Bears score three early, defeat Jays 4-1

The Hopkins field hockey team suffered a slight set back this past Saturday when they were defeated by Ursinus 10-4. The Blue Jays went into the game with an overall 5-4 record and a 3-1 record in the conference, while the Bears held a record of 6-2 overall and 4-1 in the conference. The field hockey team would not let this fact affect their game plan, as they headed onto the field in need of another stellar conference victory.

The game started off strong for the Bears, as they scored three quick goals within the first 15 minutes. Hopkins stayed strong and quickly put the scoring roll to rest with a goal at the 24:16 mark by junior Alexa Lantiere. This was Lantiere’s eighth goal of the season — the most by any Blue Jay this season.

The Bears, however, were not halted by this goal and continued their rally with four straight unanswered goals. Coming out of the half, the Bears led the Blue Jays 7-1; however, Hopkins had not thrown in the towel. The Blue Jays started the second half with great intensity and a quick goal scored by sophomore Kiana Duncan. Once again, the Bears proved dominant by striking back with a pair of goals putting the score at 9-2.

Hopkins responded quickly with a pair of back-to-back goals by sophomore Elena Gresick and Lantiere. Ursinus would score once more before the final whistle blew, bringing the final game score to 10-4. Sophomore goalkeeper Zoey Atabek finished the game with an impressive 15 saves on 26 attempts; this, however, would not be enough to provide for a Blue Jay victory.

The loss was the Blue Jays’ third loss in four games, and the team is starting to feel the playoff pressures. Keeping a winning conference record is essential, and they have managed to do just so, but for how long can they keep it up? As the end of the season rapidly approaches, Coach Fraser needs to keep her eye on the prize and make sure none of her players are dipping their heads and losing sight of that playoff push.

With a team heavily dominated by underclassmen, it is imperative that the upperclassmen step up and show the rest of the team what it is like to win. Having missed the Centennial Conference playoffs last season by merely one spot, the upperclassmen know what it feels like to be so close and yet fall so far.

Lantiere seems to be providing most of the energy for the playoff push; however, the team needs to build together and all pitch in the effort and energy to continue their season past the regular season. With seven games left in the season — five of which being in conference — the Blue Jays have every possibility to extend their season into the post season. If the team can pull themselves together and finish out the season strong, they have every chance to not only play in the post season, but also to restore their overall winning record that they lost last season.

Having the second ranked goalkeeper in the Centennial Conference, Atabek, and the third ranked offensive player in the Centennial Conference, Lantiere, Hopkins has the talent to lead them to the top of the conference standings and further into the conference playoffs. Hopkins’ next in-conference matchup is on Saturday against Haverford. Ranked ninth overall in the conference, Haverford does not seem like an opponent worth worrying over; however, at this point in the season, Hopkins cannot afford any more losses, and Haverford does not have anything to lose. It has come down to crunch time for the field hockey team, and they need to make sure they have their game plan in order for the rest of the season. At this point, Coach Fraser has said all she can say and coached all she can coach; it is now time for the team to take everything they have learned, come together as a united front and proceed with strength into the last seven games of the regular season. There is no more time to warm up; it is now time to lace up and play for the post season.