The Hopkins men’s soccer team got back on track this past Saturday, trouncing Centennial Conference rival Ursinus College by a score of 5-0. The Blue Jays struck five times in the game with goals by five different players, each of which were the respective player’s first goal of the season.
The win boosted the Jays over .500 for the first time since mid-September, raising their record to 5-4-2, one that includes two overtime losses, and two scoreless ties.
Senior midfielder Brandon Sumpio got the scoring parade started for the Blue Jays, notching his first goal of the season, and seventh of his career, in the 18th minute on a beautiful feed from freshman Josh Hong. The goal ended a 196 minute scoreless drought for Hopkins, dating back to a 1-0 win the previous week against Franklin and Marshall College.
The Jays wasted little time adding to this total, scoring twice in a thirty second span in the 34th and 35th minutes to give the Jays a 3-0 halftime lead. The much needed breathing room was provided by goals by freshman Eric Buck and junior Birin Padam.
After the halftime break, the Jays dominated the game as they maintained possession over the length of the field for the majority of the match, in addition to outshooting the Bears by a tally of 23-8.
Second half insurance goals were provided by freshman Kenney DeStefano and sophomore Andrew Clayton in the 77th and 84th minutes, respectively. “It came down to the fundamentals,” Sumpio said, “Everyone started playing for each other, and it really showed.”
As has been the case for the entire season thus far, the defensive effort by the Blue Jays and sophomore goalie Nick Cerrone was spectacular. The Blue Jay goal keeper, with a stellar effort by his midfielders and defensive backs, was able to hold the Bears scoreless for the first 85 minutes of the contest before being lifted from the game. This effort was not an outlier, but rather has become the norm for Cerrone, as he has allowed just six goals scored over the Jays’ first 11 games, recording seven shutouts in that same period.
Cerrone was named the Centennial Conference player of the week for the second time for his marvelous play, and he leads a host of underclassmen that have taken leadership roles earlier in their collegiate careers.
The Blue Jay lineup on Saturday consisted of 10 sophomores and freshman and just one senior (Sumpio), a trend that has been evident throughout the early parts of this season and, after some early growing pains, it seems as if the young Jays are coming into their own. Scoring goals has been the biggest struggle for the Blue Jays, so much so that this season they have lost only one game in which they have put a goal in the back of the net. The Jays are hoping that this blowout against Ursinus can be a turning point in their season as the offense begins to click and mesh with an already steady defense.
The Blue Jays, who currently sit in a tie for third in the division with Dickinson college with a record of 3-1-1, will be tested over the next few weeks especially in their non-conference schedule. They begin by facing Neumann University, a team that upset national powerhouse Messiah College in last year’s NCAA tournament.
After that test, the Blue Jays will face the Red Devils of Dickinson College before facing the Centennial Conference-leading Garnet of Swarthmore College. “It’s all about winning the conference right now,” Sumpio, the senior from Woodbridge, CT said, “It is still up for grabs and the team is peaking at just the right time.”
Unfortunately for the Blue Jays, their next match came against a streaking Neumann squad looking to get their first win over Hopkins in program history. That urgency showed as the Neumann Knights came out blazing with two goals in the first seven minutes against Hopkins and four goals in the first half.
The scoring started with the Knights’ Nathan Beideman four minutes into the game and did not stop until the end of the second.
Despite the difficult first 45 minutes of play, the Blue Jays were able to settle down in the second frame. The defense tightened up against the Knights allowing just three shots and zero goals. A rapid turnaround after Neumann managed nine shots and four goals in the first half.
After climbing over .500 for a brief period, the Blue Jays hope to continue their winning ways, and make their way into the Centennial Conference tournament with a bid to the NCAA tournament on the line, and if their offense clicks like it did against Ursinus, it’d be a good bet to say they will.
Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The News-Letter.