Eliot Barrengos, Contributing Writer
The College of Wooster Fighting Scots women’s field hockey finished their season off last Saturday with a 1-0 win over Oberlin. The Scots, who lost their final home game of the season to Allegheny College on Oct. 26, finished their season on a high note with a victory on the road. Both teams battled back and forth throughout the first quarter until Wooster delivered a fatal blow in the 22nd minute to break the scoreless tie and ultimately seal a victory. The winning shot came off the stick of Mary Johnson ’26, who scored her team-leading seventh goal of the year on a redirected feed through the middle. Johnson reflected on her last goal of the 22-23 season saying, “it is always nice to score, it makes you feel like you’re giving something back to your team.”
The winning sequence was a team effort, with Olivia Nengel ’24 assisting in the goal. Lucy Agurkis ’23 took a penalty corner at the top of the circle, before promptly swinging the ball to Nengel who was placed on the wing. Nengel fired the ball towards the goal, where Johnson was able to tip it into the net. When asked about the game-winning sequence, Nengel said she was “nervous because on corners there is a lot of pressure, but I was excited and confident that we could capitalize on [the] opportunity.”
The win capped off a tough season for the women’s field hockey team. The Scots finished with a 7-12 overall record and a 2-6 conference record to place third to last in the NCAC, ahead of Oberlin and Earlham Colleges. Despite their record, the Scots remained resilient all season long. The season, which was the first under new head coach Jomara Coghlan, was an opportunity to reset and rebuild the program. With eight first-year players on the team, the season became, as Nengel put it, “a season of learning and one that will be a great launching point for this program in the years to come.”
The team also faced several injuries throughout the season that prevented them from maintaining consistent momentum. The Scots did show flashes of their best play, highlighted by a winning streak in early October in which they took three of five contests. During this stretch, Wooster collected wins against Earlham College, Washington and Jefferson College and Concordia University. Agurkis commented on the spirit of the group saying, “we definitely had some lows, but we reached our peak performance right at the end.” The group remained despite some losing stretches including three straight conference losses that unofficially ended their season. Nengel added to the feeling of toughness saying, “I think my big takeaway from this season has been how resilient we were able to be as a team.”
Nengel reflected on the final game and the season as a whole, saying that she felt a mix of emotions because it was her last game with the senior class, who she called “the backbone of this program and a group of girls that I admire and look up to.” Because of her immense respect for her senior teammates, Nengel said that “I was excited that we were able to pull out a win for them.”
Johnson, a standout in the Scots’ large first-year class, is already thinking about next season, saying, “I’m looking forward to growing more as a player, and getting to play more field hockey.” Saturday’s win was both a flash of what the future might look like and a moment to stop and appreciate the accomplishments of those who concluded their college careers. Agurkis, who is one of five seniors, reflected on playing their final game on Saturday, saying, “I’m going to miss playing field hockey with my closest friends but even though I no longer play, I know I’ll keep the relationships I’ve formed with the team.”
Congratulations to the Scots for finishing the season strong and to the seniors for tremendous careers!
The Wooster Voice 