Haverford upsets Hopkins 2-0

The Hopkins field hockey team battled an in-conference team in the Haverford Fords this past Saturday. The Jays lost the away game to the Fords, dropping their record to 5-7 and 3-3 in the Centennial Conference.

The game was not very action packed, as the first Ford goal was scored at 19:12, giving them an early 1-0 lead. They were able to score again at 51:25 to notch the final goal and the game at 2-0.

The loss comes as a disappointment to the Jays who are currently the fourth placed team in the conference, while the Fords are in eighth spot. Hopkins was able to outshoot the Fords 23-10 and had the advantage with corners 13-10. However, the Lady Jays were unsuccessful in finding the back of the net against a tough Haverford defense.

Sophomore goalkeeper Zoey Atabek led the defense, which only let up 10 total shots with only five of them being on goal. Atabek had three saves in total and was overall solid in net throughout the whole game.

Sophomore Kiana Duncan, who had four shots and one shot on goal, commented on the Blue Jays lack of production. “We’re really having a tough time scoring lately,” Duncan said. “I’m really not sure what the cause is, but our finishing has been off in the last few games. We’re really working on finishing in practice to get the score up in the next game. It’s always really disappointing when you win on paper, like we did, but the score doesn’t reflect how we played.”

Hopkins has now dropped four games straight. They will look to rebound and gain some momentum going into the final stretch of the season. Atabek also commented about the recent setbacks. “It has been really tough losing our last four games, especially with three of them being against conference opponents. We are all hungry for a win and know that these last games make or break our playoff hopes,” she said. “Physically, our team is very talented and we possess the skills needed to win. We just have to get mentally focused and get the job done.”

Duncan mentioned the importance of leadership heading into the upcoming games. “Sarah Henderson, one of our senior captains, is the one person who is always really working to get us pumped up for games,” Duncan said. “She’s the person you can count on to sort of “walk the walk,” instead of just talking the talk. She’s a great player and leader, and she never has an off day.”

Although they have hit a rough patch, the Blue Jays are still in fourth place in the Centennial Conference while constantly trying to achieve the number one spot, which is currently held by conference rival Franklin and Marshall. Duncan spoke about the leader in the conference. “Franklin & Marshall is definitely the toughest of our opponents. They’re ranked number one in the country right now for Division III and provide a formidable challenge against any of their opponents.”

Hopkins will try to stop their struggles at Homewood Field on Wednesday, as they face off against another conference opponent in Dickinson, who currently holds a record of 6-0 and ranks second in the Centennial Conference.

Atabek also commented on their upcoming opponent. “Wednesday’s game plan against our conference opponent Dickinson is to go out and score first and get the momentum going for us. We plan to keep the intensity and level of play high throughout the whole game,” Atabek said.

The Blue Jays will have to respond in their next games, as they only have five more games left to make their way into the playoffs. Atabek talked about the upcoming games. “At the moment, we are currently 3-3 in conference games. The rest of our season games are all against conference teams and are must win games in order to keep our playoff hopes alive. Our goals for the remainder of this season are to get on the board first and if we don’t, we need to keep our composure throughout the whole game and come out even stronger against our opponents,” she said.