Field Hockey blanks Bryn Mawr

The Johns Hopkins Field Hockey team won its final two home games of the season, beating McDaniel, 2-0, Wednesday night and shutting out Bryn Mawr, 10-0, on Saturday. The wins improved the Blue Jays' record to 6-11 on the season and 3-6 in the Centennial Conference. Hopkins has one game left to play in a season that has turned out to be a disappointing considering the team was selected as the preseason favorites to win the conference.

"It was important for us to win these games. It showed that the team did not give up on the season, even after we were eliminated from the conference tournament," said head coach Megan Callahan. "We were still playing to win and we proved that we can win when we play together."

Wednesday night's match against the McDaniel Green Terror was scoreless throughout the first half, as both defenses proved almost impenetrable. Sophomore goalkeeper Dayna Eng made two key saves in the half to keep the game scoreless. Just under ten minutes into the second half, Hopkins broke the deadlock, as senior forward and co-captain Anna Rehwinkel knocked in her third goal of the season off a pass from fellow captain Chrissie Terpeluk. Seven minutes later, Rehwinkel added an insurance goal for Hopkins.

"We were so glad that [Rehwinkel] scored those two goals," said Eng. "She really deserved it, as a senior and as our captain in her last home game."

Eng also made two critical saves in the second half to preserve the 2-0 victory for the Blue Jays. The shutout is Eng's third on the season. The defense also worked out of some tough jams, as McDaniel had an 11-2 edge in penalty corners, but were unable to capitalize on the chances.

"This game showed that we are able to beat tough teams when we are playing our best," said Callahan.

Saturday's victory was much easier for the Blue Jays, as they dominated the Bryn Mawr Owls, 10-0. In its second home victory of the year, Hopkins delighted the crowd by achieving the second-highest single-game goal total in team history. Senior midfielder Chrissie Terpulek led the Blue Jays with three goals and three assists for a total of nine points on the day.

Hopkins struck early and often in this match and did not allow the Owls the chance to take a single shot in this shutout. Sophomore midfielder Amy Soergel opened the scoring for the Blue Jays just seven minutes into the game by deflecting a pass from Terpulek past Owls' goalkeeper Aquila Alexander. Just over five minutes later, Soergel returned the favor by setting up Terpulek for her first goal of the game. Junior forward Heather Oravec scored the Blue Jays' third goal of the game unassisted with a little less than eighteen minutes remaining in the first half. Hopkins did not score again in the first period, but took plenty of shots off the Owls' defense.

Sophomore forward Jamie Zubrow scored her first goal of the season to open the second half. Terpulek picked up her second assist on the play, to extend the Jays' lead to 4-0. Senior defender Jen Rolston then chipped in with her second goal of the season. Rolston scored on a penalty corner, Terpulek and sophomore defender Leah Dudley were each credited with assists on the goal.

The Jays continued to pour it on the Owls as just moments later Terpulek scored her second goal of the game, making the score 6-0 in favor of the Blue Jays. Three minutes later, freshman midfielder Megan Maguire scored the first goal of her college career off of a feed from Rehwinkel. Junior defender Carly Cammarata got into the offensive action with her first goal of the season, giving Hopkins an 8-0 lead with twelve minutes left to play. With ten minutes left on the clock, Terpeluk completed her hat trick with an unassisted goal, her team-high fifth of the season.

Freshman midfielder Essence Worthy capped off the scoring with her first collegiate goal, putting the finishing touch on a 10-0 victory. Overall, the Blue Jays had control of the game on both offense and defense, outshooting Bryn Mawr 29-0 and sporting a 16-1 lead in penalty corners.

The offensive success provided a huge lift for the Jays, in a season in which the team has struggled in the goal scoring department. In its fifteen games prior to Saturday's rout, Hopkins had scored a total of just seventeen goals.

Though they suffered through a tough, disappointing season, those who will return for next year's campaign look to use the experience to learn from.

"The players have definitely learned a lot about leadership and self-accountability," remarked Callahan. "The biggest thing to work on looking toward next year will be learning what it means to play disciplined field hockey for the full 70 minutes."

"We have seven rising seniors," added Eng, "So they will definitely add depth to our bench and talent on the field."

The Blue Jays' final game of the season will be this Saturday at noon at Ursinus College. Ursinus is currently undefeated in conference play, but the Blue Jays are looking to upset the Bears, as they did last year in the Centennial Conference championship game.

"We will be going out there with momentum," said Eng, "And hopefully it will carry us past them like it did in last year's tournament."