Jays challenge top ranked teams

This past Thursday, the Hopkins field hockey team took on the Eagles of Mary Washington in a non-conference match-up at Homewood Field. The Eagles came into the game ranked 7th in the country and were looking to continue their nationwide dominance. Despite jumping out to an early lead, the Blue Jays could not sustain their advantage and ultimately fell to the Eagles 4-2.

The Jays struck first when sophomore Alexa Lantiere redirected a pass from freshman Leslie MacManus at 16:27. This was Lantiere’s team leading sixth goal of the season. However, the Blue Jays could not shut out the 7th ranked Eagles for too much longer.

Mary Washington launched an aggressive offensive attack and scored four unanswered goals. At 24:18 the Eagles tied the game thanks to a Lisa Charney penalty shot.

After three more Eagle goals, despite being down 4-1, the Blue Jays would not go away without a fight. Senior Liane Tellier dished a pass to classmate Maggie Phillips and she launched a ball into the cage for her fourth goal of the year. The Blue Jays cut the lead in half but it was as close as they would get. The Eagles shut the door and preserved the 4-2 win.

The Eagles proved to be a tough match for the Blue Jays, but their play suggested they could hang with anyone. Playing the 7th ranked team in the nation is no easy task and Hopkins played them well.

The Jays returned to the field on Saturday to take on Centennial Conference opponent Haverford. The Fords came into the match ranked 14th in the country. The Blue Jays were yet again up against a nationally ranked team.

Haverford struck first at 26:25 to take the 1-0 lead, but the offense was subsequently quiet for the next 20 minutes. Freshman Shannon Parker broke the silence by scoring a game-tying goal at 48:12. Just minutes later, the Blue Jays went on the offensive again and Maggie Phillips scored on a rebound after a shot by Tellier was stopped. Down by one, Haverford looked to even up the match when Gibbons scored her second goal of the day at 60:04.

Regulation would not yield a winner, so the game went to overtime. Gibbons was called on again to take the reigns and she put away the game winning goal for Haverford. The 3-2 Haverford victory improved their record to 9-4 while the Blue Jays fell to 6-7 and 3-3 in the Centennial.

Despite the week’s outcomes, playing tough against the 7th ranked team and then taking the 14th ranked team to overtime and nearly winning is certainly something the team can build off of. Their record is not representative of the talent present on the team and this confidence will carry the team through their remaining games and hopefully result in more victories.