The field hockey team has taken some hard falls. The Yeowomen were shut out 5–0 in their fourth game of the season on Tuesday against North Coast Athletic Conference rivals, the Kenyon College Ladies, in Gambier, Ohio.

Despite holding an overall record of 0–4, 0–2 in conference play, Oberlin looks to an upcoming home game for a chance to earn its first win. The Yeowomen will face the Earlham College Quakers on Saturday at 11 a.m. and look to avenge a 3–0 loss in 2015. That loss came as a shock to senior captain midfielder Ariana Enzerink, as Oberlin held a win streak over Earlham several years prior. Enzerink said she and her teammates can right the ship this Saturday.

“I still think that this season can be really promising for us,” Enzerink said. “I think we’re all really excited about the talent we have on this team and the team chemistry we have.”

The team kicked off its season with a road trip to Newport News, VA, where it played the Randolph-Macon College Yellow Jackets and the Christopher Newport University Captains.

According to Enzerink, the team is especially proud of its impressive performance against the Captains, who are ranked 14th in the nation. Enzerink said that, after floundering for a few minutes at the start of the game, the Yeowomen found a rhythm.

“There was this moment when we all came together. I think that everyone really stepped up.”

Though it didn’t reflect in the final outcomes, sophomore midfielder Meg Parker said the trip to Virginia highlighted the improvements the team has made since last season.

“We’ve come a long way since last year,” Sophomore midfielder Meg Parker said. “Last year we had a hard time capitalizing on any opportunities we were given. But this year you can just tell the energy on the field is a lot better, and it feels more like we’re working together.”

In 2015, the Yeowomen struggled with injuries and a roster low in numbers and earned a 1–18 overall record. In order to prevent that fate, during preseason training, the team emphasized the need to get off a lot of shots on goal. However, the squad still struggles with offensive production and is scoreless in the 2016 season thus far.

Despite its inability to get its offense going, Head Coach Tiffany Saunders said the team has remained positive.

“The positivity on the field, no matter what is going on, has been a drastic improvement in the last year,” said Saunders. “The communication is always key in our sport, and so to see that blossoming no matter what is going on in the score board, it’s really nice to see.”

Saunders brought in two freshmen in the 2016 recruiting class — midfielder Luisa McGarvey from Takoma Park, MD and forward Libby Royer from Columbus, Ohio. Both freshmen have already received significant playing time.

Sophomore Meg Parker said she is already excited about the contributions of these first-years.

“They’re both really impactful players in the midfield; we’re really lucky to have them,” Parker said. “Libby is extremely fast — she can outrun basically anybody on the field. And Luisa is really patient and takes our coaches’ advice really well.”

Enzerink said she sees the addition of these rookies as building blocks for the future. Enzerink and her co-captains — junior midfielder Dillon Sebastian, senior attack Maureen Coffey and senior goal keeper Maggie Gossiaux — are focused not so much on short term wins and losses but on creating a foundation for future growth in the program.

“I think we’ve all accepted that we’re going to be the base to something that will be really great in the future,” Enzerink said. “And we’re taking it upon ourselves to take that first step toward a really, really impressive legacy that Oberlin field hockey could be.”