On a foggy Wednesday night at Knowlton Athletic Complex, the women’s lacrosse team won their fourth consecutive game, an undefeated start behind a collection of special moments. In the game on Wednesday, Oberlin jumped out to a dominating first half, leading 8–1 against the Marietta College Pioneers. They cruised to a 14–5 final score with the help of their leading scorer, second-year Kylie Thompson, who netted six on the night and contributeds well as two assists. Second-years Mary Rodman and Maddie Darlington, third-year Elle Lavin, and fourth-year Olivia Corradi each contributed two goals as well.
The team is now 4–0, having defeated Centre, Grove City, Kalamazoo, and Marietta by a total goal differential of 52–23. It is their best start since 2017, a season where they went 14–2 and reached the NCAC Championship.
This season has had its fair share of exciting moments. In their second game of the season on the road against reigning Presidents Athletic Conference champs Grove City, Kylie Thompson netted an overtime golden goal winner to secure an 11–10 victory. The goal was the capstone on what was a strong whole-team performance for Oberlin.
“The game was a full team effort,” Thompson said. “We had great plays on defense, amazing teamwork on attack, and a supportive sideline to really push us through it.”
The team is full of veterans, as only two players graduated from last year’s team, and the present team has nine seniors. Their head coach, Malory Nadrah, is entering her second season after spending seven years as the inaugural coach of the Marietta College program. The four victories to open the season, above all the overtime win against Grove City, will hopefully be a launching pad for an extremely strong season.
“Starting off the season so strong has been a huge confidence booster for everyone,” Thompson said. “It feels like a fruition of what we have worked on all off-season.”
On Saturday, Feb. 28, the Yeowomen celebrated another big accomplishment. In a dominant 16–5 victory against Kalamazoo fourth-year Megan Hiller scored her 100th (and 101st) career goals, becoming the 7th player in Oberlin history to reach that mark. A few days later, Hiller received NCAC weekly honors. Along with tallying her 100th career goal, she also netted four goals and two assists in the victory against Grove City.
Amongst her incredible individual accomplishments, Hiller emphasizes how special this year’s team is.
“Our team is the most supportive group I have ever been part of, from my teammates to the coaches,” Hiller wrote in an email to the Review. “We all want each other to succeed and encourage one another to become better players and individuals”.
Both Thompson and Hiller credited the offseason and how much work the team was able to put in in the months prior to the season.
“We worked extremely hard to lay a foundation for success in the fall,” Hiller wrote.
The strength and comradery the team built in the offseason seems to be paying off. In terms of continuing this success farther into the season, they want to trust their skills and keep it simple.
“Focus on what we can control, whether it is our stickwork or our composure on the field,” Hiller said. “Focusing on the controllables will allow us to stay consistent and make progress as the season continues.”
They will look to keep their train of momentum rolling this Saturday, where they will go on the road to face Ohio Northern, a team they defeated 21–3 at home last season. Their next home game will be March 18, where they will take on Otterbein back at Knowlton Athletic Complex. As far as how the rest of the season might go, with a 4–0 start, the sky is the limit.
