Improving their Centennial Conference record to a perfect 8-0, the Men's Soccer team topped Gettysburg 6-4 at home last night.
The win moves the Jays one step closer to clinching the top seed in the upcoming Centennial Tournament.
Against Gettysburg (12-2-2, 6-1 in conference) they Jays battled a team thought to be one of the best in Division III.
Although they lost two of their three games last week, Gettysburg went into the game ranked No. 4 regionally in Division III and they have been in the national rankings. Hopkins ranks No. 6 in the Mid-Atlantic Region.
In Wednesday night's game, the Blue Jays fell behind early by a score of 2-0, but they rallied with three goals to lead at halftime. Senior midfielder Adam Hack scored first, followed by freshman Jeff Grosser. Junior forward Chad Tarabolous put the Jays ahead 3-2 going into the half.
But the lead was short-lived. After Gettysburg evened the score less than a minute into the second half, they took the lead with a goal later in the half.
The Jays responded when a goal of their own, just a few minutes later, when Rob Morrison scored in the 61st minute.
Hopkins followed that goal with another just a few minutes later, when Tarabolous connected to give the Jays a narrow, 5-4 lead.
Senior forward Matt Weill scored in the closing minutes of the contest to give the Jays a more secure 6-4 lead.
They ultimately went on to win by that score.
Earlier in the week, the Men's Soccer team routed Centennial Conference rival Dickinson College 4-1 this past Saturday at Homewood Field.
"Any win is satisfying, but we know our most important games are against conference opponents," noted junior forward Chad Tarabolous.
And the Blue Jays (14-2, 8-0 in conference) notched a very important win, dominating the visiting Red Devils while winning their 27th consecutive regular season conference match.
Tarabolous and senior midfielder Daniel Brienza each scored two goals in the victory.
Despite the lopsided score and ball control, the game was rather close come halftime.
Brienza started the scoring in the fourth minute, connecting with freshman forward Steve Read. Brienza fought off defenders and converted the cross from six yards.
Despite stellar play of late, the Blue Jay defense allowed Red Devil forward Drew Chafetz to even the match in the twenty-fourth. Chafetz beat Hopkins goalkeeper Gary Kane, Jr. with a header off a long cross from teammate Mike Senkowski.
It was the first goal Hopkins had allowed in six October games.
Despite the unfamiliar position of being tied at halftime, the Blue Jays proved they were the better team in the second half.
Brienza opened the flood gates 10 minutes into the second period when he converted on a pass from freshman midfielder Ben Schwartz. Just 15 seconds later, Tarabolous stole the ball deep in Dickinson territory, took on and beat the diving Dickinson goalkeeper Aaron Stemplewicz.
Just eight minutes afterwards, Tarabolous added his second goal on a one touch shot off a beautiful feed from senior Adam Hack.
Tarablous' pair of scores moved the junior into fifth place in the JHU career goal leaders list with 35 goals. He now leads the Blue Jays with 19 goals and 41 points on the season.
"This winning streak is great for team confidence," said Tarabolous. "We feel like we can beat some of the best teams in the country right now if we keep training and playing hard over the last couple of weeks of the regular season.
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