"Fui, fuista, cumalae cumalae cumalae fuista, ah na na na na fuista ..." could be heard from across campus Saturday night as the Men's Soccer team geared up for a big win over Haverford to move them to 8-2 for the season.
The Latin chant, which was introduced to the team by senior goalie Neil MacLean, helps to pump up the Blue Jays before each game.
On a night when most would not even consider going outside, the Jays battled the elements while putting on a show against the Haverford Fords. Making clean passes and controlling the ball was difficult for both teams for the entire game, but the Jays did not let the freezing cold rain and the thrashing wind deter them from a dominant 3-0 win over their Centennial Conference counterparts.
The Fords came into the game with a .500 record and fell to 3-4 after being dominated over the weekend. The Jays came out with all the confidence in the world, scoring all of their goals in the first 25 minutes of the game and outshooting the opposition 12 shots to 4. The Fords seemed shell-shocked the first half when shot after shot kept finding its way to the back of the net.
Freshman midfielder Brandon Sumpio got things started for the Jays with the first goal, scoring it in the 11th minute. He dribbled his way into the box and walloped a shot that was blocked by a Fords defender.
Following through with his attack, Sumpio then found the rebound at his feet and one-timed the ball into the lower left hand corner of the goal.
Haverford could not break down the Jay defending and, consequently, the Jays controlled possession in the attacking end for most of the game. Defender Corey Adams, the sophomore co-captain, feels that the Jays are starting to come together.
"We're playing really well defensively and the offense is stepping up too. The whole team is starting to sync well," Adams said.
Only seven minutes after the first goal, Haverford had one of their few attacks stuffed by the Hopkins defenders and on a fast counter attack, the Jays scored for a second time.
Freshman defender Taylor Woodrum, who was part of the nearly impenetrable Blue Jays defense on Saturday night, served up a nice long ball to senior midfielder John Scheuch who then ripped a shot on goal. The shot was on target but in an attempt to block it, a Haverford defender headed the ball in for an own-goal.
But the Blue Jays wanted more. Even with a 2-0 lead, they did not let up the intensity. Still electric from making the play that resulted in the second goal, Scheuch strung together some solid footwork to elude the Fords defenders and blasted the ball into the upper left corner in the 25th minute for his first career goal. The Jays, now up 3-0, continued to maintain a solid defensive approach.
In the second half on a long ball played to him, junior midfielder Chris Wilson lost his footing and his shoe flew off his foot. "I had so much water in my shoe a goldfish could have lived there for weeks," Wilson said "I went to turn and next thing I knew I was Shoeless Joe Jackson. My shoe was just lying there next to me."
Blue Jays keeper Ravi Gill, who now has five shutouts and has let up only four goals this season, also earned Centennial Conference Defensive Player of the Week.
"He looked like Julie 'The Cat' Gaffney from Mighty Ducks," sophomore midfielder Sean Duggan said about Ravi, "He's been playing really well and he deserves the recognition. Quack, quack."
With another win under their belt, the Blue Jays now prepare to take on the Muhlenberg Mules this Saturday night in Allentown, Pa. Game time is set for 7 p.m.
