Madeleine Lawson
Contributing Writer
The field hockey team came out to a great start this weekend with a shutout against Earlham College 2-0 at John P. Papp Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 23.
The win brought them to a 6-2 record and the team’s best eight-game stretch to begin a season since 2009, when the team won eight straight contests.
Sammi Pavlecic ’21 scored the first goal in the 21st minute. In the 15th minute, a pair of shots sailed wide to help open the first scoring play minutes later. Sydney Schuster ’21 then dribbled to the middle of the circle off a penalty corner and passed the ball to the left post, where Pavlecic completed the play.
Pavlecic’s goal marks the first goal in regulation during the team’s home North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) contest this season.
For the second goal, Lauren Abbot ’18 passed the ball to captain Erika Womack ’19 at the top of the circle. Womack threaded the needle to give a cross-field shot to the corner of the cage.
Immediately after Womack’s goal, Earlham charged back in an attempt to score, but goalkeeper Katie Shideler ’21 blocked the shot. Shideler logged a total of four saves for the game.
Pavlecic commented that the best part of Saturday’s game for her was not only scoring, but also the team effort in the victory.
“I look forward to every moment spent with this team. Whether we are winning, losing, practicing, conditioning or even just eating together. I always have a great time with everyone!” said Pavlecic.
While Saturday’s game went well for the women, the team fell to visiting DePauw 4-0 in Sunday’s game at John P. Papp Stadium, ending their weekend with a split against the NCAC’s two Indiana programs.
Early on, Wooster’s defense rose to the occasion, blocking two shots before Shideler blocked two more in the first two minutes. Twelve minutes later, Harriet Sudduth ’20 led Wooster on an offensive charge with two blazing shots off penalty corners. Sudduth nearly cut the deficit to one goal in the second half when she made a shot underneath the pad of DePauw keeper Hannah Metzger, which just barely rolled past the far goalpost.
Most notably for Wooster, Shideler logged an impressive season-high of 20 saves on Sunday.
“The most motivating thing for me while in goal is thinking about playing for my team,” said Shideler. “Being the last line of defense is kind of a stressful job, but then I think about how if the ball gets through me I will have let down my team and that’s the last thing I want, so that’s what allows me to give my everything for every ball to try and stop it.”
Despite Sunday’s loss, captain Womack is optimistic for the rest of the season.
“We have a strong team this year; our hard work and determination to win will help us reach our goal of making conference this year,” said Womack.
For their next game the field hockey team will be traveling to NCAC leader Kenyon College (8-1, 5-0 NCAC) this Wednesday.