By Liza Bennett
Transcript Reporter
The Ohio Wesleyan Women’s Field Hockey team has started the 2012 season with a double header that left the team with a 1-1 record.
OWU played Bethany and Hendrix back to back on Sept. 2 and Sept. 3 at Selby Stadium. The Bishops were able to take down Bethany with a score of 9-0. Senior Lauren Bailey was the lead scorer in the win against Bethany.
“I did not expect to be the lead scorer in the first game, so it was very humbling and I wouldn’t have been able to score if our team didn’t work together as a whole,” Bailey said. “I didn’t score my first goal until my junior year, but it’s fun to have the opportunity to contribute to the team in different ways, since in the past my contributions were mostly defensive.”
Ohio Wesleyan took the lead just over five minutes into the game when junior defender Jenna Ortega sent the ball from the middle to the left side, where senior midfielder Calina Hilyard was able to score; they continued to outscore Bethany for the duration of the game. The Bishops outshot Bethany, 70-0.
The Bishops were unable to continue their winning streak on Sept. 3 and lost to Hendrix 2-0.
Bailey felt as though having two games back-to-back may have contributed to the defeat the suffered against Hendrix.
“We played Hendrix the day after Bethany so I think we were all a little tired and we didn’t play to our full potential,” Bailey said. “We can look at our mistakes from the Hendrix game and focus on improving those areas for our next game.”
Ortega, who is one of the captains, said that the team performed well for the first two games, but still has work to do.
“There are only 16 of us this year and all 16 girls have something to contribute to the team because we are only as strong as our weakest player,” Ortega said. “Since we are a small team we have been able to connect well on and off the field, this has been clear since the first day of preseason. The upper class-men have returned ready to play and we have a strong and ambitious freshman class.”
Senior Captain Calina Hilyard has high hopes the team will have a season to remember.
“I feel as though we have the tools we need to have a winning season that we can all be proud of, it’s just a matter of putting the pieces of the puzzle together which I know we will do very soon,” Hilyard said. “I can’t wait to have the best possible senior year season with my fellow teammates.”
The next home game for the Bishops will be on Wednesday, Sept. 19 against Wooster at 4:30 p.m. at Selby Stadium.