePauw women's lacrosse team (4-1) lost to Ohio Wesleyan (2-7) during their game on Tuesday at Boswell field, 16-12. The game left the Tigers and the Ohio Wesleyan Battling Bishops both 1-1 in North Coast Athletic Conference play.
Freshman attack Elizabeth McCracken led the team in points with four goals and one assist.
"The loss isn't too heartbreaking because we're a first-year program," McCracken said. "It was awesome just to start our season with that many wins. People don't expect first year programs to do so well. The loss was a bummer because we felt like we could do better but it happens. We were lucky to get this far so far."
Following McCracken was sophomore midfielder/attack Jamie Powell, who tied McCracken with four goals, senior attack Natalie Swiler with two goals, and sisters Carey Kunz, sophomore midfielder, and Knubbe Kunz, senior midfielder, each with one goal.
As a first-year program this is the first loss the team has faced in the five games they have played.
"Although we lost to Ohio Wesleyan, it was a great experience for us as a first year team to play against an established program and a very aggressive team," Swiler said. "This was our first really close game and even though losing is not fun, we learned a lot about what we need to do to stick with the teams in our conference."
On the Battling Bishop's side, senior attack Annie Swanson led the team with six goals. The team was aided by sophomore goalie Jordan Bernstein who blocked six of the Tiger's attempts.
But besides those key plays, DePauw had the lead going into halftime, 9-6. It was in the start of the second half that Ohio Wesleyan picked it up. After a goal by Powell, the Battling Bishops scored eight of the next nine goals.
"It was tough to finally get our first loss as a team," Kunz said. "But after leading the first half and most of the game, it is exciting to know that we are capable of competing with well-established teams like Ohio Wesleyan as a first year program."
The loss highlighted areas of skill and plays the team can work on and improve in practice.
"We've worked on our attack footing and cutting, which was a big problem with them cutting down our balls," McCracken said.
DePauw junior goalkeeper Amy Clark played a big part despite the loss, saving nine shots.
As the team looks at the positives, they continue to grow as a program as they face more established teams.
"We have specific pieces on offense and defense to build off of from the game on Tuesday and we hope to keep improving everyday," Swiler said.
The Tigers are back in play on Saturday against Oberlin College. The game will be played at Oberlin at 1 p.m.