With the odds stacked against them, the Men's Soccer team mounted a formidable effort against one of the top Division III teams, Messiah, but fell short 1-0 to end their short stay in the NCAA Tournament.
The game was scoreless for the entire first half as a result of numerous missed scoring opportunities on both sides. The second half started the same way, until Messiah junior Matt Bills scored on a penalty kick with just over 25 minutes remaining in the contest. The Jays were unable to recover, as junior forward Chard Tarabolous and freshman forward Steve Read had chances late in the game, but the Jays were unable to score. The game ended with a 1-0 score.
Going into the game, the Jays knew they had their work cut out for them. Messiah was the 2000 NCAA Division III National Champion, and was a national semifinalist last year. The game marked one of the first times all season that the Blue Jays were considered underdogs.
Before the game, Coach Matt Smith talked about his team's misfortune of having to play one of the best.
"It's a rather unlucky draw for us, having to travel to Messiah," said Coach Smith. "Soccer is everything there. They consistently draw 3,000 fans or so. It'll be a battle in a fantastic soccer atmosphere."
His predictions rang true, and the game was close, but the Jays were unable to muster a victory. Their 11-game winning streak came to a close with the loss.
The Blue Jays were triumphant, however, in the games leading up to the tournament.
The men's soccer team penalty-kicked their way into the NCAA tournament with two overtime victories this past weekend in winning the Centennial Conference Championship Tournament, held at Homewood Field. It was Hopkins' fourth men's soccer league championship in seven years.
The Blue Jays improved to 15-2-2 on the season after eliminating Franklin & Marshall in the finals on Sunday, just one day after beating Muhlenberg in the Semifinals.
Both games went into overtime and were only settled with penalty shootouts.
"Sunday's match was a tough one. We had a few real good chances early, but couldn't convert. We've had a few problems scoring goals lately, but we still played well," commented Coach Matt Smith.
Sunday's final was not as close as the scoreboard indicated -- the Blue Jays out-shot the Diplomats 23-7, yet both teams managed to score only a single goal.
Seconds before halftime, senior striker Chad Tarabolous put Hopkins on top by deflecting in a long ball from freshman defender Rob Morrison.
While Hopkins controlled the second half, the Diplomats managed to even the game with a 72nd minute score. F&M striker Alex Sanchez converted off a beautiful corner kick from teammate Dave Hellers, heading home the equalizer.
As the ensuing penalty kick shoot-out began, players from each team put their faith squarely on the shoulders of their goalkeepers.
For the Blue Jays, the goalkeeper made the difference. As he has all season, Hopkins goalie Gary Kane, Jr. showed up his counterpart. Kane, Jr. with some help from the goalpost, managed to allow only three goals on five point-blank shots.
As the shoot-out entered the fifth and final round, both teams had converted three of four opportunities. Kane rose to the occasion, diving and saving an F&M shot to his left.
Kane's save opened the door for Morrison to end the game.
The result was a 1-1 tie, broken by a 4-3 Hopkins advantage in penalty kicks.
The win was the 11th straight for the Blue Jays.
"Kane was the man," said Coach Smith. "He was big time. Gary's an intense player, real fearless. He showed us all this weekend the talent he has to potential for."
On Saturday, Hopkins defeated the fourth seed Muhlenberg in the Conference Semifinals, also by means of a penalty shoot-out.
This match proved to be an even struggle for both teams, as is expected whenever rivals meet. While Hopkins controlled the opening half, out-shooting the Mules 5-1, neither team managed a score. Tarabolous proved the closest to scoring for the Blue Jays, converting on a try just seconds after time had expired.
The second half was a different story, however. Muhlenberg stepped up their play, matching Hopkins at every turn. The Mules held the shot advantage in the second period, 4-3. However, once again neither team could put away a winning shot.
The game had to be settled by penalty kicks.
After a goal by Hopkins senior Daniel Brienza, Kane saved the first shot he faced, putting the Blue Jays up 1-0. Both teams scored in the next three rounds.
Blue Jay senior midfielder Adam Hack had the opportunity to put the Mules away by converting in the fifth round, but he sent his shot over the crossbar. Muhlenberg senior David Vassilaros evened the score at four with his strike in the bottom half of the fifth round, bringing on extra shots.
Both teams scored in the sixth round, but neither converted in the seventh. The eighth round began with a goal by Hopkins senior Matt Weill. Kane once again performed well with the game on the line-deflecting freshman Matt Pitetti's try off the crossbar to end the game and advance his club to Sunday's league championship with a 6-5 penalty kick advantage.
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