W. Soccer extends streak to 14 games - Opposition outscored 10-0 this year

Expectations have been running high for good reason as the 2001 women's Soccer team took to the field a week and a half ago. Impressively enough, the Blue Jays ranked at the top, along with Muhlenberg, of the 2001 Centennial Conference's preseason poll with 93 total points and six first-place votes.

Hopkins comes off an incredible 2000 season, which included a school-record 18 wins and an ECAC championship and with the addition of some promising freshmen it really was no surprise that the Blue Jays received the top preseason ranking.

The 2001 team consists of 15 returning players, which includes sophomores Jessica Sapienza and Aline Bernard leading the offense. Defensively, junior goalie Shannon O'Malley, juniors Lauren Hanlon and Yquem Roman, and sophomore Chrissy Stuart attempt to surpass last season's school-record of 12 shutouts.

The season opener on Sept. 4 pitted the Blue Jays against the Mustangs of Villa Julie here at Homewood Field and, surely enough, Hopkins proved their top ranking. It took 11 minutes for junior midfielder Jill Minger to open the scoring off a pair of passes from Alix Batty and Jen Baldwin. Jessica Sapienza, less than a minute later, netted a shot off an assist from Batty on a freekick.

At this point it was clear that the Blue Jays would control the pace of the game. Later in the half, Sapienza tallied her second goal of the game in the 22nd minute to put Hopkins on top 3-0.

At the 41st minute of the game, senior forward Kacey Foster netted the Blue Jays' fourth and final goal. Hopkins' strong defense took over and made it impossible for the Villa Julie offense to manage any type of surge.

Shannon O'Malley and sophomore Annie Adamczyk combined for four saves in goal and the shutout, while Alix Batty and Jen Baldwin tallied two assists each to contribute to the Blue Jay victory.

Jessica Sapienza, who scored two goals that day, stated, "I think the team is better than ever. We've been working extremely hard, and our expectations are high for the tournament this year."

Next on the Blue Jays' schedule were the Seahawks of St. Mary's. Apparently, both teams brought their defensive "A" games to the field early on. With just 15 seconds remaining in the first half, freshman Sandra Lebo swiped the ball from a Seahawk's defender and recorded her first career goal.

Lebo's goal proved to give the Blue Jays the offensive momentum that was needed to take control of the game. In the second half, Jen Baldwin netted a goal after capitalizing on an assist from Jill Minger. Sophomore Annie Colabella soon followed with her first career goal and Hopkins' third goal less than five minutes later. The Blue Jays' third and final goal gave them a comfortable lead that they would take to the final buzzer.

Shannon O'Malley recorded her16th career shutout, has surpassed the 100-save mark and is just 10 saves from moving into third-place in Hopkins History. This victory was the Blue Jays' 13th straight, including the final 11 games of 2000, a new record for Hopkins women's soccer.

On Sunday, the Blue Jays took to the field to face the Wildcats of Johnson and Wales. Again, first half offense proved to be somewhat slow as senior forward, Lindsay Vodoklys scored the only first half goal in the 33rd minute of the game off an assist from sophomore Leah Blom.

However, in the second half, the Hopkins offense exploded for five goals to give them a 6-0 victory. The offensive surge began with a Jen Baldwin goal off a breakaway just 30 seconds into the half. Kacey Foster followed with a pair of goals off passes from Baldwin and Batty.

Jill Minger followed with her second goal of the season for the Blue Jays, while Jen Baldwin toppedoff the scoring with her second goal of the game. Defensively for Hopkins, sophomore Annie Adamczyk started in goal for the third time in her career and recorded one save and the shutout.

With the victory, the Blue Jays' win streakincreases to an amazing 14 games. Hopkins will try to push the streak to 15 when they take on No. 14 Messiah College at Homewood Field.