The Johns Hopkins men’s soccer team went undefeated last week, winning both games in very similar fashion.
On October 9th, the team traveled up to Carlisle, Pennsylvania and defeated the Red Devils of Dickinson College 1-0. Two days later, Hopkins beat St. Mary’s at Homewood Field 1-0.
In both games junior Sean Coleman scored early and the defense did the rest. With the wins, Hopkins improves to 9-2-3, while Dickinson falls to 7-3-2 and St. Mary’s to 3-9-1.
In the 13th minute against Dickinson, Hopkins capitalized on a pivotal mistake. Deep in their own territory, the Red Devils turned the ball over due to relentless pressure. Collecting the loose ball, Coleman made his way down the right sideline and then cut it inside, ripping a shot just inside the near post.
Hopkins continued to keep the pressure on, creating many scoring opportunities, but Dickinson goalie Cody Hickok stopped six shots in the first half, and the score at halftime remained 1-0.
After the break, the stout Hopkins defense ensured that Dickinson never came close to tying the score. The Red Devils managed to get six shots off in the second half, but none threatened to beat senior goalie Ravi Gill, who finished with two saves in his eighth shutout of the season.
After 90 minutes of play, Hopkins was the victor, winning a crucial Centennial Conference match up. Hopkins improved to 2-1-2 in the conference, while Dickinson slips to 2-2-1. Hopkins held statistical advantages in shots (15-8) and corners (5-4) in the victory.
On October 11th, a similar situation unfolded under the lights of Homewood Field. Coleman once again scored early, and the defense controlled the rest of the game en route to another 1-0 victory over St. Mary’s.
In the 10th minute of the game, Coleman brought the ball up the right sideline and fired a shot inside the left post for his team-leading eighth goal of the season.
Despite the narrow scoring margin, St. Mary’s was never really in the game. Hopkins had many opportunities to increase the lead, but some bad luck prevented the Jays from making it a lopsided event.
In the 37th minute, freshman Thomas Mourmouras ripped a beautiful bending shot from 25 yards out, but it just skipped over the crossbar.
Two minutes later Coleman placed the ball in the box off a corner kick and senior Kevin Hueber headed a ball that beat goalie Paul Spranklin, but a defender was in the right place at the right time and cleared it from danger.
The second half was a defensive struggle, with neither team earning any ground on the other.
When it was all said and done, Hopkins held the 1-0 lead. Spranklin had 12 saves in the loss, while Gill posted another two saves in his ninth shutout of the season, giving him 22 for his career, good for fourth in school history. Hopkins held the overwhelming lead in shots (24-4) and corners (7-4).
Another big Centennial Conference match up looms at the end of this week. On Saturday, the Jays travel up to Collegeville, Pennsylvania to take on the Bears of Ursinus, an opponent that Hopkins has had a lot of success against, leading the series 29-7-1, including a 13-4-0 mark in Collegeville.
