The Johns Hopkins field hockey team concluded its season on Saturday with a 1-0 loss to Ursinus College in Collegeville, Penn. The Blue Jays finished the season with a 6-12 overall record and a 3-7 mark in the Centennial Conference. Hopkins tied for eighth place in the conference and failed to earn a spot in the conference tournament, the same tournament they won last season.
"We had a tough season, but we had some great games against some top teams and we will only take the positives away from this season," said head coach Meghan Callahan. "We had some pretty good outcomes, and if we had played more consistently, things would have been very different."
The Blue Jays appeared ready to rise to the occasion in Saturday's season finale. The Blue Jays put up a strong fight against the Ursinus Bears. Unfortunately an early goal by the Bears ended up being the decisive point in the contest. Midfielder Jess Rogers scored the game's first goal less than three minutes into the contest.
The goal proved to be the only goal allowed by sophomore goalkeeper Dayna Eng, who also recorded 17 saves on the day. Hopkins was not without goal-scoring opportunities, the Jays took nine penalty corners and had nine shots. The Jays were held in check by the Bears' defense and failed to capitalize on any goal-scoring chances, falling to Ursinus by a final score of 1-0.
Sophomore defender Leah Dudley had four shots, while junior midfielder Meighan Roose contributed two. Despite this, the Jays fell short in the shot count, 26-9.
Ursinus, which is only a year removed from its drop from Division II to Division III, is currently ranked No. 4 in the most recent NCAA Coaches' Poll. By defeating Hopkins, the Bears conclude their season with an undefeated 10-0 record in the Centennial Conference and 17-1 record overall. Ursinus also was able to extend its current winning streak to 14-games, and will enter the conference tournament as the top seed.
"I was very proud of the team," remarked Callahan. "We showed the level that this team is capable of playing at when we are at our best."
Looking back on the season, the field hockey team really felt the effects of losing six of their top players from last years' NCAA tournament squad to graduation. Despite this substantial turnover, Hopkins was still favored to defend its Centennial Conference title in the preseason coaches' poll. No one, however, could have foreseen the team's offensive struggles for the better part of the season.
The Jays did not appear to finally hit their stride until the Haverford game in mid-October, when several players began to step up and fill the leadership roles left vacant by the class that had graduated.
"We definitely had some people step up toward the end of the season," said Callahan. "[Senior defender] Jen Rolston, Meighan Roose, and [freshman defender] Kristin Strief really took charge toward the end of the season. The team got behind them and rallied around them."
The Blue Jays won two out of their last three matches of the season, one of them by a score of 10-0. The Blue Jays hope that this strong finish will build the team's momentum and confidence looking toward next season.
"The underclassmen got a lot of experience playing, as did the juniors and we won't have as many players leaving," said Callahan.
One positive note the Jays are taking from the season is that the team will lose only four players this year, compared to last years six. Also, the distribution of the graduating class is more even this year.
While the turnover from the 2003 to 2004 season involved the loss of four starting forwards and two leading defenders, this year's graduating class includes two defenders, one midfielder and a forward.
Overall, the team is extremely optimistic about next season and plans to work on reaching its high goals with a good spring season and hard work over the summer. A large emphasis will be placed on offense, since this is what gave the Jays squad the most trouble this season.
"I'm very excited about this team's potential for next year," said Callahan. "With underclassmen stepping up and a strong recruiting class, it looks to me like it should be a great season."
