Jays mount comeback vs. SC

After a rocky first month of the season, the Johns Hopkins Field Hockey team has turned things around just in time for conference play.?Despite beginning the season 2-5, the Blue Jays now sport a 2-1 Centennial Conference record, courtesy of victories over Muhlenberg and Swarthmore this past week.?Even in its loss to eighth-ranked Eastern Mennonite on Saturday night, the team stayed competitive but lost by a score of 5-3.

"Mentally, our team is very focused when it comes to the conference tournament," said head coach Megan Callahan.?"This is definitely a turning point in our season."

Hopkins capped off a successful week with a 4-2 victory over Swarthmore College on Homewood Field on Tuesday evening.?The Blue Jays got on the board first with a goal by senior forward Jenny Farrelly, who is the team's leading scorer this fall, midway into the first half.?Senior midfielder and co-captain Ashlee Duncan was credited with the assist on this play.

However, the early lead was short-lived. as the Garnet Tide stormed back into the game with two unanswered goals to finish out the first half.?Hopkins made the proper adjustments at the half, though, and came out firing on all cylinders. The Jays held a 16-5 advantage in shots and a 10-0 edge in penalty corners in the second half.?

With 22 minutes left in the match, senior forward and co-captain Kelly Hewitt smacked a pass from sophomore forward Caite Kappel into the goal to tie the game at two.?With just under 10 minutes remaining, Hopkins grabbed a 3-2 advantage on junior midfielder Chrissie Terpeluk's first goal of the season.?Duncan tallied her second assist of the game on the play.?The Lady Jays sealed victory with one final goal on a penalty corner.?Hewitt passed to Duncan, who scored the fourth Blue Jays' goal of the game.

"We had a goal on a penalty corner, something that we were not able to execute earlier in the season," said Hewitt.?"It is really important to be able to come through in areas that were lacking in the first month of the season."

"Our offense has made tremendous improvements," said sophomore goalkeeper Meredith Shifman, who made ten saves in the contest.?"We look great all over the field."

This thrilling comeback victory followed an impressive showing by the Blue Jays against No. 8 Eastern Mennonite.?Hopkins put forth a strong showing against a nationally ranked opponent, but wound up at the short end of a 5-3 score.

The Royals broke the ice with a goal by Jenny Hunter at the 7:46 mark of the first half. But the Blue Jays knotted up the game at 1-1 with 19:08 left in the first half, when Duncan scored a goal off an assist by Farrelly.?Just before halftime, Stephanie Derstine registered two goals, giving the Royals a 3-1 advantage after the first half.?

The Blue Jays crept back within one early in the second half, thanks to a goal by sophomore midfielder Meighan Roose, who was assisted by Duncan.?Eight minutes later, Eastern Mennonite reclaimed its two-goal lead with a score by Kristen Moyer, the leading scorer in Division III this season.?

At the 20-minute mark, Eastern Mennonite's Jonalyn Denlinger scored an unassisted goal to put the Royals up 5-2.?The Blue Jays would then make things interesting in the last few minutes of the game with a goal by Kelly Hewitt, which was also assisted by Duncan.?

Nevertheless, the Royals held off the Blue Jays, handing Hopkins its sixth loss of the season while improving to 10-0 on the season.

Shifman made ten saves in 56 minutes of playing time and freshman Dayna Eng recorded one save in the final fourteen minutes of the game.

"This game was a great chance for us to show how good we really are," commented Hewitt.

"It was important for us to make a statement that we can compete with the top twenty teams in the country," agreed Coach Callahan.

This statement was a reference not only to the game against Eastern Mennonite, but also to the contest a day earlier against the No. 11 Muhlenberg.?Shifman and the Blue Jays blanked Muhlenberg, which is one of the Blue Jays' toughest rivals in the Centennial Conference, last Friday night on Homewood Field.

A Jenny Farrelly goal in the first half was all Hopkins would need to overcome the top-ranked club in the conference.? The Jays were lights out from a defensive standpoint, as the Mules did not even have the opportunity to take a shot in the second half.?

Overall, Hopkins held a 10-6 edge in shots and a 10-2 lead in penalty corners.?Shifman stopped three shots to preserve the shutout.

With only conference games left on the schedule, the Blue Jays hope to build upon their recent success.

"Our season comes down to how well we do in our conference, so we need to be on top of our game every day and come out with wins," said Hewitt.

Hopkins will conclude its four-game homestand this Saturday at five p.m. on Homewood Field, when the Blue Jays host Franklin & Marshall, a formidable conference foe.?

Hopkins will then travel to Carlisle, Pennsylvania to take on Dickinson next Wednesday at 4 p.m.?The Blue Jays are being careful to remain optimistic, but not overly confident about their remaining games this season.

"We expect to put up a good fight, but we can't go into any game expecting to win," stated Shifman, "We have to earn it."