Field Hockey stages comeback vs. Juniata

The Johns Hopkins field hockey team evened its record at 1-1 with a thrilling comeback victory last Saturday night at Homewood Field, besting Juniata College in the Blue Jays' home opener.Johns Hopkins scored both of its goals in the final three minutes of the game to edge Juniata by a score of 2-1.

"It feels fantastic to win our home opener," said head coach Megan Callahan. "Especially since it was a come-from-behind win."

The game was characterized by suffocating defense by both teams, asneither squad was able to score a goal for the first 62 minutes.Hopkins' sophomore goalkeeper Meredith Shifman made five saves and sophomore midfielder Meighan Roose added a defensive save to silence the Eagles for much of the game.Juniata's goalkeeper, Melonie Sappe also turned in a solid performance, blocking six shots over the course of the match.

The Eagles finally snapped the scoreless tie with eight minutes left in regulation, as Jean Silvey pushed a penalty stroke past freshman goalkeeper Dayna Eng.However, the Blue Jays came up with a goal soon after. During a power play against a strong Juniata defense, senior forward Jenny Farrelly knocked in a goal with just 2:40 remaining on the clock.

With the score knotted at 1-1, Hopkins kept the pressure on Juniata and earned a penalty corner. Farrelly passed the ball in to senior forward and co-captain Kelly Hewitt, who fed her co-captain, senior midfielder Ashlee Duncan. Duncan fired the game-winner ball past Sappe with 1:30 left in the game, sealing the Hopkins victory.Juniata could not muster a serious offensive threat in the final minute and a half, giving Hopkins its first victory of the year.Juniata's record dropped to 2-2 with the loss.

The come-from-behind victory was crucial for the Blue Jays, as it came on the heels of a crushing 7-1 defeat to Mary Washington College in Virginia three days earlier.Sophomore forward Caite Kappel was the lone Blue Jay to score in this forgettable defeat.Her goal came in the second half with just 11 seconds left.Mary Washington's offense proved its potency throughout the game, staying on the attack for the majority of the game. Despite nine saves, Schifman could not hold off the onslaught as Mary Washington got on the board early and kept building on its lead.Hopkins' junior defender Kate Rydstrom also contributed a defensive save for the Jays.

Hopkins managed to take twelve shots, but they were all stifled by Mary Washington's net minder, Robyn Lankford, who notched six saves in the contest.

"It was definitely a tough first game," acknowledged Hewitt, "but the loss helped us realize some of the aspects of our game that really needed improvement and we worked on those specifically at practice."

"It was a shock to get beaten by six goals," said Callahan, who was pleased with the progress the team made between their first two games."We needed to make some adjustments, but we made them well.I'm feeling good about the changes we made from game one to game two."

One of the most important changes the team made was moving Roose to help shore up its defense. She saved a shot and made many key defensive plays in the Juniata win.

Additionally, the offense worked hard after the Mary Washington game and persistence paid off.In the first game, the opposing team took 24 shots compared to Hopkins' 12.

However, the Blue Jays managed to wind up with an 11-10 advantage in shots in their second game.Clearly, communication among the Blue Jay players has improved, as has the familiarity with the different plays.

Still, Hopkins knows that they have their work cut out for them, both on offense and defense.Callahan would like to see them improve the accuracy of their passing game.

"We have a few little things to work on, but I'm very pleased with our overall intensity," she said. "If we just focus on those little things, we should have a great season."

The Blue Jays' next foe will be a perennial powerhouse, the College of New Jersey.Hopkins will travel to Ewing, N.J. tonight to face off against TCNJ.

"The key to this game will be to play our style," noted Callahan. We rely a lot on our passing game, and the College of New Jersey does that, too.We just need to play to our strengths."

After taking on TCNJ, Hopkins will take on Washington & Lee University on Saturday afternoon at 4:30 p.m. on Homewood Field.

Hewitt hopes that the team can forget their first game and build off of Saturday's comeback victory.

"I see Saturday night's game as the "real' start of the season," Hewitt said. "Hopefully we can use the momentum from that game in this week's practices and carry it into the TCNJ game."