In NCAA Tourney, W. Soccer loses 1-0

The Women's Soccer team suffered a disappointing, 1-0 loss at the hands of Stevens Tech on Wednesday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The loss ended the Blue Jays season and worsened their all-time NCAA Tournament record to 0-3.

The loss proved especially disheartening because of the buildup that had preceded the game.

Before the contest, senior goalkeeper Shannon O'Malley reflected on the Blue Jays making the NCAA Tournament.

"As a senior, this is an especially exciting and rewarding time for us. In our last three seasons, we have come extremely close to making it to the NCAAs, but always come short."

Junior Annie Colabella added, "As an underclassman, it makes me so happy, as it does the rest of the underclassmen, to have gotten to this point simply for the sake of our seniors. Making it to the NCAA tournament is exciting beyond words."

But, in the game, the Jays struggled and were unable to convert shots into goals. The contest remained scoreless through the entire first half.

But with 34 minutes to play, sophomore forward Valerie Barnhart scored to break the scoreless tie and give Stevens Tech the lead.

Her goal came on a corner kick. Despite falling behind, Hopkins found itself unable to mount an effective offensive charge.

The Jays, despite taking four more shots than their opponent, were unable to capitalize on their offensive opportunities.

Stevens Tech goalie Rommy Guevara recorded five saves while O'Malley made one save in a losing cause for the Jays.

The Jays end their season with a 14-6-2 record.

Earlier in the week, the Jays were more successful.

The freshmen once again proved their firepower in the team's pursuit of the Centennial Conference Championship this past Sunday, November 10 against Gettysburg College.

Freshman sensation Meg McIntosh scored twice and fellow freshman Brenda Bzdak also scored a goal on the road to attaining the Centennial Conference title for the third time for the Hopkins' women's soccer team.

Bzdak launched the scoring in the 10th minute of the first half, nailing an impressive left-footed shot into the upper corner of the net from 20 yards out.

It was in the 73rd minute that McIntosh scored her first goal -- a one-on-one shot that she managed to slip past the Gettysburg goalie.

This was quickly followed four minutes later by her second goal, which was off an assist from Sophomore Kathleen Turley.

Turley stated, "Coming into this tournament, we were seeded third -- a situation very similar to what happened last year in conference play -- but this year we overcame what others thought of us and proved that we are the best team in the conference."

O'Malley and her defense had a stellar performance in keeping Gettysburg completely off of the scoreboard.

Shannon stopped 10 of Gettysburg's shots.

Junior Captain Annie Collabella commended her teammate on a stellar performance.

"Shannon played absolutely amazing in this game. She was diving like a champ to keep Gettysburg from scoring. It was fantastic."

Junior Erinn Sosa added, "Winning the Centennial Conference title has been our long-term season goal this entire fall. Attaining that goal has been very meaningful. It proves that our team is capable of accomplishing anything we put our minds to."

This exciting championship game was preceded by an equally exhilarating competition against Franklin & Marshall on the previous Saturday, November 9th in the Centennial Conference semifinals.

Jill Minger sealed the Hopkins victory with her goal in the 70th minute of play.

Sophomore Kathleen Turley assisted Minger's shot.

Minger's goal deflected off the goalie's hands into the goal to give the Jays a 2-0 lead.

This goal moved Minger into third place at Hopkins in career points, with 56, and fourth in career goals, with 20.

Minger is also ranked first in school history for career assists with 16.

In addition to assisting Minger's goal, Sophomore Kathleen Turley scored her own goal to initially put the Jays on the scoreboard in the 63rd minute of play.

Turley's goal had come off from a spectacular punt kick from keeper O'Malley.

O'Malley commented, "It was exciting to have one of my plays be so directly involved in scoring. I don't get much chance to do that as a goalie, so that was extremely rewarding for me."

Sophomore Jenn Sciarpelletti weighed in, "Franklin & Marshall is a big rival of ours, so beating them in this game was very satisfying for us. We tied them in regular season, so winning was especially fulfilling. It proved we truly are the better team."

Of note, Freshman Meg McIntosh's performance in the past few games earned her the honor of being named the Centennial Player of the Week. She scored four goals in three games last week. Two of those goals came in the Centennial Conference title game against Gettysburg.