The Oberlin women’s lacrosse team started its season off strong with two wins, defeating the Otterbein University Cardinals last weekend and the Lourdes University Gray Wolves this past Monday.

“Playing Otterbein and Lourdes was helpful in gauging how our team plays on a full field and how our offensive and defensive plays can be utilized during the season,” said junior Kate Hanick. “Even though these weren’t teams that significantly tested us, I think we’re more comfortable as a team now, and we know what we really need to work on for our upcoming games.”

Hanick and the rest of the Yeowomen look at this strong start as a way to keep the team hungry for more wins, especially as they meet tougher competition.

“Starting the season off in this way definitely sets the expectations pretty high up and gives us confidence heading into the upcoming games,” said first-year Michaela Puterbaugh.

In their season opener, the Yeowomen beat the Cardinals 10–3 and saw contributions from five different Yeowomen. The team also dominated the ground ball battle, winning 31 to Otterbein’s 21.

Sophomore Grace Barlow led all scorers with four goals, along with two assists. Fellow sophomore Suzanna Doak and junior Kate Hanick each added a pair of goals, and first-years Hannah Heinke-Green and Sara Phister each netted a goal of their own. Heinke-Green also added an assist in the victory.

The first 10 minutes of the game were close, with Oberlin only up 2–1, both goals a result of Barlow’s efforts. The Yeowomen ended the half up 4–1 and came out strong in the second half in response to a quick Otterbein score.

After their Saturday victory, Oberlin had a quick turnaround before playing host to Lourdes University on Monday afternoon at the All Pro Athletic Center. The Yeowomen made quick work of the Gray Wolves, defeating them 22–6.

“This game was a great opportunity to work on our offense,” said first-year Sloane Garelick. “The defense we play involves a lot of communication, which I think we were successful with, especially against Otterbein, so playing Lourdes and getting to focus on offense was great.”

The Yeowomen were indeed focused, scoring 22 goals off of 14 different players.

“Our whole team is extremely versatile — each player really has their own special skills that add to the overall talent of the team,” said Hanick. “It’s great to have an offense where each person is a threat to goal. This gives us a lot of variability with plays and keeps the other team’s defense on their toes.”

Phister led all scorers with a career-high five goals and was joined by a hat trick from Doak. First-year Marissa Maxfield and junior Bronwen Schumacher each added in a pair of goals.

The Yeowomen saw scoring from all classes — Andrews and fellow seniors Phoebe Hammer and Hannah Christiansen, Hanick, sophomore Emily Kipling and first-years Puterbaugh, Morgan Daruwala, Heinke-Green and Garelick each added in their own tallies. Phister and Daruwala also led the team in draw controls, with six and five respectively.

“It’s so awesome that every teammate is an asset, and there isn’t just one person we rely on,” Hammer said.

“Otterbein was a good win for us, especially because they beat us last year,” said Head Coach Lynda McCandlish. “With that said, there are some things we need to work on. It’s really great to see a lot of players score, and I think that having multiple threats on attack will definitely be to our advantage this season.”

The Yeowomen look for another victory as they take on Alma College on Saturday at Baldwin Wallace University. Oberlin opens North Coast Athletic Conference play after spring break as the team faces the Kenyon College Ladies on March 29.