F. Hockey shocks Ursinus, Wesley

In one of the most stunning upsets the Division III Field Hockey world has seen in recent memory, the fourth-seeded Johns Hopkins Field Hockey team triumphed over nationally ranked No. 15 Ursinus in the opening round of the Centennial Conference tournament this past weekend.

And the Lady Jays didn't stop there, defeating Gettysburg en route to the Centennial Conference title as well as earning an automatic bid to the NCAA Championship Tournament. Even more stunning is the fact that both Ursinus and Gettysburg beat Hopkins during the regular season.

Taking full advantage of their chance to shine in the postseason, the Lady Jays dominated Wesley College this past Wednesday, winning 5-1 in the NCAA Division III Field Hockey First Round. Hopkins advances to the regional semifinal, in which they will battle third-ranked The College of New Jersey in Ewing this Saturday.

The victory over Wesley is Hopkins' third straight, improving the Jays' overall record to 12-8.

A trio of seniors were the offensive catalysts for the Jays against Wesley: midfielder Ashlee Duncan, forward Jenny Farrelly, and midfielder Kelly Hewitt. These three combined for all of the Jays' five scores on the day, with Farrelly also garnering an assist.

Clinging to a one-goal lead for most of the first half, Hopkins finally secured some breathing room; Farrelly converted a pass from junior midfielder Chrissie Terpeluk with just 13 seconds remaining in the half to make the score 2-0 in favor of Hopkins.

The Blue Jays continued their offensive momentum into the second half, pulling away from Wesley (16-4) for good. Wesley was in the midst of a 10-game winning streak before losing to Hopkins.

After stumbling off to a rocky start this fall, the Lady Jays hit their stride midseason and capitalized upon their momentum in the conference championship, capping an incredible second half of the season.

"It's unbelievable," said senior defender Michelle Doll.?"No one expected us to knock out all the teams that were ranked above us."

Indeed Hopkins was the only team in the tournament without a victory over any of the other teams in the competition, but regular-season records were meaningless in this single-elimination playoff.

The game against Ursinus was a nail-biter to the finish. For the first 64 minutes, neither team was able to score a goal.?As is characteristic in most playoff games, both defenses were in top form, especially the Jays. Despite an 18-3 advantage in shots and a 25-1 edge in penalty corners, Ursinus simply could not finish its attacks. Part of the reason the defenses were so strong may have been the fact that the teams had just faced each other a week earlier and were already familiar with each other's offensive strategies.?However, in the first match between these teams, Ursinus came out on top by one goal.

"After we played Ursinus last week, we were disappointed with the outcome," said sophomore goalkeeper Meredith Shifman.?"We matched them goal for goal and we definitely could have beaten them."

Ursinus finished the regular season undefeated in the Centennial, so they entered the tournament as the top seed. However, Hopkins kept the game close and reacted well enough to Ursinus's high-powered offense to shut it down. Shifman, who has played her best during the stretch run of this season, was effective, making six saves in each half to preserve her third shutout of the season.

With six minutes left in regulation, freshman forward Jamie Zubrow picked a perfect moment for her first career goal. She shot the ball past the Ursinus goalie to give Hopkins a 1-0 lead, which it would not relinquish.

This was the Blue Jays' tenth win of the season against eight losses and earned them a spot in the championship game against Gettysburg, which beat Hopkins 3-0 on Sept. 30. This was also a rematch of the 2001 Centennial Conference championship game, which the Bullets won by a score of 2-1.

"Revenge was definitely a factor in the Gettysburg game," noted Michelle Doll.? "They had a lot of confidence going into the game since they had beaten us so decisively earlier in the season."

Unlike the game against Ursinus, this match showcased the offenses from both sides. In fact, the scoring began less than a minute into the game with a Gettysburg goal by Katie Lowe. Hopkins quickly evened the score at 1-1 though, courtesy of a goal by senior midfielder Ashlee Duncan off a feed from senior forward Kelly Hewitt. This was Hewitt's 20th career assist, propelling her into second place among Hopkins career leaders.

The Jays snatched a 2-1 lead with 18:12 left in the first half when sophomore midfielder Meighan Roose passed to sophomore forward Caite Kappel, who scored her fifth goal of the season, blasting the ball past Gettysburg goalkeeper Jessy O'Neill. Eleven minutes later Gettysburg tied the game at two with a goal by Meg Goddu, but Hopkins soon regained the lead when Duncan knocked in another goal with 2:01 left in the first half. Roose was credited with her second assist of the game on the play.?This made the score 3-2 at the halfway point.

The second half of the game, unlike the first half, was dominated by defense. Both teams had several scoring opportunities throughout the period, but were, for the most part, unable to capitalize on these chances. Shifman helped stifle the opposing offense with nine saves, but Gettysburg managed to sneak a shot past her with 1:34 left to play, sending the game into overtime.

Hopkins refused to be disheartened and played with unparalleled intensity in the first overtime period.

With 7:12 left in the overtime period, Ashlee Duncan seized a loose ball and fired it past O'Neill for her third goal of the game, completing her third hat trick of the season. Duncan leads the Jays with 12 goals this season and was named Centennial Conference Player of the Week for her performance in the league championship game.

The Blue Jays are now in the NCAA Division III tournament, which they last qualified for in 2000.