Hopkins water polo played three nail-biters this past weekend, beating 13th-ranked Princeton 11-10 with a last second goal, 19th-ranked Bucknell 11-9 in double overtime at home before traveling to George Washington on Saturday night, falling 14-13.
Friday against Princeton marked the Blue Jays' first home game of the season and was one for the books.
The fans--comprised of students, parents and rowdy alums-- poured into the Ralph S. O'Conner Recreation Center to witness the match-up with the Tigers, a brutal competitor whom Hopkins has not beat since 2003.
The crowd cheered the Jays and jeered at Princeton, setting up a fiery atmosphere in the stands that the Blue Jays needed to finally defeat Princeton.
It was a close game from start to finish, but the real action took place in the fourth quarter. Tied at 12 with just 26 seconds to go, the Jays fouled the Tigers, setting up a virtually unstoppable five-meter shot that had some thinking that the game was over.
However, freshman goalie Danny Ovelar defied all odds to stop the powerful shot, setting up an offensive opportunity for the Jays to score in the last few seconds.
"When Danny blocked the penalty shot, all the momentum was on our side," said junior captain Alex Whittam. "It was great to see our team pull through until the very last second."
In the midst of the chaos, Hopkins head coach Ted Bresnahan was thrown out of the game after receiving a red card, leaving assistant coach, senior Jeremy Maurer, to lead the team to victory.
In the end, it was sophomore driver Stephen Kingery with the game-winner, as he hit the back of the net despite being fouled. As Kingery said, his main excitement, apart from winning the match, came from "knowing the team did not have to play overtime."
Hopkins was the first team to overpower the Tigers this year, as they fall to 8-1 overall and 0-1 in league play.
The jaw-dropping ending was befitting of the first three quarters of the game.
Hopkins fell behind Princeton in the second half by three points, but caught up in the third quarter.
They stayed tied throughout most of the second half. The leading scorer of the game was junior Ross Schofield, with four goals, followed by senior Mark Strickland, junior Kielan Crow and Kingery, who each notched two.
Saturday morning's game against Bucknell was equally exciting, as the Blue Jays again scored one in the final seconds, this time in double overtime.
Heading into overtime, the game was tied at eight apiece, but within the first minute of the first overtime, the Bison scored a goal to snag the lead.
Crow answered with a five-meter strike, sending the game into a second overtime.
The second overtime came with an increased emphasis on Whittam. The Californian scored early in extras, putting the Jay's on top at 10-9.
Moments later, Bucknell missed a five-meter goal, leading Whittam, already on a hot streak, to score again and win the game 11-9.
After winning two gruelling but thrilling games, the team traveled to George Washington to play an 8 PM contest. The third time was not the charm for the Jays: after another toughly fought contest Hopkins fell 14-13. The high scorers were Whittam, Crow, Strickland, and Schofield, who netted a game-high fives goals.
"The weekend was intense from start to finish," said Whittam. "Anytime you play a ranked team in the country like Princeton, you know it's going to be a fight. We came out with a game plan to by physical with all the teams this weekend, and that's exactly what happened."
For their play this weekend, Schofield was named Southern Division player of the week, while freshmen Overlar and Scott Weigel were named co-rookies of the week.
Hopkins is now 9-4 overall and 2-1 in the Southern Divison.
They will return to action in two weeks at the annual Claremont Convergence in California. The tournament will span two days and the Jays will face Californian four teams.
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