Prior to their match-up with Centennial Conference opponent Muhlenberg on Sautrday, Hopkins women's soccer had already scored wins over Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Carnegie Mellon, Messiah, Drew, Arcadia, Stevenson, Washington, and St Mary's (MD) this season, propelling the Jays to a seven game win-streak. Then this weekend, Hopkins defeated the Mules, 3-0, to extend their streak to eight games.
Already 1-0 in the Centennial, the Blue Jays knew they had to go all out with conference implications on the line. They did just that, recording their sixth-straight shutout.
Nearly half way into the schedule, labeling Hopkins as dominant would be an understatement. The team has not given up a goal in 542 minutes of regulation time, the last coming from a game-tying goal from Carnegie Mellon in just the second match of the season.
Against Muhlenberg, the Lady Jays came out full speed, both on offense and defense. Sophomore Christina Convey, a midfielder/defender from Roslyn Harbor, NY, scored on a goal within two minutes of the start.
Convey found prime real estate in front of the net and took advantage of a rebounded pass off a Mule defender to put the Jays ahead, 1-0. The cracking shot gave Convey her second goal of the season.
As if going down 1-0 in the opening minutes wasn't hard enough for the Mules, the Blue Jays' defense was stifling. Headed by seniors Pam Kopfensteiner and Jessica Hnatiuk with the battery and junior Meredith Maguire in net, the Hopkins defense has been a force all season.
The Mules were only able to fire off two shots in the first half and only one of which was anywhere close to the goal. The shot on goal came with just 1:54 left on the clock into the half but Maguire was able to keep the Mules scoreless.
Unhappy with their one goal lead, sophomore midfielder Pamela Vranis kicked her second goal of the season just 20 seconds into the second half.
Although freshman sensation Hannah Kronick was not awarded an assist in the scorebook, she came as close as one can get. After a failed quick shot attempt, Vranis was there to finish the play, putting the Blue Jays up 2-0.
It didn't take long for Kronick to get on the scorecard, however. After receiving a pass from across the box by senior Erica Suter, Kronick scored her eighth goal of the season.
Kronick has now scored at least one goal in the first seven games she has played. This type of dominant play helped the Lady Jays outshoot the Mules, 15-5, and control possession for virtually the entire game.
In goal, Maguire played all 90 minutes to improve her record to 4-0. She needed just four saves to secure her second shutout of the season.
With an assist and two goals this past week, pushing Hopkins to wins over St. Mary's (MD) and Muhlenberg, Kronick was awarded Centennial Conference Co- Offensive Player of the Week honors.
The award marks the second time this season Kronick has been honored, and the third honor for Hopkins as a team.
Just eight games into the season, she is now in seventh place for Hopkins' freshman scoring record with 21 points and tied for eighth in goals scored by a freshman.
Another young talent that has been a huge part in the team's early success has been Vranis, whose brother Neil is a kicker on the football team. Vranis feels the Jays success can be pinned on their ability to put the ball in the net at any moment from any player.
"We are able to keep the ball's possession amongst defenders, midfielders and forwards," said Vranis. "Our scoring abilities have contributed a lot to our success as well. It's great to have several different people scoring. It makes us more unpredictable."
What's scariest about the Jays is that they are continuing to improve. They are learning from the past year as well as past games this season to hopefully push them further into the postseason when the time comes.
Vranis believes the team has really improved on scoring early since last year. This was definitely evident in their second minute score against Muhlenberg.
However, the season is far from over and the Blue Jays are still a long way from being a finished product.
"We are looking to improve on playing consistently well for 90 minutes of every game and not letting any unforced goals get scored on us," said Vranis.
So be sure to follow your Blue Jays as they take to the field again after a week break at Swarthmore College on October 1st.
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