Box Score

Oberlin, Ohio - After playing to a first half, 1-1 draw, the Oberlin field hockey team unleashed a season-best five second period goals as they tripled up Earlham 6-2, to kick off Homecoming Saturday at Oberlin College.

Earlham got on the board first scoring after the opening fifteen minutes of play went scoreless. Oberlin sophomore Emily Whitaker evened the score near the 10:00 mark with a nice goal assisted by first-year Hannah Lindner-Finlay. Neither team could score again in the first period and these two rivals went to the break tied 1-1.

As the second half got underway, the Quakers were able to strike first once again; this time on a goal by Nicole VanScyoc. Less than five minutes later Whitaker struck again to even the score for Oberlin. With Whitaker's second goal of the day the Oberlin offense broke through.

Oberlin gained the momentum of the match and within minutes, junior defensewoman Natasha Cohan found the cage again to give Oberlin a 3-2 lead, and a lead that the home team would not relinquish. Forty-nine seconds later Emily Whitaker notched her first hat-trick of the season, scoring on a penalty shot after an Earlham foul in the box.

Head Coach Deb Ranieri said, "We really came alive in the second half and were energized when Emily tied the game for us for the second time. It really feels great to get a win, but I am most excited to see the way we persevered after being down and how we were able to put things together that we have been working on in practice this week."

Oberlin was not done after building a 4-2 lead though. Tasha Cohan got back into the act with just under ten minutes remaining in the game, scoring her second goal of the season. Oberlin continued to dominate play for the final minutes of the game and was able to cash in with no time left on the clock. Whitaker played the set-up role as she connected with junior Gillian Winbourn on a game ending penalty corner.

Oberlin (1-8, 1-4 NCAC) evened the season series with Earlham (4-6, 1-5 NCAC) with the victory, and has now scored eight goals in their last two games after a slow start to the season offensively. Oberlin will try to make it two in a row when they face non-conference foe DePauw next Saturday at 12 pm.