Battling for the victory in their Centennial Conference openers, the Blue Jays and the Haverford Fords went head to head on Sept. 17. The Blue Jays were a little over three minutes away from taking the game to overtime until the Fords scored a late goal earning them the 3-2 win. The game marks the end of the Jays’ six-game winning streak.
The Fords put immediate pressure on the Jays with three shots and two corner kick attempts in the first ten minutes. In the 13th minute, the Fords’ freshman forward Nick Jannelli took a pass from junior midfielder Russell Nicholson at the top of the box and sunk a shot into the left post.
“The goal fell into a mix of players in the 18 off of a cross, and their attacking [midfielder] simply got to the ball quicker,” Hopkins sophomore midfielder Arden Chew said.
A little under 13 minutes after the Fords’ first goal, the Jays were called for a foul about 30 yards from the goal. Taking advantage of the free kick, the Fords put another ball into the back of the net.
Although the Fords quickly earned themselves a 2-0 advantage, the Jays did not let the Fords keep their lead for much longer.
“While the loss hurts, it’s very encouraging to see the team fight back from a 2-0 deficit and earn the better chances in the second half,” Chew said.
After a turnover in the Fords’ defensive end, Chew sent a strike past the Ford’s goalkeeper to put the Jays on the scoreboard and give Chew his second goal of the season. With a little under 32 minutes left in regulation time, freshman midfielder Achim Younker sent home a long cross from junior forward Mike Swiercz, tying the game 2-2.
The Blue Jays and the Fords battled for the tie-breaking goal, with 12 shots for both sides in this competitive contest. In the third-to-last minute of the game, the Fords took their 13th shot to win the game. Haverford’s Jannelli’s shot rebounded off the post, giving freshman forward Peter Baroff the opportunity to shoot to rebound it back into the net.
“Haverford’s first and last goal definitely standout. They were very scrappy goals that Haverford simply earned by their will to get to the ball first,” Chew said. “For the last goal, their attacking player crashed the box and grabbed an easy rebound off of the far post before our defenders got there. We hope to learn from this moving forward by capitalizing on opportunities in both the defensive third and attacking third quicker.”
Last year, the Blue Jays lost to the Fords in the Centennial Conference semifinals, which served as an incredible source of motivation heading into the season.
“The team was very excited to play Haverford,” Chew said. “They are one of the best teams we get to play each year, and we wanted redemption for the loss to them last year. Haverford was an elite eight team in the NCAA tournament last year, and we definitely had our chances to win the game, [proving] that we can compete with any team in the nation.”
Saturday’s game broke the Blue Jay’s six-game unbeaten streak since the opening of the season, the longest streak since 2010 and tied for the sixth longest in program history.
“This season is definitely off to a better start than last season,” Chew said. “The team shares a hunger that is really palpable; We want to have an extraordinary season, and nothing less is acceptable.”
The Blue Jays will return to the field on Sept. 21 as they travel to Stevenson University in nearby Owings Mills, Md.
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