M. Soccer takes top seed in Centennial

The Men's Soccer team finished their regular season atop the competitive Centennial Conference after a week that included victories over Franklin & Marshall and Gettysburg.

With the wins, the Blue Jays ended the season with a 15-2 overall mark, while remaining undefeated at 9-0 in the conference.

The team also ensured that their 27-game regular season conference winning streak will remain intact until next year.

With the No. 1 seed in this weekend's Centennial Conference Tournament, Hopkins will host the games and will take on No. 4 Muhlenburg on Saturday.

The other Semifinal match will feature No. 2 Franklin & Marshall and No. 3 Gettysburg. The winners will play on Sunday.

Blue Jays players stressed the importance of capitalizing on their opportunity.

"Our goal was to just keep winning into the postseason and to host the conference tournament at the end of the year. It had been our focus in practice all season, and we accomplished just that," said junior striker Chad Tarabolous.

This past Saturday, the Blue Jays traveled to Lancaster, Pa. to take on the Diplomats of Franklin & Marshall in a game with the conference tournament's top seed at stake.

The Blue Jays came out hard to start the game, earning a penalty kick in the seventh minute. Senior midfielder Daniel Brienza promptly stepped up and buried the shot for his eleventh goal of the season.

While the rest of the game proved rather even between the conference's top teams, neither could manage a goal and Brienza's penalty strike was the deciding play.

Hopkins managed eight shots while F&M took nine, only to be stifled each time.

Blue Jay goalkeeper Gary Kane, Jr. recorded his third shutout of the season, marked by his six saves. Chris Milano, the F&M keeper also recorded six saves, but couldn't stop Brienza's point-blank strike.

The defense was once again anchored by the fine play of senior Greg Mangels, and freshmen Jeff Grosser and Rob Morrison. The play of the newcomers has truly been one of the team's best surprises of the year. They have helped sturdy the defense despite the lack of college playing experience.

"While playing so many freshmen affects the team, these players have lightly after beating McDaniel, and they now realize the severe consequences of making assumptions. The Jays recognize that they must constantly fight to prove themselves in their conference and in Division III on the whole. Saturday's game was a frustrating loss, but the Jays hope to use the lessons they learned from this defeat to facilitate success in the playoffs.

An extremely optimistic sign as the Blue Jays head toward the playoffs was the game last Tuesday against McDaniel College, the field hockey team's final regular-season home game.

The Blue Jays entered the game seeded No. 20 while McDaniel was seeded No. 12 in the NFHCA coaches' poll.

However, they would not let this faze them, and they went out aggressively on both offense and defense and proved once again that they are capable of hanging in there with the top teams in Division III.

The lone goal of the 1-0 Hopkins victory was scored by freshman midfielder Meighan Roose with 10 minutes and 30 seconds left in the game. Roose scored the goal on the rebound of another shot by the Blue Jays to put Hopkins ahead of the McDaniel Green Terror for good.

The Jays' dominant defensive lineup of junior Ashlee Duncan, senior Jenn Parker and Jill DeStefano stifled all threats by the Green Terror, showcasing once again that the Jays have one of the strongest defenses in the league. Missi Schafhauser made five saves in her fourth shutout of the season.

Each team took eight shots and the Blue Jays held a 6-4 advantage in penalty corners, making the game extremely exciting up until the last minute.

The Jays' ability to hold off one of the top-ranked teams enabled them to build confidence as the regular season comes to a close. The players showed once again that they are one of the most formidable Division III teams in the nation and that they can beat any team when they bring their best game to the field.

Meighan Roose's dramatic goal in this thrilling match against McDaniel earned her a spot on the Centennial Conference Honor Roll for the week of Nov. 3.

This was her fourth goal of the season, but not the first game-winning shot that she has made this year.

She has made a huge impact on the team as a freshman, leaving fans excited about her promising future as a Blue Jay.

Another Blue Jay being honored for her stellar performance is Missi Schafhauser. Schafhauser was selected to the NFHCA Division III North/South Senior All-Star game for her outstanding career and standout season.

She was one of two goalkeepers chosen to participate in the All-Star game on Nov. 23 at Springfield College.

She has been one of Hopkins' most consistent players this year, starting in all 17 of the Jays' matches this season. She has accumulated a total of 123 saves this year and, on average, has given up just 1.61 goals per game. Overall, Schafhauser has 254 career saves and 1.25 goals against average. She also holds the record for saves in a single game with 40, which came in a game against top-ranked Salisbury College last year.

For now, though, the Blue Jays have their work cut out for them with the playoffs. The postseason commences this Saturday, so it is time for the Blue Jays to apply all the skills they have acquired throughout the season.

The Blue Jays have made an effort to learn from both their victories and defeats, enhancing their level of play going into the postseason. They have worked tirelessly to become one of the strongest Division III teams in the country and so hopefully this weekend will be their time to shine.

The Jays will face Washington College Saturday at 2 p.m in the Centennial Conference tournament semifinals. The game will be held in Westminster, MD the home of McDaniel College.