Women's field hockey playoffs
The No. 2 seeded Ladies finished up their regular season Saturday with a 5-0 win over Earlham College. That victory moved the team's record to 13-4 overall and 8-4 in the NCAC. Oberlin will head to Gambier after dropping a 2-1 overtime decision to Wittenberg University in its season finale. The Yeowomen have the No. 3 seed in the playoff with an 10-8 overall record and an 8-4 NCAC mark.
The Ladies' appearance in the conference playoffs is the first since the NCAC began the four-team format three seasons ago. Oberlin has been in the playoffs in each of the last two seasons, but lost in the opening round each time.
During the regular season these two teams split games, each winning on its home turf. Kenyon won the first confrontation on October 2 in a 3-2 double-overtime thriller. Oberlin fired back on October 27 with a 2-1 win in regulation time.
The Ladies are led offensively by sophomore Sarah Pfeifer and senior Liz Aragona. Pfeifer has scored a team-best ten goals this season and leads the team with a total of 25 points. Aragona not only leads the team, but is tied for the conference lead with 10 assists. She's also scored three goals during the regular season.
Defensively, the Ladies are one of the best teams in the conference. They hold opponents to an average of 1.19 goals per game and rank second in the conference with an average of 7.65 saves per game. Kenyon goalie Kimberly Brown, Class of 2007, has four shutout wins this season and leads the conference with a .855 saves percentage.
Oberlin is powered by Meg Reitz, a junior who has 13 goals, five assists and ranks second among all NCAC players with 31 points. Lauren Malinowski is the Oberlin keeper and she owns a 1.23 goals against average.
The winner of this contest will face the winner of the other semifinal game, which pits the No. 1 seeded Wittenberg Tigers (13-3) against the No. 4 seeded Wooster Fighting Scots (13-5). The conference final is slated for Saturday at the site of the highest remaining seed.