As the old sports adage goes, defense produces championship teams.
None may know this better than Lisa Blackadar's coaches and
teammates on the 1983-86 College of Wooster field hockey teams,
which, with Blackadar anchoring the backfield, went to
four-straight NCAA Div. III Tournaments ‚ the only such
stretch in program history.
Blackadar, a native of Stirling, N.J., actually starred in two
sports with the Scotties during the 1980s, as she also was a
standout defender for the lacrosse team, earning first-team
all-conference honors twice (1986, 1987) and first-team all-region
recognition once (1987) while leading the squad to a 25-21
record.
Field hockey, though, was where she particularly made her mark.
Blackadar quickly made an impact, helping Wooster to six shutouts
in 12 games as well as posting one assist and two defensive saves
as a first-year. That season, the Scotties finished 9-3-3 overall
as an independent team, forging ties with a pair of Div. I schools
in Ohio University (2-2) and Ohio State University (0-0), and
received a bid to the 16-team NCAA tourney, but were sent home with
a 6-0 loss to Smith College in the opening round.
The next fall (1984), the Wooster stickers went on a tear, with
Blackadar starting at the link position, in their first year in the
newly-formed North Coast Athletic Conference. The Scotties won
their first 10 games and posted a 16-3-2 overall record, sharing
the initial NCAC championship with Denison University. The defense
was the story, as it posted a still-standing school record of 15
shutouts on the season. Once again, Wooster earned the right to
play in the national tournament where it was ousted by SUNY Oneonta
3-0.
In 1985, Wooster played a challenging schedule, but still finished
14-6-1, with three of those losses coming to nationally-ranked Div.
III teams and another against the University of Notre Dame.
However, the tough competition helped out in the long run as the
Scotties made it to the NCAA's again and upended SUNY Cortland 1-0
in a flick-off. They nearly took the next step to the øFinal
Four," but lost a closely-played game to Drew University 1-0.
Blackadar anchored the defense all season, leading it to eight
shutouts while also contributing two goals and four assists. For
her efforts, she picked up first-team all-conference and all-region
accolades.
Then-head coach Sheila Noon particularly praised Blackadar's play
in the win over Cortland State, remarking øShe had an
exceptional game. She made numerous tackles on the ball,
intercepted passes, and marked well in the circle."
As impressive as her first three seasons were, Blackadar was at
her best as a senior, leading Wooster to a second NCAC
co-championship and to the NCAA playoffs once again, in addition to
13 more victories (13-6). Individually, she left her stamp on the
program by being named to the Penn Monto All-America First Team,
just the second Scottie at the time to earn the national honor.
øIt was a thrill to be a part of two very successful
programs," summarized Blackadar. øMy teammates and I played
with real skill and heart for ourselves, each other, and our
coaches Terry Prodoehl and Sheila Noonan. I am very proud of my
accomplishments as an athlete at Wooster."
Blackadar, who graduated with a degree in art history, has moved
on from chasing a little hard ball to chasing her two children,
Grace (7) and Ben (3). Naturally, the competitive drive that kept
her playing two sports has never stopped as she and her husband,
Stephen Byars '86, stay active, running local 5K races.
