The Hopkins women’s soccer team went into this past weekend looking to continue their streak of NCAA second round appearances to seven out of the past eight years. They didn’t just continue this streak; they dominated throughout the entirety of the weekend. The team was able to piece together two picture perfect wins this past weekend, steam-rolling Lancaster Bible 5-0 to reach the second round of the NCAA tournament before defeating Rowan in the second round 4-2 to reach the Sweet 16. With a victory in these two games the Blue Jays find themselves in a ideal position heading into the tougher fixtures of the tournament as they look to continue to ride their momentum straight into the Round of 16. Hopkins entered the weekend looking to build off of recent key victories that propelled them into the upper bracket of the tournament and as a very tough opponent to overmatch. On Saturday against Lancaster, it didn’t take the Jays long to show that they meant business as sophomore star Hannah Kronick charged past a Lancaster defender to find sophomore Sydney Teng uncovered in front of the net as she drilled a shot past the goalkeeper to give Hopkins the early 1-0 lead. The Blue Jays continued to dominate all aspects of the game, especially possession, making it extremely difficult for Lancaster to build or sustain any offensive attack. 112 seconds after the first goal was scored, Hopkins found the back of the net again as freshman Alaina Arthur volleyed a beautiful shot out of mid-air straight into the upper right corner of the goal. Not only was this goal crucial in giving Hopkins room to work with for the rest of the game, but also marked Arthur’s first career collegiate goal. It couldn’t have come at a more crucial time for the Jays as they now defended a 2-0 lead. The girls headed into the half with the two goal advantage and seemed quite confident going into the locker room. However, the team refused to get complacent as Kronick erupted out of the gates in the second half of the game. After gaining possession of the ball, Kronick dribbled passed two defenders on the left side and passed off the ball to junior Christina Convey. Convey immediately passed back, creating a nice opening for Kronick to fire the ball passed the diving Lancaster goalkeeper to give Hopkins a 3-0 lead. Teng connected for her second goal of the match during the 79th minute of the game after receiving a perfect pass from freshman Paula Swiercz. The goal gave Hopkins a commanding 4-0 lead and plenty of breathing room as the second half started to come to a close. However, the excitement was far from over in this one-sided affair. As the clock was winding down, Teng sparked excitement on the Hopkins sideline and for the entire Homewood Field crowd. She received a high, errant pass from Swiercz towards the middle of the box and in astonishing fashion, bicycle-kicked the ball into the back of the net and got up in uproarious excitement, celebrating the second hat trick ever scored by a Hopkins player in the NCAA tournament. “I’ve never pulled off a hat trick before, and to have my first one in the NCAA tournament made it that much more meaningful,” Teng said. “To cap it off with a bicycle kick was really just beyond my imagination and something I’ve been dreaming of for years. That being said, every single one of my goals came from a beautiful assist from my teammates, and I just happened to be in the right place at the right time.” Along with this impressive milestone came an even more remarkable achievement: Kronick broke the Hopkins single season points record by recording her 54th point of the season by scoring the third goal of the game. “This achievement definitely means a lot to me, but none of it would’ve been possible without my teammates this year,” said Kronick. “We have all come together on the field this year, feeding off of each other, with many different people stepping up when needed and I think this was definitely a factor in helping me achieve that.” This achievement surpasses the previous record of 53 points in a single season that was met last year. Sparks flied as the Blue Jays dazzled their way to a 5-0 victory to advance to the next round of the NCAA tournament. Senior Meredith Maguire was excellent between the posts as she recorded six saves for the shutout. Hopkins looked poised on Saturday evening heading into Sunday’s big matchup against Rowan. Heading into Sunday’s matchup against Rowan, Hopkins had a career 4-1-1 record in the second round of the NCAA tournament, which boded well given the momentum they just gained from out-hustling and out-playing Lancaster the day before.
“Before Sunday’s game, we talked about playing every game and play like it could be your last,” said Kronick. “This team has so much heart and at this point in the season, it’s all mental. I think we’re going to find success because of how hard we work and how much we care.” However, goals were not easy to come by against the tough Rowan defensive unit, who had only allowed six goals all season long As the first whistle blew, the crowd gathered at Homewood Field was in for an exciting and fast-paced game. Once again, the girls were able to take advantage of persistent pressure in the opening minutes of the half as they consistently pressured the Rowan defense. Off of the third corner kick of the game for Hopkins, junior Kelly Baker received the ball and connected with Teng for a beautiful goal in the 11th minute of the game to give Hopkins the 1-0 advantage. The goal marked Teng’s fourth goal of the tournament which set a new Hopkins NCAA tournament record. Unfortunately, the momentum did not stay in Hopkins's favor very long as Rowan was able to capitalize on a shot from outside the 18 yard box that hit the lower right corner perfectly, knotting the game 1-1 in the 14th minute. Rowan’s leading scorer Erika Suhl unloaded the shot from outside the box after teammate Jess Durnian beat a Hopkins defender to set up the goal. Momentum refused to stay in favor of one team or the other as Hopkins was able to respond just five minutes later as freshman Hope Lundberg fired a shot from an astounding 25 yards out to hit the side netting of the goal to give Hopkins a 2-1 lead. But as the first 20 minutes of the game had showed, no lead by either team was safe. Fifteen minutes after Hopkins established the one goal lead, Rowan was able to even up the match as forward Miranda Donian ripped a shot from the outside past goalie Maguire to deadlock the two teams at 2-2. Hopkins was able to sustain a lot of pressure in the closing ten minutes of the half and nearly took the lead as Kronick connected on a shot that was blocked by an excellent dive from the Rowan goalkeeper. Heading into halftime, it was very difficult to tell which of the two teams had the advantage in the game and even harder to determine who would come out hungrier in the opening moments of the second half to reclaim the lead. As the two teams came out of their respective locker rooms to start the second half, Rowan forced the Hopkins defense back on their heals, creating shot after shot in the Hopkins zone. Luckily, thanks to a strong effort by Maguire, Hopkins was able to withstand all of the pressure and not let up any goals to keep the game tied. As a result, Hopkins took full advantage of Rowan’s struggle on offense as freshman Issy Berkey was able to head home another corner kick from Convey to put the Blue Jays ahead 3-2 in the middle of the second half. It was the second goal scored by Hopkins off of a corner kick play. Rowan continued to apply a lot of pressure down the stretch and tried in desperation to even the playing field again as time in the second half was slowly winding down. A little bit of luck went in favor of Hopkins in the 83rd minute of the game when Rowan forward Morgan Muracco let a shot fly towards Maguire. The ball flew past the outstretched hand of Maguire only to meet a goalie’s best friend: the crossbar. The rebound was controlled and cleared quickly out of the Hopkins defensive end. After Hopkins gained crucial possession of the ball, they were able to eat away at some of the remaining time left on the clock by controlling the ball down the sideline with quick and accurate passes to keep the ball away from Rowan defenders. To add a bit of insurance, Berkey crossed a beautiful ball off of a free kick and Kronick was on the connecting end of the pass as she headed home the Blue Jays fourth goal of the game to seal a Sweet Sixteen birth for the Blue Jays. “The team is absolutely ecstatic about making it to the Sweet Sixteen,” said Teng. “Historically, we’ve never advanced past the Elite Eight, but if this year has taught us anything, it’s that nothing is certain in this game and it all depends on who shows up to play that day. We’re so grateful for every opportunity we get to prove ourselves and I think that sets us apart from our opponents.” The goal was Kronick’s 24th of the season and added to her record point total for a Hopkins soccer player to 55 points. Despite never having reached the Elite Eight before, the team certainly looks poised for more success after trouncing two very formidable opponents this past weekend. Hopkins takes on its next opponent, Lynchberg, on Nov. 17 at 7:30 p.m. in Grantham, PA. “Our overall expectations are pretty high going into Saturday,” Kronick said. “Although Lynchberg is undefeated, we’ve been playing very well lately and I’m very confident that will carry over into this weekend. It seems like we are peaking at the right time and hoping to find a lot of success this weekend.” The only meeting between the two teams was a 1-0 victory in favor of Hopkins back on Sept. 6, 2009, which bodes well for the Blue Jays heading into their next game on Saturday. They’ve certainly showed that they’re a formidable, determined, and relentless opponent to face and with their current momentum, could be on the path towards greatness as they continue their surge through the NCAA tournament.
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