The Hopkin’s women’s soccer team had an exciting game in Pennsylvania this past Saturday, beating Muhlenberg 5-0 in a dominant shutout. The Blue Jays retained their undefeated record and showed why they are ranked 2nd nationwide in Division III women’s soccer.
Hopkins opened the game with a lot of pressure from the moment the whistle blew to begin the first half. Junior superstar Hannah Kronick scored the first goal of the match in the ninth minute on an unassisted shot to give the Lady Jays an early 1-0 advantage. Senior Kelly Baker followed soon after, scoring her third goal of the season in the 18th minute, receiving a beautiful pass through the box from Kronick.
“It's feels great to be ranked 2nd in the country,” Kronick said. “We started the hard work during training last spring and it is so nice to finally see it paying off. Everyone on the team is on the same page and committed to our team success. We know that we need to keep working harder and hopefully that will lead us to the success that we know we are capable of achieving this year with this talented team.”
Hopkins did not score any more in the first half, but they kept up the pressure. They were able to stop Muhlenberg from getting any shots on goal, thwarting any chances of a potential comeback.
In the second half, Hopkins scored three more times. The Lady Jays started off early in the half with a goal from senior Pamela Vranis. The goal was off a perfect corner kick cross from freshman Ana Bengoechea. Two minutes later, sophomore Maryalice McKenna scored her second goal of the season off another excellent pass from Kronick.
McKenna had positive remarks about the team's offensive success throughout the beginning of the season. “Our team has been extremely successful with scoring this season, sometimes managing to score four or five a game,” McKenna said. “A lot of different players have been scoring which really shows our team depth and will also be an advantage for us further in the season, as teams won’t be able to man mark just one player.”
McKenna is proud of her team’s ranking. “I think it’s an incredible accomplishment to be ranked number two. It’s a great feeling knowing our hard work is paying off, but it does add some pressure because any team we play is trying to knock us off our game. I think being number two is a good spot to be in right now because it tells us how good of a team we are, but at the same time there is also a team ranked higher than us. This gives us motivation to work even harder to get to first. As a team, we are really looking forward to how the season will go, but for right now we need to focus on one game at a time. We need to get better every day in practice and focus on winning our next game.”
Wrapping up the game, Vranis scored for Hopkins in the 55th minute off an assist from senior Christina Convey. Pamela Vranis has been named the Centennial Conference Offensive Player of the Week, exemplifying her extensive goal scoring this season. She has made an impressive comeback for Hopkins, after only playing four games last season due to injury. She is currently tied for tenth place in the Centennial Conference for number of points scored in season.
“We played well together in this game," Vranis said. "We're starting to come together as a team. Having so many different people scoring makes us hard to defend. It's important to us not only to score but also to not get scored on, so a 5-0 shutout meant a great deal to us. We're trying not to think too much about the rankings, but it's definitely rewarding to be second in the country. We still have a lot to work, but are very excited to keep the winning streak going!”
Overall, Vranis had two goals for the Lady Jays, while Kronick added one goal and two assists to keep her explosive start going. Baker and Mckenna had one goal each, and Bengoechea and Convey had one assist each. A lot of women on the team were involved in the scoring of the game, proving their rank at number two to be well-deserved.
“It feels great to be number two because we’ve been working so hard,” Sophomore Issy Berkey said. “But we know that a lot more work has to be done. We can and need to focus on winning one game at a time.”
The Blue Jays will return to Homewood field on Sept. 28 to play Swarthmore in the team’s third conference matchup of the season, with their undefeated season and national ranking on the line.
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