The women’s lacrosse team celebrated its Senior Day while playing the Denison University Big Red at the Austin E. Knowlton Athletic Complex last Saturday. The Yeowomen took an early lead and hung tight for most of the first half, but Denison pulled away soon after to clinch a 15–8 victory over Oberlin.

The Big Red entered the contest ranked No. 3 in the North Coast Athletic Conference, their roster boasting midfielder Whitney Powell, who has the most assists in the conference. The Yeowomen kept it competitive, though, with juniors Suzanna Doak and Grace Barlow combining for the first score of the game. With the first goal, Barlow tallied her 39th goal of the season, and later added one more to bring her total to 40 goals.

Following the solid efforts of Doak and Barlow, the team headed into halftime tied at five, but the close game didn’t last long. The Big Red dominated after the break and outscored the Yeowomen 10–3 in the second half. Head Coach Lynda McCandlish said that her team definitely had scoring opportunities, but the efforts might have come too late.

“There were a few offensive possessions that we didn’t capitalize on, which in turn gave them opportunities to go and score on goal,” McCandlish said.

Denison began the second frame with three unanswered goals. Sophomore attacker Sara Phister responded by finding the back of the net at 19 minutes, 41 seconds. The Big Red refused to stand on their 8–6 lead, however, and added five unanswered goals to take a comfortable 13–6 advantage and put the game out of reach for the Yeowomen.

First-year midfielder Natalie Rauchie scored Oberlin’s seventh goal with just under seven minutes remaining, and Phister eventually collected the final goal of the contest and her second of the game about five minutes later. Unfortunately, their scoring efforts came too late.

With the Senior Day loss behind them, the Yeowomen quickly turned their attention to their two remaining NCAC games against the Allegheny College Gators and the Kenyon College Ladies.

Sophomore goalie Alexa L’Insalata, who had seven saves in the game against Denison, expressed confidence in the team’s ability to play well in those remaining games.

“I have the utmost faith in this team and believe in the amazing skills and level of intensity that each and every player is capable of,” she said. “This week will be nothing short of exciting.”

In spite of the fact that the loss pushed the Yeowomen back into a fourth place tie with Kenyon in the NCAC, Barlow still expects big things from this team.

“While it may seem as though our record is showing us stumbling right now, the truth is we haven’t even peaked yet,” she said. “We’re poised to do so at the exact time we need to in order to make our postseason goals a reality.”

The team’s playoff chances took another hit Wednesday night when they lost 11–10 to the Gators on a goal with five seconds left in regulation. The loss moved the team’s conference record to 3–4 and pushed them into a fifth place tie with Allegheny in the NCAC. They will now need a win against Kenyon this Saturday to have a chance at making the playoffs.

Should the Yeowomen make the playoffs, Hanick is confident the team will be able to make the necessary adjustments to be successful, no matter who they play.

“Everyone has been completely invested in reaching our NCAC goal,” she said. “We’ve taken it a game at a time and have focused on altering our playing style to break down each team we’re against. We have the knowledge and talent to do so and that’s a pretty incredible thing, something I’ve never witnessed before in my four years on the team.”

The team will play for its playoff fate this Saturday at 1 p.m. in Gambier, Ohio, against the Kenyon College Ladies.