W. soccer runs through non-conference foes

Following a solid effort in week one of the Johns Hopkins Women’s Soccer team season in which the Lady Jays defeated both Fredonia State and Salisbury in Salisbury, Maryland, but falling just short of number-one nationally ranked Messiah College 2-1, the girls continued their impressive play this week going 3-0, defeating Wittenberg University, Earlham College, and Stevenson University.  They now stand at 5-1 heading into Centennial Conference play.

After the tough loss to Messiah, the Blue Jays headed to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to compete in the Carnegie Mellon University soccer tournament.

Game One on the weekend was an important one for Hopkins to get back on their feet.  It would not be easy early on though against twenty-second ranked Wittenberg who scored quickly, twice, to take a commanding 2-0 lead in the game’s first twenty minutes.

Head Coach Leo Weil, who is now in his nineteenth year at the helm, was surprised with the way his team played to start the game.

“[We] played very well, with the exception of the 25 minutes against Wittenberg.  Overall, I’d give our play a B+,” he said.

10 minutes after the half, Hopkins was still down by two.  Then, in the 58th minute, the tide began to turn.

On a play inside the 18 yard box, Wittenberg goalkeeper Cassie Lythjohan argued a call by the referees collecting a red-card in the process.  The Jays sent Centennial Conference Offensive Player of the Week Paulina Goodman to the line to shoot the team’s penalty kick.  With one quick boot, Hopkins cut the deficit in half, 2-1.

Still, the Lady Jays remained down a goal for the next twenty minutes.  With just ten minutes left in the game, junior Erica Suter got the ball and crossed it to Goodman who knocked it in to tie the game at two apiece.

As the final minutes of the match approached, the game remained 2-2.  In the 86th minute, though, Suter dribbled the ball up-field and crossed it again, this time to senior Erin Stafford who kicked in the game-winner to complete the dramatic come from behind win against Wittenberg.

With some confetti still falling from the previous day’s victory, the Blue Jays took their momentum and put it to good use on Sunday, dominating Earlham from start to finish.  Behind two goals from both Goodman, a junior, and senior Annie Zazzali and one each from Suter, and junior Leslie O’Brien, Hopkins won big 6-0.

“[Sunday]’s game against Earlham was a great example of how well we can play,” said Coach Weil.  “There weren’t any surprises by any of the players.  They played real well.”

After a few days of rest, Hopkins got back to the field Wednesday, September 15th, facing off against Stevenson in Owings Mills, Maryland.

Like their last game, the Lady Jays wasted little time getting on the board.  However, this time, Hopkins had some newcomers find the back of the net.

In the 13th minute, senior defender Sarah Gieszl knocked in her first career goal, assisted by freshman Pamela Vranis.  Vranis,  just about ten minutes later, then  notched her second goal of the season to give the Jays a 2-0 lead.

The lead would stick for the remainder of the game, giving Hopkins its third consecutive victory, all of which were on the road.

The perfect week was a statement for the Hopkins goalkeepers who surrender just two goals in the 270 minutes of play, and have allowed just three all year.

After several years of steady goal play by recent graduate Karen Guzkowski, the Blue Jays were forced to try someone new out between the posts this season.

With three goalies vying for one starting spot, Coach Weil had to make a decision…or did he?

“We have three very good goalkeepers,” he said.  “Right now, Meredith Maguire and Kristen [Redsun] are alternating. We’re also trying to get freshman Kelly Leddy some experience. Jenn [Paulucci] and Jess [Hnatiuk] are exceptional, as are Pam Kopfensteiner and Sarah Gieszl, and that definitely helps our goalies out, but they are doing a great job so far. We also have some very strong players who can spell them, like Sasha Reyes-Guerra, who has played very well.”

This weekend, Weil decided to give all three girls a try in goal, starting Maguire Saturday against Wittenberg and splitting Sunday versus Earlham between Redsun and Leddy.

On Wednesday, Weil used Maguire in the first half and Redsun in the second to secure the group’s second straight shutout.

The weekend was a statement by Goodman, the News-Letter’s Athlete of the Week, as well, after scoring four goals on her only four shots of the weekend.  Goodman, who came off the bench to secure the win against Wittenberg and then started Sunday and Wednesday, was happy about her award, but understood that the seson is just getting started.

“It’s cool to be named offensive player of the week,” Goodman said, “but we still have quite a few weeks to go! The goal scoring can’t stop here.”

Jenn Paulucci, a three-time all-conference selection, brought home an award with her this weekend too having been named the Centennial Conference’s Defensive Player of the Week.

The Paulucci-Goodman connection has clearly been in full effect so far this year, picking up where they left off last season when Paulucci assisted a Goodman goal to win the Centennial Conference tournament over Dickinson.

The Blue Jays are hoping they can bring home the conference crown yet again, having won it five consecutive years already.  The conference schedule begins this Saturday at home against Washington College.

Following that, their next two conference opponents will be Swarthmore and Dickinson.

“We’ll have two challenging conference games in a row — Dickinson and then Swarthmore,” Goodman said. “However, if we come out and play how we know how to, we can unquestionably beat those teams.

Coach Weil realizes everyone looks forward to playing JHU and knows his team will not let its guard down in 2010.

“I expect Dickinson and Swarthmore, as well as Muhlenberg to be tough. We get everyone`s best shot so all the Conference games will be tough,” he said.

With the way Jays have been playing, their sites are not just humbled upon the conference.  After a NCAA Sweet 16 appearance in 2008 and an Elite 8 match-up in last season, the Hopkins’ women’s soccer team hopes this is the year they can win just a few more.

“We definitely have what it takes to get to the National Championship. We have lots of talent with this team; we just have to work hard every game so that we’re ready by the time the NCAA Tournament comes around,” Goodman felt.

The way the Jays looked this week, anything seems possible.