Women's soccer takes two their first weekend

Hopkins' women's soccer began their season this weekend ranked third in the nation by D3soccer.com but didn't seem to feel any of the inherent pressures a high preseason ranking brings. Often times, preseason rankings are a reflection of the past year's success and not necessarily the team's potential in the upcoming season. However, the Lady Jays won both of their games during the annual Blue Jay Invitational to silence any doubts.

In the season opener at Homewood Field, Hopkins routed Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), 5-1, and then captured an exhilarating overtime win against Carnegie Mellon, 3-2, a day later. The two wins secured the tournament title for the Jays in the season-opening four-team tournament that also included runner-up Eastern.

Against RPI, the Lady Jays wasted little time and dispelled any ideas of early first-game jitters by netting their first goal just 13 seconds after kickoff. Freshman forward Sydney Teng was on the receiving end of a beautiful cross from do-it-all senior captain and left-outside midfielder Erica Suter and capitalized for a 1-0 lead and her first career goal. Hopkins did not relinquish the lead for the remainder of the game.

The first goal's significance was two-fold — not only did it set a school and Centennial Conference record for fastest goal scored in a game, but Suter's assist gave her 17 for her career, a new school record. The play happened in the blink of an eye which allowed Teng's instincts to immediately shine.

"Suter had a great ball played to her down the right wing, and I moved towards the left side and she crossed it. . .I just wanted to finish it," the freshman from Fairport, N.Y. said.

From that point on, it was all Hopkins. The Jays built a 5-0 lead in the 50th minute following goals from Suter and freshman forward Hannah Kronick within a 17-second span. Making her collegiate debut, Kronick totaled two goals and an assist in the game.

On Sunday the Jays would play a different style affair, stifling Carnegie Mellon in overtime, 3-2. Although not quite as promptly as in their first game, Hopkins struck first behind Suter who buried her second goal of the season with a far-post header off a picturesque cross from sophomore Christina Convey.

The lead lasted nearly 30 minutes into the game until the Tartans evened up the score at one. The Blue Jays were quick to respond, taking the lead on a goal by freshman Alyssa Conti.

As the final seconds began to tick down, however, Carnegie Mellon managed to push a game-tying goal across in the 90th minute to force overtime.

In overtime, it was again Kronik who took the reigns, netting the game winner just two minutes into the first of two golden goal periods. On Wednesday, Kronick was named the conference offensive player of the week.

The score did not indicate Hopkins' overall dominance, as JHU outshot the Tartans 15-to-5. Tartan keeper Anna Albi, as well as some lucky breaks, kept CMU in the game.

The Lady Jays owe their preseason number-three national ranking — the highest in program history — to a strong, veteran core. The Jays returns from a team that made a run to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division III tournament and finished ninth overall in 2010.

Coach Leo Weil returns for his 20th year at the helm, and the team returns 22 letter-winners from 2010 including seven of their 11 starters. Expectations are high for the six-time defending Centennial Conference champions who are once again favored by the coaches to win their seventh straight conference title. The rankings are welcomed by Hopkins but won't affect their focus.

"The rankings are more of an honor than anything else, and it challenges us to push hard in practice and live up to those expectations," junior defensive midfielder Taylor Schulte said. "Teams have nothing to lose when they play against us, so we have to be ready for each team's best.

"With the talent we have this year, I know we have the ability to make it all the way this year, and that is the ultimate goal. But right now it is about coming together as a team."

For all the experience that returns, the Jays will also now have to perform without recent graduate and star defender Jenn Paulucci, the most decorated women's soccer player in Hopkins history. Paulucci was a four-time all-Centennial selection as well as a two-time all-American and academic all-American honoree. While admitting that playing without Paulucci will be tough, a confident Schulte also added that losses to graduation are something every team grows accustomed to.

"We lose so many great players each year, which is part of playing for such a strong program, but we will find the right chemistry with the personnel that we have," she said.

Hopkins was scheduled to take on Messiah, ranked second nationally, on Wednesday, but the game was cancelled due to rain.