W. Soccer takes out Swarthmore, 3-1

Blue Jays Soccer was in full swing this past week, losing a close match to No. 1 ranked College of New Jersey, only to strike back with a 3-1 victory over Swarthmore on Saturday, giving the team a record of 8-2-1 on the season.

Against the undefeated College of New Jersey Lions, the Blue Jays could not muster any offensive pressure. The offense had several oppurtunities but they were unable to capitalize on them. Their defense effort held the Lions off for the entire first half.

"Thanks to our defense we were 0-0 at the half ," said senior forward Kacey Foster,"and we figured all it would take is a few goals from the offense but unfortunately we never had the chance."

According to Foster, for most of the game the Lions were able to win many of the "50/50 balls."

However, in the second half, the Lions broke loose, forcing a shot passed junior goalkeeper Shannon O'Malley in the 67th minute of the game. Soon thereafter, TCNJ nailed another shot into the back of the Blue Jay net to take a 2-0 advantage.

Time soon expired and the Lions handed Hopkins their second loss of the season. Despite the loss, the Hopkins' defense had a great all around defensive game and O'Malley played a strong game in goal, recording six saves on the day.

The past two seasons Hopkins has fallen to The College of New Jersey by scores of 1-0. On Saturday, the Blue Jays traveled to Pennsylvania to battle the Garnet Tide of Swarthmore.

Hopkins began the game by applying offensive pressure on the Garnet Tide, leading to the opening goal by sophomore midfielder Annie Colabella. Colabella capitalized on an pass from sophomore forward Aline Bernard.

"We had ball possesion most of the time, but there were some scary moments, when they caught us off guard on the counter attack." said Foster.

The Blue Jays took a 1-0 advantage into the half, however in the 61st minute of the game, Hopkins failed to stop a game-tying Garnet drive.

It took only six minutes for the Lady Jays to retaliate, as freshman forward Jen Baldwin relayed a pass to Bernard, who in turn tallied the game-winning goal. Bernard's goal was her third of the season and the ninth of her career.

In the 86th minute Baldwin set up freshman midfielder Sandra Lebo who gave the Blue Jays some insurance with her third goal of the season. Lebo stated, "We really pulled it together in the second half, the defense played really well, leading to many offensive opportunities."

Lebo now has three goals and two assists on the year, while Baldwin upped to 8 assists. The victory increased the Blue Jay record to 8-2-1 and 3-1-1 in Centennial Conference play.

"It was a win, but a disappointing game," commented Foster, "we are a much better team than they are, and we let them hold their own against us."

The Lady Jays host two Centennial Conference matchups this week, as they are pitted against tough conference rival Gettysburg. Hopkins trails the Bullets 6-3 in their previous meetings. On Saturday, Bryn Mawr will take on the Lady Jays here at Homewood. Johns Hopkins leads the series against the Mawrters, 8-1.