There have been a plethora of words used to describe the 2013 Hopkins women’s soccer team. After this past weekend, they can add the word “sweet” to that list. For the sixth straight season, the Blue Jays punched their ticket to the Sweet 16 this past weekend by defeating Brooklyn College 6-0 on Saturday and York College 1-0 on Sunday. The Blue Jays played host to the NCAA regional for a sixth consecutive season.
On Saturday afternoon, the Jays opened postseason play against the 15-4 Bulldogs of Brooklyn College. Hopkins used a blazing hot start in the first 15 minutes to quickly outpace York. Merely six minutes into the game, senior midfielder Christina Convey collected a bouncing pass from junior Hannah Kronick and booted it off the left post and into the net to give the Blue Jays the early 1-0 lead. Kronick’s assist was her fifth in an NCAA tournament game, giving her the outright record in Hopkins history. Less than a minute later, the Jays were on the attack again. After senior forward Kelly Baker was tripped in the box by a Brooklyn defender, senior midfielder Pamela Vranis ripped a bullet into the upper right corner on the ensuing penalty kick to extend the lead.
In the 13th minute, Kronick recorded her first goal of the 2013 tournament off a rebound from Vranis. Vranis blasted a shot off of Brooklyn goalie Kimberly Chacko, which Kronick gathered off her chest and booted into the back of the net, giving the Blue Jays a commanding 3-0 lead. Baker increased the Hopkins lead to 4-0 in the 16th minute, directing the ball to the left corner of the goal off a one-touch cross from senior defender Kylie Fuller.
Not to be overlooked in this offensive explosion was the Blue Jay defensive effort. After allowing a shot early in the first half, the Hopkins defense absolutely owned the Brooklyn offense. They did not let up another shot for the rest of the game, extending their shut out streak to seven games.
After the early goals, Brooklyn bent but did not break until late in the game against the mighty Hopkins offense. The Lady Jays recorded a remarkable 37 total shots when the final horn sounded, and their fifth goal came in the 86th minute when junior midfielder Sydney
Teng gathered the ball on the left side of the box and angled in a shot to the right corner of the net. With the goal, Teng set the Hopkins record for goals scored in the NCAA tournament with six. In the 87th minute, senior Jennie Hall finished off the offensive walloping by converting a penalty kick.
When the dust settled, the Blue Jays defeated the Bull Dogs 6-0. The six goal advantage was Hopkins largest ever margin of victory for an NCAA tournament game. The six total goals matched the program’s record for goals in an NCAA tournament game as well. They last reached this mark in 2011 when they defeated Eastern Connecticut 6-1. With the victory, the Jays moved on to face the York College Spartans in the round of 32, played the next day at Homewood Field.
On Sunday, York College put forth a tremendous effort to try and knock off the heavily favored Blue Jays. The match was a test of wills for both of these teams, and each team was aggressive throughout the game. The Spartans had early chances from freshman forward Jordan Neiheiser and junior midfielder Beth Bunn, but senior goalie Kelly Leddy was up for the challenge (en route to seven total saves in the game).
York held strong on defense throughout the match. The Blue Jays were stymied by the Spartan defensive front early, but eventually recognized York’s weaknesses and began to produce goal-scoring opportunities. In the 15th minute, Convey ripped a shot off the post. Only a few minutes later, Kronick was stopped on her first shot of the game by York’s star goalie Melanie Glessner (who had eight saves in the game).
In the 44th minute, the offensive tandem of Teng and freshman midfielder Alyssa Morgan produced a great chance that nearly gave the Blue Jays the momentum they needed going into the half. Morgan played a beautiful cross to Teng’s head that was deflected away from the goal. Going into the half, Hopkins held a 6-4 edge in shots while the score remained locked at 0-0.
As the second half began, the Jays peppered York with shots, hoping to score the critical first goal of the match. Glessner stood strong, and stopped three early shots that looked sure to break the deadlock. Hopkins had their best chance to score in the 84th minute, when Kronick struck a shot from the left side of the 18 that hit the top of the post. Though the Blue Jays outshot the Spartans 10-8 in the second half, they went into overtime tied 0-0.
With a Sweet 16 birth on the line, both teams struggled to find any openings in the first overtime period. As the two teams headed into the second overtime, it looked as if this game would be decided with the always heart-pounding shoot out.
In the 106th minute, Kronick blasted the Blue Jays into the Sweet 16. Fuller took a ball down the left side, and played the ball into the middle of the box to Baker, who collected the ball and make a nifty pass to the Hopkins all-time leading goal scorer.
“It was funny,” Kronick said after the game. “Right before the second overtime, [Assistant Coach Tim Wittman] said to me, ‘you’re going to score a goal; you’re going to do it. The ball is going to come to you at your feet, and you’re going to turn and finish.' It was an amazing feeling when his prediction came true."
After receiving the ball from Baker, Kronick did just that and secured the Jays sixth straight appearance in the NCAA Sectionals.
On Saturday, the sixth-ranked Hopkins team travels to Middlebury, VT to face 17th–ranked Williams College in the Sweet 16. The Blue Jays are two wins away from the program’s first ever appearance in the Final Four, which will be played in San Antonio, Texas on December 6th.
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