W. soccer scores eleven, allows one, wins two

The Hopkins women’s soccer team extended their winning streak to five games this week as they hosted the Washington College Shorewomen to open Centennial Conference play on Saturday and traveled to nearby St. Mary’s College in a non-conference affair on Wednesday.

The Blue Jays are now 7-1 as Washington fell to 2-2-1 and the St. Mary’s fell to 1-3-1.

In game one of the week, Hopkins’ ruthless play lead to a 7-0 rout of Washington College at Homewood Field.

Hopkins’ offensive attack was prevalent from the get-go. In just the second minute of the game, sophomore  midfielder Taylor Schulte recorded her first career goal, driving the ball into the back of the net from 25 yards deep over Washington College goalie Tori Ripple.

The Jays never looked back, rendering dominant play throughout the game for which the Shorewomen of Washington College had no answer.

The tempo of the game was controlled entirely by Hopkins.  Still sporting a one goal lead in the 21st minute, senior defensemen Jenn Paulucci launched a shot off of the crossbar which was rebounded, settled and tapped into the goal by senior Erin Stafford to give the Blue Jays a 2-0 lead.

As the first half progressed, Hopkins senior Allie Zazzali drilled a shot from outside the 18-yard box into the left corner of the net in the 32nd minute, extending the lead to 3-0 in favor of the Jays.

Late in the first half, Hopkins continued its relentless attack as freshman Amanda Yaccarino scored a goal on a gorgeous assist from senior Sara Tankard in the 40th minute. Tankard’s pass was her team leading sixth assist of the season.

The Jays went into halftime with a commanding 4-0 lead, recording 22 shots on goal and only letting up a single shot to the Washington Shorewomen.

Head coach Leo Weil was hardly surprised by his team’s dominance.

“We were clearly the better team,” he said.  “We dominated the possession and the shots.”

The second-half opened and Hopkins kept up the fast-paced intensity of the game, flooding the goal with shots and keeping the ball on the Washington side of midfield. Johns Hopkins freshman Christina Convey recorded her second goal of the season in the 54th minute on a Zazzali assist, increasing the lead to 5-0.

Five minutes later, Hopkins added on to their already massive lead. Junior Paulina Goodman took an assist from freshman Pamela Vranis and drove it past the Washington goalie for her team leading fifth goal of the season.

With the lead stretched to six goals, Coach Weil could see the seniors’ leadership of his freshmen paying off.

“We have great senior leadership and have some developing leaders who are juniors. Our freshmen have shown a lot of growth since the beginning of preseason and will continue to be major contributors,” Weil said.

Weil was pleased with his team’s play and its ability to live up to expectations as a national contender.

With the clock winding down in the 83rd minute the Hopkins offense struck once more.

Sara Tankard rippled the back of the net for the final goal of the game to extend a punishing Jay lead to 7-0.

Tankard received the assist from teammate Amanda Yaccarino, a duo that teamed up for a goal in the first half as well.

Hopkins’ defensive tandem refused to allow Washington to get anything started on offense; nearly every opportunity was stifled shortly after the ball crossed into Hopkins territory.

Starting Hopkins goalie junior Kristen Redsun was a leader on the field, coordinating her team while barely being tested by Washington College. Redsun faced 1 shot on goal in her 60 minutes on the field, while freshman Kelly Leddy finished the game in net.

Leddy’s action in net was limited, defending only 1 shot on goal as Hopkins held the Shorewomen to a total of 2 shots on the day.

Despite the Blue Jays statement game to open Centennial Conference play, they were still humble heading into their match-up with St. Mary’s on Wednesday.

“We kept the ball well and took a lot of shots,” Coach Weil said.  “I still think we can be a little more patient on offense at times, capitalize off of our crosses and corners, and cut down on the number of times we are off-sides.”

Wednesday’s game against St. Mary’s was a highly anticipated one for the Jays after they beat the Seahawks 1-0 in thrilling fashion a year ago.

“It’s always a tough place to play for us. It should be a very big test heading into some tough conference contests,” Weil said.

The Lady Jays were led by their youth as Christina Convey came off the bench to knock in two goals, upping her season total four, tied for second on the team. She scored three goals on the week.

Convey began the Hopkins charge in the 24th minute, but the Seahawks fought back to even the score at one just a few minutes before the half.

A minute later, the youth movement continued when Convey stepped up big again, crossing to fellow freshman Kylie Fuller who sunk her first career goal to give the Jays a 2-1 lead at the half.

As the second half got under way, veterans Erin Stafford and Erica Suter joined in on the fun, teaming up for the team’s third goal of the game, giving Hopkins’ lead some cushion.

Convey delivered once again just minutes later, scoring her second goal of the game on a fine assist from another newcomer Pamela Vranis.

The Jays handled St. Mary’s easily for the final 20 minutes of the game, giving them the 4-1 victory.

The win was just further assurance to Coach Weil who knows his team is not one to be reckoned with.

“My expectations remain high,” he said.  I think we will do well in our Conference, and continue to be a top 10 team nationally.”

Hopkins will continue this quest Saturday against Swarthmore at Homewood Field.  The game kicks off at 4 p.m.