The Johns Hopkins Field Hockey team came out on the winning end of three tight matches this past week to extend its winning streak to five games. The hot streak also improves the Lady Jays' Centennial Conference record to 6-1. In the span of just one week, Hopkins edged Washington College, Haverford and Dickinson in games that were decided by one goal to lift their overall record to 8-6. A combination of solid defense and timely offense have helped the Jays dominate their conference competition and leaves them within one game of clinching a spot in the Centennial Conference Tournament.
On Tuesday night at Homewood Field, the Blue Jays won a match that was critical to their postseason fate, topping Washington College, 1-0. Although the Blue Jays were outshot 9-5 by the Shorewomen, their aggressive defense was overwhelming. Even when the Shorewomen managed to create some scoring opportunities late in the game, the Hopkins 'D' stood strong.
The game-winning goal in the game was scored early in the second half, on a deftly executed pass play that began with senior forward Kelly Hewitt finding senior midfielder Ashlee Duncan and ended with senior forward Jenny Farrelly finishing off the play for the score. Farrelly blasted a shot past the opposing goalie, Zina Hense, for Hopkins' decisive goal. It was all they would need.
Meredith Shifman made five saves to record her second shutout of the season. Notably, Farrelly's goal was the 23rd of her collegiate career, moving her into 10th place among Hopkins' all-time points leaders. Hewitt's assist propelled her to fourth place on the career assists list with 18.
"It wasn't our best performance overall," said Duncan, one of the team's captains. "There were a lot of missed opportunities. However, we played as hard as we could and maintained that one-goal difference."
Hewitt, who is also a co-captain, agrees the offense has plenty of room for improvement, but she does not think the close matches are indicative of inadequate offense.
"I don't think the low-scoring games are reflective of a weak offense," said Hewitt. "We have just been playing some really good games and this shows how strong our conference is. The teams are pretty evenly matched and there is a lot of competition between them."
The shutout of Washington College came on the heels of the Blue Jays' first two road wins of the season. These victories added to Hopkins' confidence, since they were on a grass surface - something the Jays have struggled with throughout the season since Homewood is an artificial surface.
"When we play on grass, we can't use all of our tools," said Duncan. "Grass games involve a more 'slapstick' style of hockey. You have to use drives instead of your passing game."
Hopkins defeated Haverford College 2-1 last Saturday in Pennsylvania. Although Haverford scored first with a goal ten minutes into the first half, the Blue Jays tied the game with 9:25 left in the half, thanks to a goal by sophomore forward Caite Kappel. Hewitt was credited with the assist, her fifth of the season.
Junior midfielder Anna Rehwinkel registered her first goal of the season early in the second half, breaking the tie for good. Hewitt recorded another assist on this play. The Blue Jays held off Haverford's offense with 11 saves by Shifman, handing Haverford its sixth conference loss.
Last Wednesday, Hopkins beat Dickinson College by the same score, but in much more dramatic fashion. The Blue Jays won the game on a double-overtime penalty stroke shootout, the first shootout of this sort for Hopkins since 1999.
In a game characterized by defense, the teams went into halftime mired in a scoreless tie. Just over eleven minutes into the second period, Kate Austin put Dickinson up 1-0 with an unassisted goal. Hopkins evened the score with 13:15 left in the game, when Roose fed Hewitt, who shot the ball past Dickinson goalkeeper Tara McFadden.
Neither team scored in the remaining regulation time or in overtime, so the game was determined by a shootout. Hopkins scored in each of the first two rounds, one goal each by Farrelly and senior forward Rachel Callaway, to gain a 2-0 advantage. Freshman goalkeeper Dayna Eng made two saves to preserve this lead, filling in for Shifman, who recorded nine total saves on the day. After a scoreless third round of the shootout, Roose knocked in the game-winning shot in the fourth round, giving Hopkins a 3-1 victory in the shootout and a 2-1 win overall.
"It really motivates everyone on our team to have a win like that," said Hewitt. "To be able to come out with a win under that kind of pressure was a really big boost for the whole team."
The Jays will travel to Pennsylvania to take on Bryn Mawr College this Saturday at 1:00 p.m. Looming on the schedule after that game is one of Hopkins' toughest rivals, McDaniel College. That contest will take place next Wednesday in Westminster. McDaniel, which edged the Jays in the conference finals last year, currently stands in second place in the conference, just ahead of the Hopkins.
"McDaniel is always tough and they are doing well this season," said Hewitt. "We need to rise up and bring our best grass game."
"If we play hard all 70 minutes of the game, I think we will do very well," Duncan said.
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