F. Hockey loses two

Coming off a ten-day hiatus from action due to the nasty weather, the Johns Hopkins Field Hockey team has struggled to rediscover its early-season formula for winning, losing twice over the past week. The Jays lost their first conference match at Gettysburg College on Tuesday by a score of 3-0. This defeat came on the heels of a 3-1 loss to Lynchburg last Saturday.

Hopkins has now lost three consecutive games and has seen its record fall to 2-5 on the season. However, the Blue Jays remain undefeated at home. With their next three games at Homewood Field, they will certainly have an opportunity to get a fresh start on and get back on track in the coming weeks.

Though the Blue Jays were shut out in Tuesday's game against the Gettysburg Bullets, their passing game was dominant and their defense was one of their strengths, as it has been throughout the season. Still, the Jays fell behind early and were not able to take advantage of their scoring opportunities.

"We were not outplayed," said freshman goalkeeper Dayna Eng. "We dominated the game, but we couldn't finish our attacks."

Eng guarded the goal for the final five minutes of the game, after sophomore goalkeeper Meredith Shifman made eight saves in the first 65 minutes of play. Senior defender Michelle Doll also contributed a defensive save. A strong defensive performance was not enough, though, to keep the Bullets' prolific offense at bay. Gettysburg came out aggressively, scoring the game's first goal just 24 seconds into the first quarter on a breakaway by Carrie Brown.

Forcing the Blue Jays to play catch up from the start, Gettysburg prevented Hopkins from taking too many chances, limiting scoring chances.

"Whenever we get scored upon early in a match, we fall back on our heels and get into a defensive mindset," observed Hopkins' sophomore midfielder Meighan Roose. "This sets us back when we are in need of a goal."

This 1-0 lead would last through halftime.

Brown struck again three minutes into the second half, scoring off an assist from teammate Katie Lowe. Gettysburg then closed out the scoring four minutes later with a goal by Lisa Giljam. Hopkins was unable to get on the board despite eight shots and six penalty corners.

"We have to give Gettysburg credit; they are a strong team and they played a good game," said Roose. "However, we did not come out with the intensity it takes to win."

The loss to Gettysburg was even more frustrating since it immediately followed a disappointing loss to Lynchburg. Just like the Gettysburg game, Hopkins fell behind the Hornets early in the match and was never able to recover.

The Hornets took a quick 1-0 lead just under three minutes into the game and extended its lead to 2-0 with 8:38 left in the first half. Kara Culkin scored both goals for Lynchburg. The Blue Jays cut the Hornets' lead in half just before the end of the first period on a penalty stroke goal by senior forward Jenny Farrelly, but it would not be enough to spark a Blue Jay comeback. Farrelly was named to the Centennial Conference Honor Roll for her performance.

The Hornets' Andrea Fleming took a feed from Dawn McGaha and shot it past Eng to give Lynchburg an insurance goal ten minutes into the second half. Despite numerous potential offensive attacks, Hopkins was held scoreless by Lynchburg's Joanne Yednock, who was credited with 15 saves in the game. Eng made seven stops on the day.

"We outshot them and we had more corners than they did," said Roose. "However, we simply couldn't put the ball in the goal, which has been a continuing problem throughout the season."

"The greatest challenge for us this season has been putting all the pieces together," said Eng. "We need to learn one another's style of play better and we need to transfer the intensity from our practices into our games. The talent is definitely there, but we need to come together as a team in order to win."

Hopkins will have a chance to even its conference record at 1-1 this Friday at 7 p.m. when the Jays host No. 11 Muhlenberg. The Jays will then face a non-conference foe, Eastern Mennonite, at 6 p.m. on Saturday.

The Blue Jays are no doubt relieved to be returning to their home turf after a rough three-game road trip. The Blue Jays are 2-0 at home this year and have won 15 of their last 18 home games, dating back to 2001.